Note: when two serial numbers are on the machine use the larger of the serial numbers. Anyway here goes nothing. I do hope you find it useful. Note: On pre-1900 Singer machines if there are two serial numbers, always use the higher, longer, larger, serial number of the two to date your machine. Collectors, such as Berzack, collect antique treadles through the 1940s but focus on those produced before 1900. Some manufacturers, such as Singer, have extensive records about their serial numbers after 1870. The White Sewing Machine Company, a major rival to.
Resources, For These Sewing MachinesLinks, lite bulbs, and commonalities. Here is information that applies to more than one machine, so it has been combined on this page and referred to as appropriate...
Sewing Machine Links | Sewing Machine Bulb Study | Sewing Machine Wiring | Japanese JA and JC Numbers | Sears: Models, Makers, & Years | Harp Sizes
Keeping it short and simple. These links are where you can buy parts for some of the machines on these pages. I've had good luck with these, but no link constitutes an endorsement, use at your own risk!A fairly long page, scroll down to what you need. It has 'Rotary Motor Pulley #409' which will work on any of the friction drive machines on these pages, EXCEPT the Streamliner. Said 'pulley' is not tapered like that machine requires, although modification of #409 is possible. This page also has the standard 15287-A bobbin winder tire as used on Singers and others; bobbins and bobbin cases for the 117.959 Kenmore and others. Worth exploring.
Old Rotary Parts.
Need a manual? Many are available free on the web, including several right here. However, not all are, or you may want a nicely printed and bound copy. I can recommend https://www.tias.com/vintage-sewing/machines/manuals/. Linda, the proprietress is VERY knowledgable about old machines and she has manuals available for virtually everything - in both downloadable PDF and printed form.
Need other parts? This guy probably has them. He has an extensive listing of old machines he's parting out, email him with your needs. He's always been affordable, I've used him several times.
The belt for the Sewmatic is a #978 cogged V-belt formerly available from the new defunct Sew Classic dot Com. You'll have to use Google...
Need to pack a machine the RIGHT way to ship it? Refer to This (offsite) Page!
A great sewing machine blog: The Archaic and Arcane. Lots of repair and maintenance info & advice.
This guy shows how to sew various things, and does each project on a different machine: Thin Man Sewing.
This guy claims that his is the number one male sewing blog: Male Pattern Boldness.
Another vintage sewing machine blog: Steel Sewing.
More: Paul's Sewing Machines.
Needle info, a few manuals, and other miscellany: Kevin's Sewing Stuff.
I've made a couple of sewing machine bases, and repaired a few more, but this guy has it down to a science: How to Make a Custom Sewing Machine Case.
This started as a search for the ideal light bulb for Nationals; especially the Reversew Rex and the Streamliner, but evolved slightly as the White 690 as well as the Sewmatic Chainstitcher use these very common threaded base bulbs. Maybe your machine does too!
The Bulbs under discussion, from top:
15 Watt Nitelite/Christmas style
15 Watt equivalent LED 'Silicon Bulb'
15 Watt #643 bulb
15 Watt super skinny bulb from Feit Electric.
This is a picture of correct, no longer made, lite bulb as originally used in the
Reversew Rex and Streamliner.
And here is this same 'original' bulb compared with the Feit Electric product.
In the case of the two Nationals in question, I had been using a standard #643 bulb, although it was a VERY tight fit, especially in the 'Rex'. In both machines, the glass envelope of the bulb was touching metal, and again in the case of the 'Rex', I had to screw it in place very carefully with a pair of needle nose pliers!
So when Randy discovered the ultra small/skinny Feit Electric 15 watt bulbs, they were a match made in heaven as they were actually smaller than the original! This bulb can be purchased at Home Depot, and is Feit Electric # BP15T4C/2 - I suspect the '/2' means two to a package. They are marketed as bulbs for picture lights and similar.
The Nitelite/Christmas style 15 watt bulb was probably the most common threaded bulb used in sewing machines from the 1930s forward, Nationals not withstanding. Machines with space for this bulb have the advantage of being able to use all the various smaller bulbs as well. Note that real Christmas lamps (or nite lite lamps) are only half the wattage (7½ vs. 15) of the identical looking type used in sewing machines. Some of this type are frosted, others clear.
I had been wanting an LED 'bulb' for my main machine, a 1976 White 690, almost since the day I got it. Unfortunately, candelabra based LED bulbs came in three types: Nitelite sized, which would of course fit the 690, but also nitelite brightness (or less); Plenty bright, but chandelier sized - too big; and one seller on eBay was selling what looked like a crude home-made lashup for $30+!
