Hello Dear Friends and Readers, I hope you are faring well.
Not every story has a happy ending as we all know. I have a new/old machine. My friend, Kaye, messaged me one day and said she had met a lady who wanted to get rid of her machine. I did eventually pick it up and take it home. The lady said it had been a good machine but something had happened and she didn’t seem to think it was working anymore. I said that I would have a look at it and see what I could do. I got the impression it might be a lost cause. I was particularly busy at the time. The case looked pretty tired and dirty. It came with a small box parts. So I just left it undercover on the veranda for several weeks. I finally summoned up the courage to look under the lid, so to speak.
I looked under the lid and and saw it was a Singer, but I noticed that the foot pedal was missing. I was somewhat disheartened.
Singer 760 sewing machine C1971
That was disappointing, so I messaged the lady to ask her but she said everything was there.
So I left it to sit for a few more months…..
Eventually, when time allowed, I thought I should take a proper look at it.
Singer 760 sewing machine C1971
Low and behold, I was pleasantly surprised to find that when I removed the lid completely, that the foot pedal was neatly tucked into the side of the carry case along with the original manual. I hadn’t expected that! In between time I have been working on some quilting on this quilt top.
My enthusiasm was now increased. Obviously the machine was dirty and needed some attention.
Singer 760 sewing machine C1971
The clip in table next to the free arm was stuck down with thick sticky tape.
Singer 760 sewing machine C1971
So of course I removed it for cleaning. I discovered that that was there for a purpose. The clip in mechanism for the table was not working.
Singer 760 sewing machine C1971
I attempted to fix it with cleaning and oiling but to no avail. I think the mechanism is broken or damaged.
Singer 760 sewing machine C1971
I did undo the base of the machine in attempting to fix it and clean out the underside. This is how it looks.
Singer 760 sewing machine C1971
I noticed on the side of the machine, there is still the price tag which makes it more interesting. The price tag says $449- which was a lot of money back in 1971.
A bit of history. It was purchased from a department store called Cox-Foys which was a chain of department stores, the Adelaide one being established in 1907, white other stores in Australia started in the 1880‘s. The base price for the popular Holden Kingswood sedan car at the time was $1,900-. That gives a comparison of how expensive this sewing machine was at the time. It would have been a very expensive purchase for any family. The average weekly wage was $121- according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (I presume that was before tax) and the cost of a loaf of bread was 21 cents. The machine was manufactured in West Germany.
Singer 760 sewing machine C1971
Knowing now that this was a quality machine I was more determined to get it going. It has some quite sophisticated features for the time including a needle threader and a self winding bobbin. I think its a rather nice looking machine too.
Singer 760 sewing machine C1971
It came with a series of cams for making many stitch patterns and some accessories.
Singer 760 sewing machine C1971
Here is a view from under the front where the light is housed.
Singer 760 sewing machine C1971
My next step was to clean out the bobbin race. It had many years iof thread and debris. The mechanism appears quite complex and different to any machine I have encountered before.
Singer 760 sewing machine C1971
After quite a few hours of work it seems that I have found the issue with the machine and why the lady stopped using it. The self winding bobbin is the focal point of the machine. Despite my efforts, the bobbin is not turning in the bobbin race. It can neither wind a bobbin or make a stitch. This is most disappointing. I guess that while it was a sophisticated and refined way of having a bobbin winder, its both crucial and the Achilles Heel to the whole machine. So I’m at an impasse…..
Singer 760 sewing machine C1971
Time to move on….. to be continued….
Please read the interesting comment posted below by Trish. It confirms some history of this particular machine being somewhat troublesome!
18 thoughts on “Vintage Singer 760 Sewing Machine C1971”
Hi,
I am very late to this forum, but I’ll tell you anyway.
I was given a SINGER 760 for my 21st in 1972.
It was so complicated to understand that I was often in the Singer shop asking questions, so much so that they offered me a job – and, hating the job I had – I took it!
