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Case Information for the Featherweight
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From: Kristina Santilla
I find all the minute differences between the machines facinating.I don't know what you mean by an older case, but the earliest cases I
know of (early AD) had a hanger inside for the foot to hang on. The piece on the foot pedal that gets pressed down was a knobby metal ring, not a
plastic knob. The earliest case I have (for a later AD) has a green inside and tray, and gold colored locks. The handles were leather til sometime
between AF & AG. And the lift out trays seem to have disappeared during the AJ's.
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Saw the item about clips in the FW cases. There are two types of FW cases one with the lift out tray and one with the tray fastened to the left inside wall. Both types have a clip which takes an oval shaped oil can. Also on the
inside of the tray are some little hooks. These are for hanging the Singer screwdriver, which is formed from heavy wire and looks something like a button
hook. I've found both items in antique shops usually the oil can is pricey and the screwdriver can be found in the "smalls" box with button hooks and
bottle openers.
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FW carrying cases....Well, I just bought one manufactured by C & L Enterprises. It's a padded nylon case
with a double zipper. It also has a zippered front pocket for foot pedal, book, etc., plus heavy duty handles and a detachable padded shoulder strap.
It comes in red and black, costs $55 plus $5 shipping/handling. I really like mine and would highly recommend it. Their address and phone number is as follows:
C & L Enterprises
P.O. Box 289
Quincy, IL 62306
Phone: (217) 222-8910
Fax: (217) 222-6053
Hope this helps!
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From: Marilyn
Subject: Soft Case^?^?
Someone was asking where to get the soft case made for FWs. I found an ad
in the current QNM. The price is $55 plus $5 s & h. The address is:
Jean S. Lyle
P.O. Box 289
Quincy, IL 62306
Phone is 217-222-8910.
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While I was there, I ran across another case for Featherweights. This
looks like a well made case, it has soft padded sides, and a stiff bottom
with lots of pockets for accessories. Comes in Navy, purple, and black and
sells for 55.95 plus shipping. Can be ordered from:
A'BOUT
P. O. BOX 2294
MT. PLEASANT, TX 75456
1-800-441-9168
903-572-4109
I also bought an oval Singer oil can for my FW.
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From: Calypsew
Subject: Replacement cases & FW Prices
Last Christmas, DH purchased a very nice replacement case for me and my FW,
because I take her to classes and wanted to keep my original case in good
condition. He purchased it at the Pincushion Boutique in Davis, CA for $75.
It is a wooden case, the size, shape and weight of the original. The number
for Pincushion Boutique is 916-758-3488. Every time I take my machine out
with this case, other owners ask me about how to get one. I am sure the
cordura bags are nice, too, but this case is as classy as FW.
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From: mehalick
Subject: interesting things I learned at the singer line today
2. The Singer customer service gave me the name of a man in Kansas(?)
Andy Fields. His number is 913-566-3788.
He makes both a reproduction wooden case, and a
reproduction table. His cases are wooden, with a handle and painted
black. They sell for $55 plus shipping and handling.
The reproduction tables are $198. They have wooden legs with black enamel
trim and the top is a natural birch top. I have not
seen his stuff, but would love to know if anyone has seen his
case, and if it is worth the money.
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From: BXTJ10A
Subject: Featherweight Case Handles
If you need a handle for your Featherweight case a possible source might
be your local music store. We have a music store which sells instruments
to the local high school and they have a guy who repairs the instrument
cases. He comes in once a week to pick up broken cases and leave the ones
he's repaired. He didn't have any handles but let me look through his
catalogs and I found some made of leather that are very close to the
originals. The only problem was that he rarely orders from that company
and their minimum order was $50.00 so I now have 3 extra handles which I
will sell for $12.00 ea. if anyone needs one and can't get it locally. He
also had latches which work just fine but don't look like the originals.
Al in IL
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From: FRXV68A
Hi Fanatics-
For anybody that may not have a carrying case for their featherweight, I
can supply black foreign made cases that are very similar to the original
case. They are leatherette covered and have key-locking latches. Pretty
good quality for the money and quite sturdy. $36 plus shipping.
E-mail to frxv68a@prodigy.com if you would like more information.
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From: TJanson280
Subject: Featherweight's black box
Hello Fellow FWF's!
I just wanted to tell everyone what I had done to my "black" FW box.
The carrying box that came with my FW machine was totaled out. A real
mess!!! It had sat in a mildew basement for a long time by the looks and
SMELL of it! PHEW!!
Anyway, the black cloth was very loose and barely attached on the edges only.
Amazingly enough though, both the latches and handle were intact.
I've heard that a few people have refinished the wood underneath, so I gave
it a whirle. After ripping (holding my nose at the same time) the mildewy
black cloth off, I had to re-glue most of the box. It had come apart all
over. The bottom was out and the lid fell off, along with a lot of places on
the sides. Each side of the box is made up of about 4 sections of wood in
varying widths and then glued together. The corners are "finger jointed"
(notches that interlock together with the other side corners). This helped
in the re-glueing process.
After glueing, I sanded it well and stained it with "Min-wax" puritain pine
color, painted the inside with black paint, then varnished it. WellAhhhh!!!
I now have a beautiful wood stained box for my FW to reside in.
It really does look nice and smells a whole lot better too! It's not "black"
anymore but heck, it's still my FW box, and now usuable.
So don't give up hope if your FW box is a disaster. I'm here to say "What's
underneath is just as beautiful (if not more!)" :)))
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From: Mark
Subject: Re: smelly machine
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Cheryl said: I have a featherweight that I love but my family thinks it smells.