So when the above pictured LED bulb appeared on eBay for less than $10, I bought one. It seems well made, and is cast in crystal clear silicon rubber. Its almost as small as the Feit Electric incandescent, and fits fine in the Nationals being discussed here. Its supposedly 25% brighter than the incandescent - I will say it certainly appears brighter and certainly isn't any dimmer - and best of all it only uses somewhere around 2 watts or a bit less, so it isn't so darn HOT. In fact, you can hold it when its been on for hours. Who actually makes this particular bulb is unknown, no identifying marks found on the packaging.
What follows is a 'Bulb Study' I did, showing the #643, the Feit, and the LED bulb and how they fit and look in the two Nationals under consideration, and then a clear Christmas/Nitelite style and LED in the Sewmatic and White. All illumination comparisons taken under the same lighting conditions.
In the end, the LED now resides permanently in the White, the two Nationals have Feit bulbs, and the displaced #643s await re-use elsewhere and in the Sewmatic chainstitcher.
#643 in a Streamliner
And its illumination pattern.
The Feit in a Streamliner - plenty of room.
And its illumination pattern - same as the #643 as you'd expect.
The LED in a Streamliner - still enough room although its a bit long.
And its illumination pattern - Brighter and whiter.
#643 in a Reversew Rex faceplate
End-on view - glass to metal contact.
And its illumination pattern.
Feit in a Reversew Rex faceplate
End-on view - no glass to metal contact!
Franklin Sewing Machine Serial Number Lookup
And its illumination pattern - same as the #643 as you'd expect.
LED in a Reversew Rex faceplate
End-on view - no glass to metal contact! No rubber to metal contact either!
And its illumination pattern - Brighter and whiter.
Moving on to the White 690 and the Sewmatic chainstitcher: As they both were engineered for use with a Christmas/nitelite bulb, no need to repeat for the #643 or Feit as they'd both fit with room to spare and the illumination patterns would be exactly the same.
Sewmatic chainstitcher with Christmas/nitelite style.
Its illumination pattern, nice and square.
Now the LED in the Sewmatic...
And a blaze of bright white lite!
Christmas/nitelite style in the White.
With its illumination pattern.
LED in its forever home in the White.
Also a blaze of bright white lite!
But What About...
The Expert B.T.?
The Micro-Bell?
The Singer 99K?
The Singer 185K?
The Pfaff 776 Serger?
The Micro-Bell uses an odd looking bulb indeed - shaped like a Christmas/nitelite type, but a double contact bayonet style that has been reflectorized on one side. That machine, the Pfaff serger, as well as the 'SingerLight' on the 99K should be able to use a double contact LED bulb that the same eBay seller - and doubtlessly others as well - also sells.
The TZ-17 uses an E17 based bulb, rather than the E12, but said larger bulbs are readily available in LED form these days. There is a brief discussion on the TZ-17 page.
That leaves the 185K. An entire bulb study was done on it a couple of years ago, available on the 185k page, shows how a standard candelabra based bulb - which would now include our featured LED bulb - can be used with an adapter. However, even that oddball bulb seems to be available in an LED version now.
Below are diagrams for 4 common ways sewing machines are often found to be wired. These refer to 100 percent line voltage operated machines, the more modern machines using low voltage controls are beyond the scope of this page and are not covered here. In this context, 'Controller' can mean either a foot controller or a knee controller; and it can be a wire wound resistive type, a 'Carbon Pile' resistive type, or even a line voltage solid state style.
This is probably the most common wiring schema used on machines from the 1970s forward, as well as some older models. The 'optional' lite switch will be present in most cases, and the 'alternate switch wiring' will be seen on many newer machines, thus switching both the motor and the lite. My Pfaff 776 Serger is one such wired the latter version of this schema. The old Kenmore is an example of an older machine wired this way. DO NOTE: There may or may not be a pseudo-standard use of which pins are used for what - for that reason no pin numbers have been placed on the schematic! It will be necessary to ascertain how the pins are wired on the machine and match the external wiring accordingly!Here is a link to a nicely done page showing 3 pin wiring with pin numbers for SINGERS. The diagram, while drawn differently, is the same as the one above, but having the pin numbers will help if you have a Singer. I still suggest verifying your machine against the provided pin numbers with an ohmmeter or visual tracing! LINK: Singer Wiring.
