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| Object of Desire: Belvedere Adler. Spoiler alert: The story has a sad ending. |
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| WW8: Fascinating to be able to watch everything working |
I buy machines all the time and for
lots of reasons. Sometimes I just feel sorry for them. There they
sit, all sad and pathetic, and I know that if I don't take them home
they will end up in the scrap yard. Sometimes these turn out to be
wonderful machines. The Wheeler & Wilson's No. 8 was one of my
all time best-buys.
Sometimes I want to save other people
from them. That's how I ended up with three Singer 285s. The first
one was a gift, and I was thrilled to play with it and examine its
funky drive train.
There was NO EXCUSE for buying the next two.
None. But I was afraid some nice young person would come along and
think "wow, what a cute vintage Singer" and ruin her life.
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| Singer 316G, an enduring love affair |
Sometimes I just fall madly in
love. Madly, passionately in love. And usually this works out.
But not always.
In a two week period I acquired not one
but two Adler Belvederes (or maybe it is Belvedere Adler).
I would
not even call this love---it was lust. Primal lust. This machine is
the epitome of postwar coolness. Look at the space age silhouette.
Look at the gleaming chrome. Look at the awesomeness of the dials.
It should be in a movie set.
In a movie set, but NOT in a sewing
room.
Yes, it looks all postwar strong, and it is the usual
horrendous weight of cast iron machines. I've been trusting unknown
machines based just on the weight. This time that did not pay off.
This gorgeous machine has a serious, life threatening defect: a
geared plastic component just waiting to break.
Of my two Belvederes,
one of them is fine—so far. The other one is now a straight-stitch
only machine because a gear deep inside has a big section of missing
teeth.
I will be listing the working one for
sale later, and the ad will link back to this posting. I'm a full
disclaimer seller. The price will be low. We've got a nice movie
industry here in North Carolina. Maybe someone will buy it for a
movie set.
Sometimes you just buy them because they are cool looking. I have some long bobbin machines, but, I've never sewed with any of them. Trying to wind the long bobbins just puts me off wanting to stitch with them, but, they are proudly displayed because they look so nice. That Belvidere looks so 50's cool!
ReplyDeleteI, OTOH, like to wind long bobbins. It's a bit mesmerizing.
DeleteDitto - like winding the long bobbins - it's almost like performance art!
DeleteYes, very nice looking machine. What were they thinking? Plastic gears deep inside?
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I have never come across the Belvedere, or I'm sure I would have purchased it just for the Cool Factor. Appreciate the warning!
ReplyDeleteYep, this post is meant to be an awful warning. Don't blindly trust the gorgeous 40-pound machine implicitly! Even if I had looked inside I probably would have missed that gear.
ReplyDeleteI recently tested the capacity of a long bobbin, and it held ALMOST as much thread as a class 15 bobbin. that was an eye-opener for me---I had thought that they would hold much less thread.
Oh dear. I have a non-working Jolson/Nelco R-4000 that bears a strong family resemblance to the Belvedere Adler. It is so cool looking, I had to have it, but at least I only spent $25 (and gas, sigh). Well, at least now I know to be on the lookout for plastic gears!
ReplyDeleteI just love this post...you are so creative and fun! Thanks for the smiles! It's funny how the primal lust ends the moment you hear their voice and find out what's really inside!!
ReplyDeleteHave you ever thought about the possibility of making new gears via 3d printing?
ReplyDeleteBut could you resist a blank and pink one?
ReplyDeleteBut could you resist a blank and pink one?
ReplyDeleteI just got a Belvedere Adler machine for free but it's missing the foot pedal. I'm having no luck tracking one down. It has the odd feature of a plug on a short cord that must plug into an outlet/female end of the pedal's cord. Are you willing to sell me one from your non-functioning machine? derrydown@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteI just got a Belvedere Adler machine for free but it's missing the foot pedal. I'm having no luck tracking one down. It has the odd feature of a plug on a short cord that must plug into an outlet/female end of the pedal's cord. Are you willing to sell me one from your non-functioning machine? derrydown@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteMy 950-B is called a Universal
ReplyDeleteMy 950-B is called a Universal
ReplyDeleteJust got one of these beauties for free today. She's gorgeous, and runs like a dream, but she's missing the plate. I have a bunch of other older machines that I've been given over the years, so tomorrow I'll begin searching to see if one fits. Can't wait to play more with it! So exciting!!!
ReplyDeleteSusan
Hi everybody, a month ago somebody put on the street an Adler 189A excellent looking, working and accessories, I went and grabbed it. I like the colors the way they sew all the little controls, the shining silver or crome the art they used to make them (I hate the plastic gears) just like everybody else. I have to wright about my machines no no about myself. I can not stop buying sewing machines, I do not sew myself but I like them so much, I have domestic, industrial all of them vtg or antiques. I have several tables outside because I run out of room and still looking for more. Like right now I am looking for a "Meister" sewing machine made in Germany and always reading stories like yours, best regards
ReplyDeletelmao i love your writing
ReplyDeleteThanks. It's fun getting feedback like this years later!
Delete