The Thirty & '56 Morse 200

The Thirty & '56 Morse 200

One of the new-to-me sewing machine manufacturers on Sis’s list was a Pfaff. I suppose I had heard of it, but never really gave it any mind. Now, I know that the model 130 seems to be the one so many people collect, although I can’t say why. It seems to be more a fad, even if Pfaff was the first to ever register patents for a zig zag machine. My sister wasn’t looking for a 130, she wanted a model 30: a straight stitch only machine. These are more difficult to find.

Eventually I did see an ad online where someone was selling a 30, but I had to think about it. It was a little ways away, and they wanted sixty, but the reason I didn’t jump on it quickly was that the photograph showed just the machine head and motor.  The ad stayed up for a week, and then another, and then they lowered the price to forty… and I went for it.

In an almost clandestine manner… I met a young man and his girl friend in a gravel parking lot by an ice cream shop half a mile from the interstate exit. The whole scene seemed just a little off, but they had the machine, no one wore a trench coat, and it was only 40 bucks. The young man explained that it was one of several that his mother had stored on a back porch, and the weather had ruined the cabinet. It wasn’t the prettiest machine, but the hand wheel turned and I gave him the forty and sat the head in the passenger seat and headed home. It’s only in retrospect that I still wonder about it all. The two kids seemed just a little anxious, as if they were getting away with something they shouldn’t have.

When I first began to go through all of the machines from that summer, I decided that the Pfaff would be one of the last. I had this feeling that there were things I needed to learn… before I tackled one of the ‘important’ machines. This ended up being a good tack since each machine taught a new lesson, and I needed of those lessons for the 30.  I suppose for those who have done sewing machine rescue before this all sounds like old hat, but for me, it was the first time I had to figure out all the simple things like: which plug goes into what receptor (light or motor?) and where were the oil points.  So this machine waited until I got up to speed.

The 50’s two-tone Morse:

On my home from work one Friday I noticed another sale. Under a table there were two portable cases. The first held an old black Singer, and in the other was a blue and cream Morse DeLuxe.  Neither case had a price so I had to ask the lady in charge. Again, it was five dollars each and although a Morse wasn’t on Sis’s list, the machine looked good.  It had a box of attachments case and the manual, and if it wasn’t worth the five dollars, then the portable carry case was.  In the back of my head I was thinking that if this machine doesn’t work out… perhaps I could use the case for the Pfaff. It never occurred to me at the time that not all machine beds are the same size.

This was one of the first machines on the workbench. I went through the owner’s manual, did the routine maintenance, threaded the machine, wound a class 15 bobbin, threaded it and handed it over to my sister. She had it sewing in minutes. It ran beautifully and all the mechanisms underneath looked new. I can’t imagine it’s seen much use. The paint and graphics are near perfect. The carry case has all kinds of dings and imperfections, but it’s done a great job protecting the machine and the wood and hinges are still in great shape.

 

When it came time to check out the Pfaff, since it had no pedal, the Morse’s case became a temporary home.  It was a perfect fit! Everything seemed ready to go until I plugged it in and it threw a breaker. I traced lines back to the motor but couldn’t find the issue. Desperate, I swapped motors with the Morse, and after making all the needed adjustments, on a dark and stormy night the 30 came to life.  Not only did it behave, it threw down a great first stitch, as if it had just been waiting for a chance to prove itself.

For a while, I referred to it as The Pfaffenstien since it had parts from other machines, but eventually a practically new 1.4 amp motor and carry case was found and the Morse reassembled.  

This 30 is one of those machines that is never going win best in show. The black finish hasn’t aged well, but time hasn’t bothered the spirit or mechanics at all.  Someday though, I am going to order decals and repaint the machine. It deserves it.