This alternate method of using a 3 pin connector has the advantage of not requiring a splice or 2 wires on one pin of the 3 pin connector. Instead the 2 conductor line cord goes directly to the foot pedal, and then a 3 conductor cord goes from the foot pedal to the machine. The Micro Bell is wired this way, and I rewired the SewMatic Chainstitcher to this schema as it resulted in a much cleaner wiring job. Any 3 pin system should be able to be wired this way if desired.DO NOTE: There may or may not be a pseudo-standard use of which pins are used for what - for that reason no pin numbers have been placed on the schematic! It will be necessary to ascertain how the pins are wired on the machine and match the external wiring accordingly! National Sewing Machine Company (NSMCo) used this schema as their wiring standard for their entire history. It is, in my opinion, the neatest and cleanest way to wire one. You will note the relative gender of the two connectors. The connector for the controller is duplicated on the wiring block and on a pigtail under the machine - your machine may have the wiring block (foot pedal) connector blocked off. Some Nationals had light switches, some did not. I have not seen the 'Alternate Switch Wiring' on a National, but have seen it alluded to in at least one NSMCo manual. Lastly, this is type typical wiring schema used by most Japanese machines from the 1950s through at least the mid-70s, as my 1976 White 690 is wired this way. This is also a very good way to wire a machine, I retrofitted my Singer 99K to this schema during that machine's restoration. All the complexity is hidden inside the pre-wired double receptacle wiring block; the machine's motor and lite plug into the appropriately marked receptacles, a 'mains plug' (as my British friends would call it) comes out one end of the block, and a wire pigtail that leads to the controller comes out the other end. The only caveat is if the motor and lite are plugged into the wrong receptacles, the motor will come on full blast but you'll have a light that varies intensity with the controller! I've never seen a machine wired this way that didn't have a light switch, the schema pretty much requires one. In fact, in the case of my White 690, there's a double pole switch that controls the motor as well. Japanese JA and JC numbers
This machine shows a JA number, a JC number, as well as a maker's sigil (Shansin in this case). Not
all Japanese machines show all of these, in fact, many show none at all! Photo contributed by Randy.
Note: JA-39 was indicated being badged as Kenmore in the original list. I'm not buying it until I see further confirmation. I was able to confirm JA-39 as being Toyota OEM. To the best of anyone's knowledge, Toyota never manufactured Kenmore sewing machines for Sears (UPDATE: Toyota is known to have manufactured non-Kenmore machines for Sears for the Canadian market), only Janome, Maruzen/Jaguar, and Soryu among the Japanese makers did so. However, we now have several 'unknown' manufacturers for Kenmore as noted below, perhaps one of them actually is Toyota...
Nobody really knows exactly what these numbers mean, and it would probably take a native Japanese speaker to be able to visit the appropriate archives in Japan - if they still exist - to try to shed more light on the subject. However, I have observed:
- 'JA/JC' numbers seem to be quite rare on free arm machines, but comparatively few have been checked, and some may be inside.
- Very seldom seen on Singer 15 clones.
- 'JC' numbers are ALWAYS cast into the bottom of the bed - until they're not. See note 4 in relation to JC-39.
- Not all Japanese machines have JA or JC numbers. Many have only one or the other or none. A given manufacturer may have used these numbers sporadically. Nobody knows the why or how of this...
- Any OEM listed has only been so after POSITIVE identification, otherwise a question mark is put by the OEM name. To date, the working assumption is that only one OEM used each JA or JC number - but that assumption could be disproven at any time.
- 'JA' numbers, also found under the bed, are either stamped into the metal, stamped into an under-bed badge (sometimes as a serial number prefix), or they're inked stamped.
Except when they're not! This appears to have changed by the time of the aluminum era. 'Kenmore' machines with 'JA-4' (Maruzen) cast into (instead of stamped) the bottom of their aluminum bed are known to exist. These machines also show a 'JC-4' cast right next to the 'JA-4'! 'JC-4' is a known Brother number. It is my current working theory, that 'JC' refers to the company that CAST the machine hull, 'JA' refers to the company that ASSEMBLED (designed?) the machine. This is PURE SPECULATION on my part.
In this case, it would appear to mean that Brother made the castings for Maruzen who then assembled the machines. Other (non-Kenmore) aluminum examples are known to exist with both JA and JC numbers cast in in a similar manner - including all Free-Arm machines observed with JA/JC numbers (as they're all Aluminum era machines).
Aluminum Kenmore 158.16012 with cast in 'JA' number in addition to the usual cast in 'JC'
Listed next to the JA or JC number is the OEM manufacturer, if known, then under the 'Badged as' heading are any known badgings the finished machine was sold under. JA/JC numbers are generally found in the form of 'J-Axx' or 'J-Cxx', but are listed here as 'JA-xx' and 'JC-xx' as that seems to be the accepted way to list them on the Internet. There are also very rarely seen 'JN' and 'HA' numbers, no-one seems to know what those mean other than 'HA-1' indicates a Japanese round bobbin straight stitch machine. Apparently not manufacturer specific. I've seen occasional other HA-xx numbers, including HA003 cast onto the bottom of a Morse badged straight stitch machine built by Toyota.
