So, here it is, Canada Day, and we’re on our way to see a sewing machine.
I found an ad in Kijiji about a week ago, for an Elna open arm sewing machine. My OSMG (Old sewing machine guy) keeps extolling the virtues of Elna machines, telling me they’re Swiss made, and very good running machines. I figured what the heck, the asking price is decent, so I sent off an email asking for information, and a picture, if they had one. I didn’t hear back right away, so I figured this one was sold.
A few days later, there were 2 replies in my mail. Yes, they still had it and the second was a picture of the machine.
I could see from the picture that it was two-tone brown and beige and that there was some writing on the arm, but couldn’t read it.
Off to google images. I managed to identify it as a Supermatic, and the reading suggested that the color pegs it as 1958 – 1963.
The Supermatic uses Cams, and apparently there’s a bidding war on Ebay when they pop up. Interesting.
This model isn’t without flaws. Several places online talk about the drive pulley problem. There’s a problem when this machine sits for a period of time, as short as a week, where the pressure from the hand wheel being engaged (so the machine can put the power from the motor to the needlebar and feed dogs) creates a flat spot on the pulley. This causes the machine to be loud, and in some cases, parts can be broken or rattle loose.
From what I can tell, there are still replacement pulleys available, so this does not write off the machine. The gotcha is that the pulley requires a special tool to install it. I’ve also seen some people “fix” the flat spot by filing it off. It will be interesting to see this problem in person.
I sent back an email that I’d like to come see it, and asked if the machine came with its toolbox, or any attachments.
No attachments.
The couple who have it have said it belonged to his mom or grandma. From what I understand, she didn’t sew a lot, so I’m very interested in what the condition of the machine will be. I described the pulley problem over the phone, and it seems that they’ve confirmed that it has it.
We’re about 15 minutes away now, headed well into farm country.
