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Posted by The Southern Gentleman on March 2, 2008, 6:39 pm
Hey Everybody,
Thank you all for your wonderful (and numerous) responses to my last
post. I was actually able to procure a sewing machine for FREE. My
grandmother had a little piece of heaven she was willing to to let me
borrow. She doesn't know it, but she actually gave it to me. Can
anyone say windfall?
Anyway, I now need some information on it. First of all, I wonder if
it is possible to get a manual on what may be a 40-year-old machine.
Where would one look?
Secondly, I wonder where I could get parts and oil, etc. to perform
maintenance and small repairs myself. Everyone keeps directing me to
a sewing shop, but for all the talk about sewing shops, they are not
especially numerous. Any bargain basement store that might have a
little sewing section? A lot of Wal-Marts had, until recently, a
section which sold bolts of fabric and sewing supplies.
Interestingly, in the last few months, every Wal-Mart within 50 miles
of me has taken that section out and they have used the extra space to
expand their electronics section. Cry as I might, I still need to
find someplace to tide me over until I can make trips to the nearest
big city to find a Jo-Ann's.
So can anybody help me to find a manual for my machine? It's a White's
Model 844. Maybe some of you have collected such a machine from way
back? If someone out there owns it, some information about it's
special features would be awesome.
Thanks again to everyone who helped me, and maybe someday I can become
a more productive part of this apparently wonderful family.
Mike
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Posted by IMS on March 2, 2008, 9:48 pm
On Sun, 2 Mar 2008 15:39:58 -0800 (PST), The Southern Gentleman
>Hey Everybody,
>
>Thank you all for your wonderful (and numerous) responses to my last
>post. I was actually able to procure a sewing machine for FREE. My
>grandmother had a little piece of heaven she was willing to to let me
>borrow. She doesn't know it, but she actually gave it to me. Can
>anyone say windfall?
>
>Anyway, I now need some information on it. First of all, I wonder if
>it is possible to get a manual on what may be a 40-year-old machine.
>Where would one look?
>
>Secondly, I wonder where I could get parts and oil, etc. to perform
>maintenance and small repairs myself. Everyone keeps directing me to
>a sewing shop, but for all the talk about sewing shops, they are not
>especially numerous. Any bargain basement store that might have a
>little sewing section? A lot of Wal-Marts had, until recently, a
>section which sold bolts of fabric and sewing supplies.
>Interestingly, in the last few months, every Wal-Mart within 50 miles
>of me has taken that section out and they have used the extra space to
>expand their electronics section. Cry as I might, I still need to
>find someplace to tide me over until I can make trips to the nearest
>big city to find a Jo-Ann's.
>
>So can anybody help me to find a manual for my machine? It's a White's
>Model 844. Maybe some of you have collected such a machine from way
>back? If someone out there owns it, some information about it's
>special features would be awesome.
>
>Thanks again to everyone who helped me, and maybe someday I can become
>a more productive part of this apparently wonderful family.
>
>Mike
There are lots of places for vintage sewing machine manuals.
www.sewusa.com is one; Relics is another:
http://www.sewing-machine-manuals.com/
The best lubricant to use is Tri-Flo oil for whereever metal rubs
against metal and Tri-Flo grease (for metal gears). If you can't find
this, use good quality sewing machine oil found in fabric shops (like
Singer or Dritz oil) and white lithium grease on the metal gears.
It probably takes lows-shank attachments, which are readly avialable.
There's nothing like sewing on a vintage machine, not to mention the
great feeling of keeping it in your family and out of the landfill!!
-Irene
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Posted by Olwyn Mary on March 2, 2008, 11:35 pm
The Southern Gentleman wrote:
> Hey Everybody,
>
> Thank you all for your wonderful (and numerous) responses to my last
> post. I was actually able to procure a sewing machine for FREE. My
> grandmother had a little piece of heaven she was willing to to let me
> borrow. She doesn't know it, but she actually gave it to me. Can
> anyone say windfall?
Careful there. Maybe she did, indeed, lend it to you, and will take it
back if you do not care for it, or her, properly. Or, alternatively,
she may punish you in some other way. (I have one young relative who
will find out what I think of her when she reads my will.) Several
people on this board are probably the same age group as your
grandmother, and we do not take lightly any apparent insolence or being
taken for granted.
>
> Anyway, I now need some information on it. First of all, I wonder if
> it is possible to get a manual on what may be a 40-year-old machine.
> Where would one look?
First of all, investigate the White website - they may have one.
>
> Secondly, I wonder where I could get parts and oil, etc. to perform
> maintenance and small repairs myself. Everyone keeps directing me to
> a sewing shop, but for all the talk about sewing shops, they are not
> especially numerous. Any bargain basement store that might have a
> little sewing section? A lot of Wal-Marts had, until recently, a
> section which sold bolts of fabric and sewing supplies.
> Interestingly, in the last few months, every Wal-Mart within 50 miles
> of me has taken that section out and they have used the extra space to
> expand their electronics section. Cry as I might, I still need to
> find someplace to tide me over until I can make trips to the nearest
> big city to find a Jo-Ann's.
Yes, I wondered about that. There are many cities nowadays which no
longer have sewing machine dealers. However, you should be able to buy
sewing machine oil in your local hardware store if you do not have
anything lke JoAnn's, Hancock Fabrics, Michaels or the like. Parts you
can find on line.
