Necchi BU Nova for sale at TOGA

 

NC TOGA is coming up in June.  If you don't know what that is I'll be describing it in a future post.  One of the things it is, is a swap meet.  I have some machines for sale.  

Here's how this works:  I describe each machine in detail, pros and cons.  Once I have all the machines on this blog I will post a price list at the NC TOGA Facebook page.  If you are attending the TOGA and are seriously interested let me know and I will bring it.  "Seriously interested" means that you plan to buy it IF you like what you see in person.  Absolutely NO obligation in advance.  Just please don't ask me to haul 40+ pounds of cast iron if all you want to do is ogle it.  

Vintage Necchis are legendary machines and are treadle-able. I'm not going to outline all its features or why Necchis are so great.  If you know, you know.  I tested this one some time ago and the test samples show that it was working properly.  I'm not going to have time to re-test all the machines I might bring so it will probably need to be oiled.  

 I did write about this machine (and two other Necchis) back in 2020.  If you are seriously interested I recommend that you read the portion titled "Motor Necchi" (which distinguishes it from the Motorless  Necchi and the Bad Wiring Necchi also described in the post).  You will learn what problems I solved and which ones I failed to totally solve in the restoration process and what work-arounds you might need. For instance:

"The clutch knob is never going to release for bobbin winding purposes.  But Linda kindly informed me that where I originally went wrong was in releasing the clutch knob in the first place.  'I never do that' she said."

It comes with an extensive set of high shank feet.  Honestly, I've never seen anything like this before.  I have not tested any of them.  Nor do I know what they all do.  So please don't ask.  Cause I am busy getting ready for TOGA!  I didn't look closely but I don't think any of them are original Necchi feet.

 

And speaking of original Necchi equipment, a couple of original Necchi bobbins are included.  This machine takes standard class 15 bobbins, and one of them is in the bobbin case now.

The motor controller and cords are new replacements.  And the light bulb has been upgraded to LED.  Much brighter and it doesn't get hot.

Here's a Public Service Announcement:  not all high shank feet are created equal.  I recently sold a Necchi BU with a high shank zigzag foot on it.  Problems with the stitching emerged as we tested it before the sale.  We checked all the usual problem-with-stitching possibilities.  Then M*** popped off the needle plate and looked at the way the foot was sitting.  She thought it was sitting too low.  I'd never though to do this before and honestly I was skeptical.  It's definitely a high shank machine and it was definitely a high shank foot.  But we swapped it out for another high shank zigzag foot and hey presto!  Problem solved!

Can you spot the problem?  The opening where it attaches to the presser foot bar is different.  The one on the right was on the machine when I acquired it.  The one on the left, with a deeper "scoop out" is the one that works correctly on the machine.  The deeper scoop means that the presser foot sits a bit higher.  I assume that somewhere out there is a machine that needs high shank presser feet with a shallower scoop.  If you have encountered anything like this before please let us know in the comments below.

Now let me rhapsodize about these Greist hemmers (plus edge stitcher and binder).  Many vintage and antique machines come with a small hemmer.  It's practically useless unless you want to hem a very thin fabric.  Think thinner than quilting cottons.  Seamsters more competent than me may have had a different experience.

But look!  There are FIVE sizes of hemmer there.  And the bigger ones are fantastic.  I made floor length linen curtains for three rooms in my house and hemmed the side seams of all the panels with the largest size Greist hemmer.  That's how much?  A mile of fabric?  Maybe that's a slight exaggeration.  I'm a huge fan of Greist hemmers.

And here's a little tip for you:  All of these Greist attachments work with a post that attaches to the presser foot bar.  That is the first item in the lineup above.  This is a high shank post, but all these hemmers etc. will work with any Greist post.  Meaning that if you can find a short shank Greist post you can use all of these on a short shank machine also.

This machine also comes with an original Necchi case.  It's in decent slightly beat up shape.  And was obviously sitting too close when someone used a can of white spray paint.  Wasn't me BTW.  The lighter area in the photo is NOT just a photo lighting issue! (maybe a little bit is reflection from the table)  

I do not have a manual for it but I can email the buyer a PDF of the Necchi BU manual.  The vast wisdom of the internet informs me:  " The Necchi BU and the Necchi Nova BU are almost identical. The Nova has a few minor refinements and that's it. No real internal or major design change at all."  So the BU manual should be very useful.

If you are interested but are not going to NC TOGA and if you can come to Cary NC to pick it up, you can let me know in the comments below.

But I will not ship.  No, no.  Never, never, never.  If you have ever shipped a sewing machine (and I have shipped two, to some VERY special kids in California) you won't need to ask why.  Never again.  Sorry.  I just don't love you as much as I love Clinton and Nellie.

Love my readers a bunch though!  Just not enough to spend hours packing and many, many dollars shipping 40+ pounds of cast iron.

The Singer 66 that did not go to Afghanistan

 

One of the online sewing machine groups that I follow once had a member stationed in Afghanistan when we had troops there.  He had a Featherweight, as I remember, and developed a strong interest in sewing.  His job took him around to local villages and he began channeling machines we sent from the US to villagers who needed them.  

Oh my, did the members of the group ever get excited!  Somebody actually wanted our beloved vintage  machines and could match them up with people who could use them.  I took a nice looking Singer 66 and installed a hand crank.  The very day I finally got it packed for shipment he posted that he had been reassigned and could no longer take them.  I don't know how many machines reached him in time, but I missed the boat.  Or airplane.

Here it is below, packed in a styrofoam box that was going to go into a cardboard for shipment.  I converted it to hand crank because that was what our contact in Afghanistan recommended.

I had used some yardage for packing, and threw in some thread and other sewing supplies, and some little toys.

I  had a lot of fun assembling all this.  It was disappointing not to be able to send it, but it was fascinating to hear the stories from our contact person while he was distributing machines to villagers in Afghanistan.

The machine eventually did find a home though.  While I was in Dayton Ohio delivering machines to some Congolese refugees (that's another post) I met T******,  director of a Montessori school.  She had been tasked with finding a sewing machine for use in the school.  She bought a multi-stitch Kenmore that I had acquired while on the road from North Carolina to Ohio.  She had seen the Singer 66 in the back of my car and called me the next morning to ask if it would be a good machine for someone just learning to sew.  There's nothing simpler to operate than a vintage straight-stitcher, so she came back the next day and bought the Singer 66.  I had removed the hand crank and replaced its original motor.

(I only use first names in this blog, and then only if I have permission to mention them. I forgot to ask, so I'm only using an initial here).

The after effects of the trip to Ohio continue to reverberate.  I'll be telling you about another Singer 66 in a future post.  And I have a new Imaginary Friend*, Becky, who I hope to meet on my next trip to Ohio.

*Imaginary Friends are people I know only online.  Once I meet them they become Formerly Imaginary Friends.  And eventually just become friends.  You know who you are--I'm talking about you Linda!