Before
After
It was looking pretty to begin with so you probably won't notice much difference in Before and After.
It was just a bit dusty inside. After cleaning and oiling, it's making some beautiful stitch. Another gift from Jeri who also gifted me the beautiful green Janome/New Home machine.
It's a Montgomery Ward badged Japanese clone of Singer class 15 machine. Made probably in the 1950's.
Looks just like the Singer 15-91 I have.
Even over here. Almost exactly the same as Singer 15-91
One difference is that the bobbin cover plate is hinged and pops open rather than slide to open. I like this.
Also, presser foot pressure adjustment is literally a snap.
Feed dogs drop. Handy for free motion or darning.
There's no mention as to which Japanese sewing machine manufacturer made this machine. But there's a sticker underneath that days "RSMCO Model R100". I wonder if that is Riccar Sewing Machine Co.
I never thought I'd be interested in a 15 clone since I already had a 'real' Singer 15, and the real thing us better than a copy, right?
Well, I was pleasantly surprised. It's mighty strong with the 1.5 amp motor.
Test run revealed a strong steady sew going from a flat two-layer denim over the jean seam on both sides (so that's like eight ~ ten layers total) and back down on the two-layer. No problem. (Note: the yellow thread is the original jean hem. Red and white from this machine, upper and lower threads) I didn't even have to adjust the tensions.
I love these beautiful stitch these vintage straight stitch only sewing machines make. This one is as beautiful as the stitch my Singer 15-91 makes.
Here is more about post WWII Japanese clones. It's from Ed Lamoureux's Vintage Sewing Machines blog. I agree, this is an amazing machine. By the way, when I first started collecting vintage sewing machines, I read and learned a lot from Ed's blog. I still do.
Do you have one of these Japanese clone machines? How do you like it?