>
> So can anybody help me to find a manual for my machine? It's a White's
> Model 844. Maybe some of you have collected such a machine from way
> back? If someone out there owns it, some information about it's
> special features would be awesome.
White model 844 is probably not that old. I have a 734 which I estimate
is 35 years old, and it is a real workhorse. In fact, it does some
tasks better than my newer, more "modern" machine.
>
> Thanks again to everyone who helped me, and maybe someday I can become
> a more productive part of this apparently wonderful family.
>
> Mike
Google is your friend. First, find out if this machine does, indeed,
need any parts, or even oiling. Your grandmother may possibly have kept
it in good shape. Then, there are sites out there which give precise
instructions for cleaning your machine; I don't have any of them
bookmarked, but some other posters may.
Good luck in your searches.
Olwyn Mary in New Orleans.
--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com
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Posted by robb on March 3, 2008, 1:26 am
> Hey Everybody,
>
> Thank you all for your wonderful (and numerous) responses to my
last
> post. I was actually able to procure a sewing machine for
FREE. My
> grandmother had a little piece of heaven she was willing to to
let me
> borrow. She doesn't know it, but she actually gave it to me.
Can
> anyone say windfall?
>
i hope that is nothing like a 5 finger discount .
>
> Anyway, I now need some information on it. First of all, I
wonder if
> it is possible to get a manual on what may be a 40-year-old
machine.
> Where would one look?
>
google "white sewing machine manual"
most places sell for $10-20
or look for a white forum or white's yahoo group to join... they
will have lots of info for your pecific machine
>
> Secondly, I wonder where I could get parts and oil, etc. to
perform
> maintenance and small repairs myself. Everyone keeps directing
me to
> a sewing shop, but for all the talk about sewing shops, they
are not
> especially numerous.
>
unless dropped, mistreated or just worn out there is not alot to
repair and occasional at that
for any invasive repair you might want a service manual
google "white service manual"
google "sewing machine parts"
then you will need a part number
> Any bargain basement store that might have a
> little sewing section? A lot of Wal-Marts had, until recently,
a
> section which sold bolts of fabric and sewing supplies.
> Interestingly, in the last few months, every Wal-Mart within 50
miles
> of me has taken that section out and they have used the extra
space to
> expand their electronics section.
>
not enough sales due to lack of interest in those communities
plenty of online stores and they deliver to your door
robb
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Posted by trisha f on March 9, 2008, 5:42 am
> not enough sales due to lack of interest in those communities
Actually, the reason behind eliminating the fabric sections as well as
the layaway department in WalMart stores is more correctly this:
Having a fabric section requires that there be someone in the store
any time it is open who is capable of measuring and cutting the fabric
and marking it so that the customer can pay for it.
Having a layaway department requires someone to staff it, and they
cannot be away doing a lot of other things because if a customer comes
to make a payment or put an item or two on layaway the person staffing
the department needs to be available to do that chore.
After WalMart hired several new upper level management people, some
previously from Target, and decided to make the store more upscale and
trendy despite an outcry from the people who frequent WalMart, it was
decided that the three "labor-intensive" layaway, and fabric
departments, as well as the part of the sporting goods department that
sells guns, more expensive fishing reels and the like, would be
eliminated in order to cut down on the amout of people required to
staff the stores at bare minimum levels. This was done about the same
time as scheduling changes, wage readjustments and freezes.
It was decided that since the majority of people use credit cards, the
layaway program was obsolete. This decision was made without the
input of the people who used the department on a regular basis, either
out of necessity because of not having a credit card, because they
wanted to have the item(s) being purchased in a safe place where
snoopers couldn't discover it, or because they didn't want to use a
credit card for the item(s).
It was also decided that home-sewing has declined in current years,
with much more people choosing to buy trendy, upscale clothing
constructed cheaply in third-world countries by poorly-treated and
underpaid laborers. This decision was also made independently of the
customers who shopped the fabric department faithfully not only for
quilting material, but for fabric for garments, costumes, and home-
economics classes for their school-age children.
There are only 30-40% of WalMart stores now that still sell rifles and
shotguns for hunting purposes. The ones that were kept were
considered to be in areas where there were not local stores for
obtaining those products. They would rather not have them open at all
but the outcry from that was such that they relented and kept some of
the departments stocked with the requested items.
In the near future many of the tire and lube express portions of the
store will be closing as well because it is not an appropriate part of
an upscale store and it also requires staffing regardless of how busy
it is or isn't at the time.
What it comes down to is the almighty dollar. The focus is no longer
pleasing the customer and taking pride in a good-quality product at a
decent price. The bottom line is selling as much as possible for as
much as possible and pocketing as many profits as possible, while at
the same time engaging in questionable business practices in the
countries they get much of their merchandise from. After recruiting
workers from other stores in the area when they open the doors of
another supercenter, they edge out the competition in the form of the
independent grocers, sometimes leaving the residents of the community
who have no way to get to another town to shop in a smaller, more
friendly place without an option except to shop at their store. It
is, in effect, a monopoly trying to happen.
I only shop there for things I cannot get elsewhere in our area
without driving a good 45 mintues. I prefer meat from the meat
department in the smaller stores where it is cut by a butcher and
packaged that way over meat at a super store that has been shot full
of nitrogen to add color and extend shelf life.
As soon as we can, we'll be shopping other small places where the
customer still matters.
Trisha in MO
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