This machine has been sitting in my parents closet for 20 years and I now have the itch for some DIY. It's a Singer stylist**Zig zag model 457.
I would like to start making some dity bags and quilts.
This machine has been sitting in my parents closet for 20 years and I now have the itch for some DIY. It's a Singer stylist**Zig zag model 457.
I would like to start making some dity bags and quilts.
Should serve you well.
Don't let life get in the way of living.
If it is in your parents closet for you to use at the cost of oil and thread then yes it is the best machine you can find. All joking aside. From what I have heard you cant go wrong with a older singer, some have plastic gears in them, which I believe this one may. The gears are cheap though. Every time I look at a sewing machine on craigslist I pull up the parts for it and look at what the gears cost and they are usually around 10 dollars so you aren't out much if you did have to replace it down the road.
Since the price is $0, grab it. It should do you well as long as it lasts (which may or may not be a long time). The 457 has a belt instead of shafts and gears underneath to drive the bobbin and feed dogs. Few machines did this and Singer did not use this design for long, but as long as the belt and plastic innards last, it should do the job.
Cool! Let me get this thing home and open it up. More pics to follow. I appreciate the help.
I got a similar (Singer Stylist) machine recently from the CL 'Free' listings. Nice little machine, but not the same quality as the older Singers. It would have been a fine 'general sewing' machine.Originally Posted by Ridefast
I opened it up before powering it up or turning the handwheel with any force and one of the plastic gears was stripped of teeth about halfway round. I assume this happened to the donor when she powered up 'Granny's machine'.
That machine might have been OK if it had been cleaned and lubed with gentle hand pressure before trying to 'see if it worked', which is very tempting for anybody. There was gummed up lubricant throughout the mechanisms; the upper works were moving but the bobbin drive mechanism ('lower unit' ??) was gummed up and that's where the broken gear was located.
So my advice is to be patient and have a good look inside the machine, cleaning and lubing and turning with the handwheel (bobbin and needle out, presser foot up) before getting too gung-ho!
BTW, I'm not about to pay $20-30 (with shipping) for one plastic gear to resurrect a machine like a Stylist - $50 to resurrect a Pfaff 1222E was my limit- so that machine went in the steel bin at the recycler.
I would take it to a repair shop directly and see if it was salvagable. IMHO service is worth the money, they should be able to give you back a working machine for a good price. I personally are rather leery about opening a machine, worried about not getting all the parts back in again
well my mother has a Husqvarna sewing machine, and I have become very spoiled using that. but with the amount of sewing I have done in the past, there are a few things that will make your life very much easier. First off you got this for free I assume so regardless you will probably use it. but anyways, you will want at least a few different stitches other than the straight stitch. here is a photo, I will label the ones that I have found most useful.stitching patterns.jpg I have found that stitches A1, B1, C1 and at least one of D1, E1, or F1 serve almost any purpose, but one that they dont show here is similar to B2 but flat. having a switchback style stitch like B1,C1,D1,E1, or F1 allows the fabric to stretch while D1,E1, or F1 give more strength. the stacked stitch similar to B2 is useful for back-stitching if your machine does not come with a back-stitch button or setting. The machine should also be able to adjust the distance between the threading points so on a straight stitch the thread would look like this - - - - or this _ _ _ _ . Other than the stitching settings if the machine works then you dont need to mess with the inside parts at all(I hope that the parts used to push the thread around don't get messed up, because I don't know anything about how the machine works). All the same I wish you luck!
"Never be the smartest man in the room" ~ unknown
"Peace is that moment in history when everyone stops and reloads" ~ Thomas Jefferson
A "newer" machine like the the Singer 457 that has been in the family and stored indoors for 20 years probably only needs cleaned and oiled. The only disassembly required would be be removing the top cover and maybe the handwheel....I personally are rather leery about opening a machine, worried about not getting all the parts back in again
The 457 was produced from 68-69 onwards? Thus the ironic quotation marks on 'newer' 45yo machine!
IIRC on the Stylist I checked, the bottom cover (a stamped steel plate) snapped off with perhaps one retaining screw. Easy, and there are quite a few moving (possibly gummed up) parts down there, and a few plastic gears.
BTW, I think most sewing machine shops would power up the machine, let the plastic gears blow up and then give the $250 estimate to replace the gears and 'service' the machine, since it's impossible to 'warranty' an older machine with plastic gears. YMMV.
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