Convert Your Mechanical Sewing Machine to Hand Crank

Hi there!  Eureka it actually works!  I thought about the idea of converting my New Home model SS-2015 mechanical electric sewing machine to hand crank for a long time.  Why? 

1. With the coming skyrocketing rates in electricity there may come a time when we can't afford the electrical bills.
2. This model of sewing machine has many decorative stitches that the older models of sewing machines just don't have.  It would be nice to keep those decorative stitches, even without electricity.
3. This sewing machine is portable.

The first part was I had to figure out how to take the handwheel off.  It turned out that there was a little circle in the center that was just a plastic cover.  I pried that off, gently, with a fake allen wrench.  After that I removed the side panel screw and the side panel.  Luckily for me there was no allen screw in the vents of the side panel.  It just popped off after a bit of gentle prying.  Then I took off a clip which was there to hold the handle of the sewing machine on the top and side part.  Then the motor belt came slipping off.  After that I removed the handwheel by means of a screw in the center of it. 

Then I thought about what I actually would need to convert it to a hand crank.  What I really needed was a handwheel with a handle on it.  I looked on eBay and found this one:

 

This is a 12mm x 125mm Milling Machine 3 Spoke Hand Wheel with Revolving attached handle.  The wheel is a bit heavy, but not overly so and is made of a hard plastic with steel parts.  The handle screws into a recessed hole located in the outer rim as you see.  

I put the sewing machine back together including the side panel.  Afterwards my husband took the new handwheel and went to Ace Hardware where he found a bolt and some washers.  It was then a simple matter of putting on the washers and bolting the handwheel to the outside of the old handwheel, making sure that the two handwheels meshed tightly together so that they would turn as one.

Cons:  

1. I can't put on the hard case on the outside of the machine.
2. I would be unable to use the stop lock, formerly in the center, to disengage the needle for winding bobbins.

The results are very good in my opinion:

Now this machine can sew either with or without electricity.  I have sewn a bit on scrap cloth both ways.

Cost of this project:  $13.00 for the "new" handwheel, $5.00 for the bolt and washers.  Time and labor on our part.

Hope this helps someone who is considering converting to treadle or handcrank, but who does not want to go out and buy a whole other sewing machine!

 Thank you for reading!  Please be sure to follow me, subscribe and leave your comments.  Let me know what you think?  

The Mythical Pink Atlas Sewing machine

Hi!  So sorry I have not posted in a long time.  I have made some new pattern pieces for the bullet bra, but alas, my health is not that great, for those of you who know me, so I haven't gotten very far on that project YET.
*********************************************************************************

Today's Thanksgiving Day post will be on the topic of the mythical Pink Atlas Sewing machine.  The Pink Atlas sewing machine is a 1950's industrial strength type of home sewing machine.  The best part about this sewing machine is it is PINK.  Yay!  Hope you can see that in the font colors.  The machine has one of the early external thread tension buttons, spools or knobs(?).  You can hopefully see it there in the picture about 1/2" above the needle - a little silver tone round knob.  I do not own this machine.  The Pink Atlas sewing machine is super sturdy made of steel and other heavy duty components.  It is a straight stitch machine.  The Pink Atlas sewing machine weighs about 40 pounds or so.  The motor is external and is belt driven.  

It's not so easy to find these excellent sewing machines in working condition; however, there is a really cool Youtube video where a nice lady shows how you can fairly easily convert your Pink Atlas sewing machine to a hand crank model.  When you do that it sews so very quietly!  

Why would you want to convert to a hand crank sewing machine?  The EPA and the current administration in the United States is closing more and more coal-fired power plants as fast as they can.  If you live in places where your electricity is made using coal-fired plants, get ready to have your electric bills either A. skyrocket!  or B. the electric plant closed or C. Both! 

Here are NiftyThrifty Girl's two videos on an older type of Pink Atlas Sewing machine.   Video 1  and you also need Video 2 because she learned more about the machine as she went along.

This next photo below is of the "Rocketeer" sewing machine like Jane Jetson might have used!  (The picture below is also linked to wikipedia about the Jetsons cartoon).

It is the Singer Slant-O-Matic Model 500A.  These glorious cam and gear driven sewing machines were manufactured in the early 1960's.  Isn't it wonderful?!  Check out BrianSews blog here.  And the Slant O Matic Fanatic here.

Here is a picture of the Rocketeer in green.  Isn't it divine?  From what I understand, the Singer Slant-O-Matic 500A Rocketeer will sew about 30 different stitches using combinations of settings and metal cams, besides the basic straight stitch and zig-zag.

Niftythriftygirl sells her machines on eBay and below is a link to her YouTube video explaining all about the Singer Slant-O-Matic Rocketeer sewing machine that she had for sale in the past.  Click here for NiftyThriftyGirl's GREAT explanation about the Singer Slant-O-Matic Rocketeer model 500A.


What you really should think about investing in, if you are a free spirited sewist, is a spoked wheel attachment and a hand crank.  These after market parts are made in China.  They are not as smooth and nicely machined as original Singer models used, but they do work for most any sewing machine that has an external motor.

I am thinking of trying it on my New Home SS-2015 sewing machine: update:  That would not have worked because my machine's motor is on the inside and it would have made the handcrank assembly too heavy.

Even though the motor is internal in the New Home SS-2015 - I'll just see about that!  My first experiment was to turn the hand crank wheel on the right side when the power was completely off.  I should have put a piece of fabric in there first -duh!  Anyhow, the wheel turned smoothly and didn't seem to catch on anything at all!  I was later able to remove the matted threads nest I had created below the needle plate or in the bobbin area.

If you don't want to go to the trouble of converting an existing mechanical sewing machine, (this won't work for the computerized models obviously, because there is no way to select your stitch without electricity nor can you change the stitch length or needle position, among other settings), is to just buy one of the beautiful antique treadle or hand crank sewing machines such as this Singer 66 model or "Red Eye" shown below without its table.  I believe this machine is a treadle sewing machine.  If you do buy one of the antique sewing machines BE SURE you have a wooden base for the hand crank model or, in the case of a treadle sewing machine, a treadle sewing machine table for it.  It won't sew otherwise as there are gears and things on the underneath side that need to have empty space to work freely.

You can find the Pink Atlas Sewing machine on Etsy.com, eBay and other places.  You can find the hand crank and spoked wheel after market attachments on eBay and other places on the internet.  You can find the antique Singer and other brand sewing machines in either treadle or hand crank models on Etsy.com, eBay, flea markets, swap meets, garage sales, Estate sales, Craig's List, Antique shops and many other places.

Be sure to pick up a manual for your machine.  If you don't have a manual or, like me, you lost yours, you can get one here from the following sellers:

http://www.sew4less.com/manuals.php

http://www.sewusa.com/Sewing_Machine_Instruction_Manuals.htm

Also on the sewusa.com website you can click on your sewing machine's manufacturer and, for some of them, they also include the service manual.  This booklet can be invaluable.  The pricing on the sewusa.com website is slightly lower, but not by much.

Or you may find sewing machine manuals in other places or eBay and Etsy.com.

Thank you for reading!

My shop on eBay.com

My shop on Etsy.com