SEWING TESTS, BUTTONHOLE AND OTHER ATTACHMENTS

My Singer 500A Slant-O-Matic, Rocketeer Sewing Machine

Hi there, After much trial and error I got both the Pink Jetsons' Buttonholer attachments and the Touch and Sew metal Professional Buttonholer to work.

Both made nice buttonholes.  Whew!  So many broken needles in the beginning.  If you have a Singer 500A Slant-O-Matic Rocketeer sewing machine and you decide to purchase the Touch and Sew Professional Buttonholer, you need the kit to contain the General Purpose feed dog cover or it won't work.  The Touch and Sew Singer Slant Professional Buttonholer should come in a box with the buttonholer attachment, The Professional Buttonhole Instructions pamphlet, the Touch and Sew feed dog cover plate, the General purpose feed dog cover, the screw to attach the General purpose feed dog cover, the larger attachment screw to attach the buttonholer unit and it should contain 20 templates for the buttonholer including the rare eyelet template.  The one I purchased as a set did not include the instructions which can be downloaded free in PDF form and it did not include the General Purpose feed dog cover which is needed if you have a Singer 500A Slant-O-Matic Rocketeer sewing machine.

On the other hand, (included in the set with the Touch and Sew Slant Professional Buttonholer), was the Singer Touch and Sew Circular Stitcher.  I screwed it into the bed of the Singer 500A sewing machine bed, used it and it worked right out of the box!  The way the measurements work is that it measures in inches the distances or radius from the center of your circle as attached on the spindle needle to the outer edge of a circle you are making.  In other words if you slide the slider and select number 1 it is one inch FROM the center of your circle - NOT a one inch circle.  So you have to keep that in mind.

This attachment is going to work well for making bullet bras in conjunction with my concentric circles embroidery design for the smaller inner circles.  Yay!

Thank you for reading 'til the end.  Any questions or comments are welcome!

New-to-me Singer 500A Slant-O-Matic Rocketeer Sewing Machine is Back!

Hi!  Recently, I got the new-to-me Singer 500A Slant-O-Matic Rocketeer Sewing Machine back from the Singer Sewing (Repair) Center.  Yay!  They only charged me their normal fee for cleaning, oiling and lubing - $69.95.  Also the owner, Jeff, had found me one of those used plastic cases that fits the Singer 500A or 503A and sold it to me for $25.00. 

The one they sold me has a lot of marks and scuffs here and there, but now I have a carrying case and it did not cost $100.00 plus!


They are very nice in that shop and the sewing machine is working---now!  I had some problems with the original foot pedal so I bought a new foot pedal and now the sewing machine is working properly.  Now I need to learn more about how to use this great machine.  Cosmetically it has some dings and chipped paint here and there.  I'd really like to paint it the light pink color, but I really hesitate as I don't want it to get ruined after waiting for it to be put in working condition for so long.

When I first got the machine, the stitch selector knobs would not turn, the hinge was broken on the nose plate, the bobbin cover kept falling off and it had a terrible smell.  I didn't run it long enough when I first got it to realize that the foot pedal had problems in that the button would get stuck in the down position and just not stop running!  Very scary and dangerous!

The replacement foot pedal is one of those generic brown ones that is a simple rectangle shape with some springs for $41.09.  I bought it here.

The model number is 618776-007.  It is very important that you look at the pictures carefully and make sure that the part that plugs into the sewing machine is the exact hole configuration!  Otherwise it just won't work.

Ruffler attachment.  I had separately purchased a box of attachments from a person on eBay.  All the feet seem to work except for the Ruffler attachment.  I attached the Ruffler, #160629, and although it fit on the presser foot bar, it was loose on the needle bar and when the needle came down it would only come down half way and would go no further.  It hit metal on the bottom of the Ruffler attachment.  This was disappointing.


Now I will need to buy the correct Ruffler for the Singer 500A and according to the "List of Parts - Machine No. 500A" that Ruffler is #161561.  The difference I can see off hand is the #161561 Ruffler has the adjustment screw in a different place.  I imagine that the metal plates below are in a different configuration.

I purchased an overedge foot and a set of two slant sewing machine foot adapters.  I got one of the adapters to work with the snap on overedge foot.  I found out recently that one needs to have the correct snap on adapter to work with the Singer 500A.  If you try to use the low shank adapters or any low shank snap on feet they just won't work.

 

 

 

 This video on Youtube was very helpful. 

 Hope this information helps someone out there.  What are your experiences with the Singer 500A Slant-O-Matic Rocketeer?  Let me know at kathiego88 at gmail dot com.

