Necchi Supernova

 The Necchi Supernova is probably the best value old machine you can currently buy but only if you’re prepared to roll your sleeves up and do some hard work.

Supernova Ultra

They have a few problems that I see on almost every example that hasn’t been used for many years. They can be brought back to working like new.

When working properly, they are as smooth and quiet as a Bernina 830, and have the advantage of using fairly standard high shank feet and the bobbin shuttle moves left to right with the needlebar, so the stitches are just about perfect. The manufacturing tolerances seem as high as the Bernina, making them extremely smooth and quiet. Unlike Berninas, the cams in Supernovas are all removable, so you will never get the problem of a broken camstack. 

The Power Supply

This is more complicated than your average 1950s sewing machine. They have a transformer, several switches and a capacitor, whereas all other machines of the '50s have a motor and light directly powered by mains. The capacitor, as with other machines of the era, is a source of problems. It is a capacitor pack of three (2 x .0025 and 1 x 0.1). You can safely remove it but there should be a 0.1uF polypropylene capacitor between the motor terminals. See the picture for how I did this on my free arm Supernova.

New capacitor attaches to the two non-earth motor wires

This capacitor does two things: Eliminates electrical interference and reduces the sparking between the brushes and the motor’s armature. In fact the reduction of the sparking is also what reduces the interference. The interference affects all radio frequencies, including digital TV. The reason that you can’t easily bypass the transformer is because the light is 12VAC. The bulbs used for Supernovas are identical to the festoon bulbs used in cars. You can’t use modern LEDs because they require a DC voltage (non-LED festoon bulbs can work with both AC and DC). They fit but the amount of flicker is unacceptable.

The other two problems are both the result of dried additives from lubricants. 

Generally, warming (with a hairdryer, not a heat gun) will soften the dried gunk. Once it is warm, brush it with a mix of methylated spirits and mineral turps (I use a toothbrush) or spray with methylated spirits. You may need to repeat this several times.

The Hand Wheel

The most common problem seized part is the hand wheel.

This is usually seized

Even if you can easily turn it, removing it is usually much more difficult, and you will find that when you undo the stop motion screw (on the hand wheel) to wind a bobbin, the needle still moves as though you hadn't touched the screw. If this is the case, warm it then attack with chemicals. If you still can’t move it, I have a custom tool for removing sticky hand wheels, which isn't very complicated (but it's a lot of work if you only ever use it once). It’s a spare solid stop motion knob that has been drilled and had a thread tapped.

Hand wheel removal tool

A bolt is threaded through this. After applying heat and chemicals, if it’s still too tight, screw the tool on and tighten the bolt, and the hand wheel should come straight out.

After this you need to disassemble the parts of the hand wheel. Soaking in those same chemicals for a while is a good way to loosen them up. After they’re separated, clean the surfaces thoroughly and lubricate with clean sewing machine oil. It should go back on easily and when the stop motion knob is released, the wheel should spin without the needlebar moving.

The Zig-Zag Bar

The last of the ‘sitting around for years’ problems is that the zig-zag bar is often seized. If you change the needle position and the needle won’t move, you have this problem. The solution starts with the knowledge of where it’s seized. It’s almost always at the zigzag pivot next to the needlebar (see photo).

Zigzag bar is behind the needlebar

Freeing this one up is not easy. Before you start, you must remove the black zig-zag bar at the front of the machine, which is held by a clip at the bottom and a screw at the top. Don’t lose either of these. Now heat the bar, apply chemicals and work it with a large screwdriver or pliers. Don’t apply much force or you will break or bend something. It might take a while to loosen this but it will come good eventually. Don’t forget to reconnect the zig-zag bar afterwards.

That should be all that was holding you back. Treat the rest of the machine with the chemical solvent then oil everywhere metal slides against metal.

When it’s freed up, lubricated and the power supply is working, you should be able to sew a fantastic stitch. These are quite fast machines, and have a slow speed switch. The slow speed applies a lower voltage to the motor via the transformer.

When I mentioned how great these are to one of my mechanic friends, he said he didn’t like them because the castings are sometimes a bit roughly finished. That is such a minor thing that it shouldn't put anyone off.

If you’re prepared to do the work yourself, Supernovas can be picked up for as little as $50, but be aware that it will probably have all three of these problems.

Other Advantages

They usually have an embroidery unit, which not only affects the zig-zag of the needlebar, but also the stitch length. These were not at all common in the 1950s with the Elna Supermatic being the only other machine I can think of that was this advanced. Berninas couldn't do this until the 1980s.

They usually have a needle threader. I can't think of any other sewing machine in the 1950s that had a needle threader.

They are central bobbin machines. This means that they can sew the widest variety of materials of any domestic sewing machine. Bernina's awesome 830 record is also a central bobbin machine.

They usually have a semi-automatic buttonholer. For the 1950s, I think the Elna Supermatic was the only other machine that could do this. The Necchi has a cam set on a lever that looks like the brake lever from a bicycle. It has five positions, and moved from left to right, you would be doing 1. bar tack, 2. forward zig-zag bead (left), 3. reverse straight stitch, 4. forward zig-zag bead (right), 5. bar tack. When making a buttonhole, there is a special foot for measuring the length and you should thread the hole in the bobbin case finger. This ensures the result will be very neat on top.