If I have had it out during the day and put it away before husband comes home, he says he can still "smell" that machine and I haven't even told him I was using it.
>
> This weekend my 12 year old daughter and I are going to a quilt camp and I
> want her to enjoy the sewing time - how can I make my featherweight smell
> "fresh"?
First, leave the machine out of it's case for awhile. Most of the
machines pick up the odor from their cases, I believe it is the glue
used in the cases that creates that lovely smell. Put the case with an
opened box of safeguard soap in a sealed plastic bag aside for at least
three weeks.
Then, if you want to to eliminate the odor from the machine, take off
the plate from the bottom of the machine. You will find a felt like
gasket under that plate. Take it out and trace it onto an old pizza box
or other similar cardboard. Cut out the new replacement gasket and put
it in place of the felt like one. The felt like material can absorb
odors and make the machine smell badly, also the spool felt can absorb
odors as well. You can get replacement spool felt discs at any Singer
dealer. Once you have replaced these felt items, and leave the machine
out of the case for a few weeks, the machine's odor should go from
strong to mild and possibly nonexistent over time. This idea was
suggested to me a long time ago by the late Dale Pickens and it works
like a charm.
I have tried so many methods, in the past, to get my case to smell
better, including airing outdoors, activated charcoal, baking soda,
fabric softener sheets, baking soda, cedar, etc., etc. and nothing works
like the safeguard soap - no other brand seems to do the trick. BTW,
the odor won't leave completely, but I keep the opened box of soap in my
case all the time and it is just "ok" with that. I only put the machine
in the case to transport from one place to another, then it is taken out
immediately once I am at my destination.
One other thing, I saved the original felt gasket from the underside of
my FW, the pizza box remains in place. I sealed it in a zip lock bag
(so it didn't smell up other things) and just left it. I didn't want to
discard any original parts to my machine.
Linda
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From: thimble
Subject: FW case odor
I have been following the trail of FW case odor and offer these hints
from my experience. I too am highly allergic to molds and have a violent
sneezing and shortness of breath when opening the FW case, so I am pretty
convinced that white powdery stuff is mold. My guess is that in the
history of these FW cases that most were stored on the floor of a dark
closet until needed. Not likely that the original owners kept the case in
a dry, airy place for too long if the machines were originally purchased
for mending.
(we make much better use of them nowdays!)
POSSIBLE SOLUTION: I wiped the inside and outside of my FW case with Lysol
and put it in the sun to dry. This was not too effective since in near the
beach in SO CA near it is never really "dry". Baking soda had only minimal
effect and did not get rid of the odor.
BETTER SOLUTION: So I came up with the following for mild mold cases based
on a theory about glue.
1.Keep the FW case in a dry upstairs room, up off the floor, with lots of
air circulation. Never in a dark closet or on the floor.
2. Place GEL SILICATE packages in the case when it is closed. I got
several in boxes along with new shoes. These little packages absorb the
moisture inside the case. So far, the odor is greatly reduced and no new
white mold has grown on either the inside or outside of the case in 2
years. The odor is very slight and I can live in the same room with the
case.
3. Perhaps those of you who have had success with other remedies live in
dryer climates for at least part of a year. Near the beach we experience
dampness and fog daily so there is no way to get the case completely dry,
but providing the gel silicate bags seems to do a pretty good job in
creating a better environment for the inside of the case. It might be
better for the machine too as it would cut down on moisture trapped inside
and prevent rust to machine parts.
This is just a guess, but I think the GLUE used in the case construction
is the reason why FW is the culprit. My case has a vinyl cloth on the
inside and that would certainly trap moisture between the box and the
cloth. Hide, rabbit skin,animal hoofs and blood are often used in
woodworking and to "paper" or size canvas. I remembered that in art class
we learned to prepare rabbit skin glue/sizing for our oil paint canvases.
Each can of dry crystals came with a gel silicate package inside and we
were instructed to keep the glue crystals in a dry place. Our instructor
told us that rabbit skin glue (and I would guess this is true for hide or
hoof glues too) tends to mold easily. This type of glue is effective in
sealing the linen canvas from the paint oils and in drawing up the canvas
tight to the frame.
It occured to me that perhaps these older FW cases might be made from
pressed cardboard, wood or pressed sawdust and they may have used this
cheap and effective glue. All the hide glues are still used in industry
and for woodworking, although there are better glues available today.
The glue crystals, prepared with hot water, will deteriorate quickly and
mold when cooled--they must not have been stabilized with an agent to
prevent molds. It is highly likely that these cases were made with animal
glues, but even if wheat paste glues were used, the result would also be
mold formation. Anyway, that's my two cents worth. Hope it helps. --Lynn
Lynn Laughrin (thimble@silcom.com)
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From: Sue Arnold
Subject: Soft, padded FW Case
Hi,
I just returned from a 5-day weekend (the best kind) with my mini-quilt
group. Four of us transported our FWs by plane. In order to cut down on
weight I put mine into a Rubbermade File box (they fit perfectly), but the
handle is VERY uncomfortable. As I plan to take my machine away for
weekends often, I'd love to locate one of the soft padded cases I used to
see for sale at big quilt shows.
I apologize if I could find this quickly looking at the various web sites,
but if they're still available and someone could let me know where. . .I'd
certainly appreciate it. I haven't kept up with the list for months, so
I'm sorry to ask if I should know where to look.
BTW, I had a wonderful time piecing on my FW--hadn't used it for
years--since I got my Bernina 1130, I guess, but it's heavy!
Back sore from sitting at your computer or sewing machine for hours on end?
Go visit Gail's Chair Yoga Fitness website for a set of yoga poses to
assist in easing back pain!
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