Another Vintage Find

Dial & Sew 752

I bought this one with plans to gift to a friend in need.  It's almost ready now.  When I purchased this little beauty, the inside moving parts were really clean, but they needed oil.  I removed the cabinet hinges after I took this photo.  The light coat of car wax makes this one shine.

Mr. SeeingStars helped me with this one too.  The cord was too short to use as a foot pedal and wouldn't reach the floor.  I didn't think my friend would want to keep it in a cabinet with a knee pedal, so we rewired it with a longer cord.  A trip to the electronics store cost us less than a dollar to pick up a few replacement connectors.

It's working well now, except for a missing light bulb.  I think I'll take it with me to a sewing shop to see if I can find one that will fit.  I tested the light's wiring by plugging the motor into the light plug.  Works just fine, but I wouldn't want to do that permanently.  There's no speed control that way.  Yikes!

This machine was made in Japan and was badged with several different brand names.  From other blogs and a yahoo group, I've seen it listed as a Necchi 750, a Tacony 752 and a Dressmaker Mark II.  This one's badge says Dial & Sew and it's a model 752.

Things I like about this machine :
1.  The color!  I love the light aqua with the white and chrome plate.

2.  The simplicity.  Since this didn't come with a user's manual and I don't plan to purchase one online which would almost double the cost of my purchase, it's nice to see that this one just does the basics and does them well.  Many of the more generic zigzag online manuals cover the operation.

3.  No hesitation.  When I press the pedal, there's no hum first.  No need to get the hand wheel going a little bit.  This motor is ready to stitch.

4.  No extra cams.  The zig-zag and it's few decorative stitches are built-in.  That means none of these will get lost.

Decorative Stitches

When making a straight stitch, the needle goes to the left position.  I'm not sure why this is the design since my other machines allow the user to choose a left-middle-right needle position.  However, I think this will work well for quilting seams, so there's no worries.

Also, this bobbin is an end loader, like my Necchi.  That also dictates that the eye of the needle goes left to right, rather than front to back.  For me, this is much more challenging to thread the needle.  Now I see why there are so many gizmos on the market to assist with needle threading.

So for now, I'm going to resist the urge to collect and fix up vintage machines, but I must say that it's fascinating to see how well made these beauties are and there's a thrill to getting them purring again.  I've had a plan for each of the ones I've purchased so far to be gifted, so I'm not just accumulating them. 

Enjoy your day!
- SeeingStars