Sewing Machine After Market Manuals, Painting Vintage Sewing Machines

Hi There!  You can find many sewing machine manuals for your vintage sewing machine online free as downloadable PDF's.  I downloaded the manual for the Singer 500A Slant-O-Matic Rocketeer sewing machine.  It was not too bad; however there were a number of missing pages - mainly detailed pictures and explanations of the decorative stitches and also the color pictures pages. 

Then I ordered this from a person on eBay:

"Rare Deluxe-Edition Instructions Manual for Singer 500, 500A Sewing Machines"   The only selection for shipping was media mail - sigh.  It finally arrived yesterday and was better than the download in that the format and fonts were larger for easier reading and it included the missing pages and the color pages-Yay!  My only complaint is that some of the sewing machine - that is the machine itself - illustrations were lighter than I would have liked.  If they had been dark it would have been better.  All-in-all the "new" manual is good enough and legible enough to use.


The name of the seller on eBay is doriefrie1.  She has other deluxe manuals and also service manuals. 

Here is a link to the Singer 500A manual that I purchased from her.

If you live far away from an authorized Singer service center/sewing and vacuum repair shop or if you lack funds, you might want to invest in a deluxe service manual.  It's interesting to see how all the various parts inside a sewing machine link together and work.

I'd really like to paint the Singer 500A a light pink solid color, not pearl or metallic flake, but I'm afraid to as when we get the sewing machine back, I don't want to chance ruining it by getting paint stripping chemicals, paint or clear coat on the inside parts. 

For the various plates and knobs, on the gold colors I would like to paint them chrome and on brown parts I would like to paint those black with chrome numerals.

You can compare to the pink Cadillac above to see how that would look - there's even black on the dashboard. 

So to reiterate that would mean the balance wheel would be pink, but the gold wheel closer to the machine would be chrome, the thread tension gold plus minus wheel would be chrome with a black plus and minus sign, the brown Singer plate on the light housing would be black and the "Singer" and outer ring would be chrome, the large A-J stitch selector knob would be chrome and the brown underneath knob stitch selector K-Special would be black.  On the stitch length screw knob - that would be chrome while the plate would be black with chrome on the design accents and numbers.

It would look really good I think - like that pink Cadillac.

If you were brave enough to paint your vintage sewing machine, what colors would you paint it?  Let me know.  Thank you for reading, Kathy

While the sewing machine is in the shop.... list of possible feet

Hi there!  While the new-to-me Singer 500A Slant-O-Matic Rocketeer is in the shop to be cleaned, oiled, lubricated and brought into working condition, I came up with a list of presser feet.  I had bought, from a different person, an original box of attachments that had several feet and all but one fashion disks or cams.

Singer 500A Slant-O-Matic Rocketeer Presser Feet

1. General Purpose Foot
2. Straight Stitch Throat Plate
3. Straight Stitch Foot – One “toe” longer than the other
4. Seam Guide
5. Special Foot
6. Zipper Foot
7. Invisible Zipper Foot
8. Roller Foot
9. Evenfeed or Walking Foot
10. Overedge or overcast edge joining foot
11. Free Motion foot/Darning Foot
12. Button sewing foot
13. Buttonholer attachment
14. Circular Stitch Attachment
15. Cording Foot
16. Ruffler
17. Bias Binder Foot with Guides
18. Gathering/Shirring Foot
19. Teflon Leather Special Fabrics Foot
    
    
    Can you think of any others for the Singer 500A?  If so, please let me know.  Thanks, Kathy

Singer 500A Slant-O-Matic Rocketeer Sewing Machine

Note:  Long absence due to illness

Recently, I acquired a Singer 500A Slant-O-Matic Rocketeer Sewing Machine.  I'm trying to find information about how to strip this sewing machine of paint so that I can paint it another solid color - I just don't like beige and taupe.  There are many different types of paint stripping products out there -  some more toxic than others.  I have viewed countless Youtube videos about stripping and painting sewing machines, but usually they are for the Singer Featherweights or 1800's to 1920's sewing machines which were painted black or "Japanned".  Also there are videos about painting your plastic machine, but the Singer 500A is not made of plastic, it is made of aluminum.

One question I have is how do you keep the paint stripper product out of the many small oiling holes in the body of this particular sewing machine - the Singer 500A Slant-O-Matic Rocketeer?  There is a lot of information about blocking all the holes using the blue painting masking tape, paper towels, Q-tips, cotton balls, toothpicks and other devices, but I think those things would melt under the onslaught of the chemicals used to strip the paint.  What kind of paint was used on the 1960's Singer 500A Slant-O-Matic Rocketeer?  Was it lacquer, acrylic, latex or something else?  How many layers of paint did they normally use to paint this machine?  I would be much obliged if someone could answers these questions for me.  I have been scouring the internet, but I have not had any luck so far in getting answers.  Thank you - contact me at kathiego88 at gmail dot com.

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.
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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