* From another list on a certain detestable website, unverified by Zorba
| Machine | Year | Size Class | Pillar to Needle distance (Inches) |
| Singer VS2 | 1891 | Full (4/4) | 7-15/16 |
| Wartheim Class 12 | 1900 | Fullish (4/5) | 6-1/2 |
| Singer 127 | 1918 | Full (4/4) | 8.00 |
| National Rotary 'D' | 1935 | 3/4 | 5-3/4 |
| Streamliner | 1940s | Full (4/4) | 7-3/4 |
| Kenmore 117.959 | 1940s | Full+ (5/4) | 7-1/16 |
| Kenmore 158.16012zz | 1970 | Full (4/4) | 7-3/8 |
| White 690zz | 1976 | Full (4/4) | 7.00 |
| Reversew 'Rex' | 1950s2 | 3/4 | 6-5/16 |
| Reversew 'B' | 1940s2 | Full (4/4) | 7-11/16 |
| Expert B.T. | 1940s3 | 3/4 | 6-5/16 |
| Singer 99K | 19571 | 3/4 | 6-1/4 |
| Singer 185K | 1960 | 3/4 | 6-1/4 |
| Singer 15K | 1929 | Full (4/4) | 6-7/8 |
| Micro-Bell | 1952 | 1/4 | 4-3/4 |
| Sewmatic | 1950 | 3/4 | 5-3/4 |
| Toyota TZ-17zz | 1950s | (Full) 4/4 | 7.00 |
1 Produced from 1911 until 1963.
2 Produced from the 1930s until 1954.
3 Produced from 'the treadle age' until 1950.
zz Zig Zag machine measured to leftmost needle position. The real surprise here is the Singer 127. It has a whopping needle to pillar distance of EIGHT inches, and the VS2 is only 1/16' shorter.
Pillar shape can influence these measurements as well since the measurement is taken right at the bed level. Most older machines curve in considerably as the pillar reaches the bed, causing a narrower measurement. Higher up, they're wider. On the other hand, most modern machines are perfectly straight up and down in this area!
Lost?
Site Map
Copyright and Terms of Use
Alex has spent a lifetime in the sewing industry and is considered one of the foremost experts of pioneering machines and their inventors. He has written extensively for trade magazines, radio, television, books and publications world wide. You may have seen him on The Great British Sewing Bee or How The Victorians Built Britain.
Franklin Treadle Sewing Machine Serial Numbers
The simple guide to dating your early Singer sewing machines.
(Where your Singer has two serial numbers always choose the larger of the two to date your machine)
Singer machine serial number dating Guide
(Brace yourself it's tricky!)
Please note this is only a guide, not gospel! Some people mail me to say they have a receipt from 1950 so how could my guide have their machine as made in 1948 or 1949? Let me explain. The production runs at factories like Kilbowie were complex and long. The castings were marked with the serial number during manufacture. The machines were miles from completion, packing and delivery. Then there is delivery to the depot, storage, sales to the shop, and eventually sales to the customer.These factors all effect the purchase/receipt date, but not the date of manufacture.
For example during WW2 it is a well know fact the Singers were making guns and bullets as well as sewing machines. Only when they could spare the time would they continue with sewing machine production. I have come across a woman who bought her machine brand new in 1946 yet the casting was clearly made in 1939 just before the outbreak of WWII. During World War Two Singer had back orders for over three millions machines!
Now to the dating
All Singers up until 1900 have no letter prefix and came from several factories around the world. The company cleverly managed their production from all factories to coincide with the serial number flow. If you fancy a read on the collapse of Singer in Britain have a go at End of Empire.
Why two serial numbers?
Very early Singers from the 1850's up until the start of prefix letters in 1900 had two serial numbers. There is a lot of controversy over why there were two lots of numbers. The most likely answer is that the larger number was the total number of machines produced by Singers when they only had a few factories and could keep up with, and control, the production output from Britain and America. They would order machines in batches say, 1,000 or 10,000 from Kilbowie, Elizabethport and elsewhere. The lower number may be the total production/batch run of that particular model range, the larger the overall total number of Singer machines made.
Singers have never manage to shed light on these two numbers!
Note: when two serial numbers are on the machine use the larger of the serial numbers.
Franklin Sewing Machine Serial Numbers
Anyway here goes nothing. I do hope you find it useful.
Sewing Machine Serial Number Database
Note:
Standard Sewing Machine Serial Numbers
On pre-1900 Singer machines if there are two serial numbers, always use the higher, longer, larger, serial number of the two to date your machine.