Nearly all Supernovas are flatbed machines, but there are some free arm machines around. They're pretty rare and are significantly lighter than their flatbed sister.

Freearm Supernova Ultra

Singer spade connector power connectors

I had a lot of trouble with these when I started with old sewing machines, because some had been rewired wrongly, and nearly all the rest were in need of rewiring.
Here's the problem: Singer used rubber insulation right up until the 1950s, so if you have just bought a machine of that vintage, you will probably find that the insulation has cracked off, exposing the live and neutral wires.
If you don't rewire it, you'll need to make sure you have circuit breakers and good life insurance.
Just after Christmas last year a friend gave me her stash of old motors and foot controllers. She'd cut the wires on all of them so they definitely needed new wire anyway, but here's one I looked at this morning.

 

original wiring on both sides

The spade connectors were used on almost every electrical machine made in Kilbowie or Penrith. The US and German machines mostly used a solid round pin plug and socket, so I'm only dealing with non-US machines here.
They are all supposed to be wired like this, so if you (like I have) come across an occasional machine that's different, you will find it's been fooled with by someone and my advice would be to change it back. It's safer, and much handier if you have a lot of machines.
The wire on the left was the power cord, the one on the right was the foot controller. These ones actually look in pretty good shape, because they're the later type with plastic insulation. In Singer wiring, Yellow is live and red is neutral.
In the next photo you can see the replacement. Incidentally, you should make the foot controller cord at least 1.2m (four feet) or it may not reach the floor. In Australian wiring live is Brown and neutral blue, so I put them back in the same order. The foot controller wiring is not important, since it isn't dependent on direction and there's no earthing involved. If you switch the live and neutral, you may notice a disturbing mains frequency vibration in your machine. Not necessarily dangerous but it feels it.
I have colour coded them in the picture to make it really obvious. Mains power live on the right, neutral on the left. Foot controller wires are left (with the mains live) and centre.
Do not forget to place the circular clips over the new wires before attaching them to the plug. Shape the wires by wrapping around a thin screwdriver and 'tin' them with solder so they keep this shape and ensure that strands of copper don't wander or break off.

power from left spans outer pins, FC centre and right. It's a good idea, once you have the wires perfectly shaped for the contact, to stiffen it with solder. Alternatively you can use round crimp connectors, but the part the wire is crimped in makes it too large for my liking.

Now, you should note that I have also replaced the padding rubber with a similar width piece of plastic. The reason for this piece is to clamp the outer insulation and preventing the wires being pulled if you're a bit careless with the plug.If you don't do this it will all be loose and you will be able to see the wires inside. It wouldn't take much effort to dislodge the wires from the screws like this.

Finished controller.

Now screw the plug back together, replace the circular clips, test the plug and pat yourself on the back.
When using my own machines, I make a habit of not unplugging the power plugs. It's easier and tidier to put the presser down on a small piece of fabric then the needle down and wrap both cords in opposite directions around the machine before placing the lid back.

And here's a wise saying I learned as a child "There are old electricians and there are bold electricians, but there are no old, bold electricians". 

1950s Phoenix 283 Automatic

This was given to me a few days back. It had obviously not been used for years. The round rubber belt was broken, but it was so neglected that this was the least of its problems. It was also missing the foot controller, but it came with manuals and pattern cams! I was up for the challenge and have loads of the original foot controller.

It was also missing screws for the door!

The excellent Wernard motor had some issues: The capacitor (inside the motor housing) was  original (the only one I've ever seen in these motors), and just under what you can see in the photo the wires were bare and rubbing against the motor housing.

Capacitor is the silver thing at the top.

Plugging it in would have blown the circuit breaker.
The motor had to be completely disassembled to remove the capacitor (which doesn't have to be replaced), and I also found that the field winding insulation was cracked in three places (one was at the motor housing). I carefully removed the windings, cut the insulation off, then put on some heat shrink insulation, which was shrunk with a soldering iron before I reassembled the motor.

The test revealed that the foot controller wire was damaged and broken, so was replaced with a new lead. New lead means an un-needed power cord. I Wired it up and tested by bridging the wires and plugging it in when it's all back together and the motor runs at full speed.
The rest of it was just cleaning. I dusted off the cobwebs and cleaned the exterior with sewing machine oil. All old oil was also removed from metal with sewing machine oil and chrome polished.

I'm not in a hurry with this. My dad likes to work on the cabinets so he's been removing the 60-70 year old shellac and will be replacing it with varnish.

I'll update when the machine's finished. It won't look like new unless I paint it (the finish is faded, discoloured and chipped), but it'll certainly look a lot better than the poor sad thing I started with this morning, and I know it will sew like a new one. Wernard motors are excellent and more powerful than Singer motors. Also, their foot controllers use wire resistance, which means that they never go out of tune.

After a good clean, she's looking acceptable.