I was meant to be the clerk but often ended up
on the shop floor, and enthusiasm must have shown because I sold well, much to the annoyance of the other workers (we worked on commission) .
What I saw, behind the scenes was often saddening; frail elderly ladies were coming in, tentatively looking at the gleaming new machines, fearful of the prices as much as how they worked, so different were they from their cherished black one they had owned for decades, with a handle for propulsion.
Some would ask ‘how I made them go’, not seeing my foot on the pedal beneath. Their previous old machines were traded in for peanuts, and a hire purchase often agreed. The lucky machines had a quick brush down and straight out for sale by the front door of the shop, the unlucky ones; often with sideways bobbins and beautiful mother of pearl decoration, were kept for the area manager, who came once a month – and smashed them up. I saved what I could from this cruel end and have them still, more as ornaments than for use.
My birthday gift, the 760 has given me trouble for over 50 years now; snagging underneath repeatedly. I tried everything, and decided, finally it was the fault of the bobbins. They would undo, were in two halves with a screw thread in the plastic – for what reason – well, I couldn’t see any sensible reason for it, but if not screwed up firmly they would stand proud a fraction and thus caused the whole stitch to fail.
Endlessly I would cut the snag and begin again. It was a special gift, the top of the range, so I couldn’t say what I felt- that it was rubbish.
When it did work it was great, and I used it a lot, but only recently, when I found an earnest repair man* who didn’t just want me to pay for the service and go, did he agree that the spools were badly designed. The ones with a cream coloured bottom the worst.
I do hope yours , if you have one , works better than mine. I am oddly fond of it, perhaps it has taught me perseverance!
All the best.
*the place I had worked at had a workshop downstairs, and the father of the man who repaired my machine most recently had been the manager of that workshop, so we had a lot to talk about!
You see, it pays to chat.
Hi Trish, thank you so much for taking the time to share your experience and insight! Much appreciated. I have recommended that other readers to this post read your comment as well. Yes it is such a pity for such a pricey machine in its day. I believe you have confirmed my thoughts on this machine.
It sounds as though the hook gear may be cracked. There are replacement parts on eBay, and the you tuber “in stitches” shows a repair of that item. You might want to take a chance if you still have the machine. Good luck with whatever you have decided to do. Thank you for the slice of life post.
Mine’s missing the slot upper threaded guide on top of the sewing machine and mine’s a 360 no it’s a 760 just want to know if I can buy the parts to it thank you
You may be able to get one retro fitted at your local sewing machine centre. Or probably look on eBay for second hand parts for that machine. A last resort would be to get a second machine the same to use as spare parts.
My father got me one of these for Christmas, 1974. It’s a wonderful machine and mine still works great — a little dusting and oiling every year. The Singer repair man told me it was one of the 3 best machines that Singer ever made so keep at trying to get it going.
Hi Susie,
I purchased a Singer 760 recently from an elderly man whose wife had died. He said it had been a good machine that she had used over the years. Unfortunately I’ve found it’s missing the tension assembly but otherwise is fully intact . Perhaps we can come to some agreement and at least have one working machine
I bought one two years back from lady who was overwhelmed by all of the possible settings and I can tell you this was one of my best purchase. On youtube you can find some videos about repairing. On my machine I did readjusted the cam for automatic button hole sewing which also positively impacted different stitch patterns 😀
It’s obvious that the machine needs new plastic gears. All five of them to be exact. Not an easy job if you’ve ever done one. The gears are available on line. Installing them and retiming them all is the challenge. I’m in New Jersey, USA. I charge 200.00 $ U.S. for gear jobs or rebuilds. Just to give you an idea about the cost. Gears are a big problem with the 400 and 700 series machines. They went from metal gears to plastic gears. Big mistake.
My mom had one, did alot of sewing. I remember those disks for different stitch patterns. Hope you can get it working again. Sewing machines are a wonderful invention. I own 2 Janome and a Featherweight, and recently acquired 2 Treadle, 2 portable and 2 in newer cabinets machines. All were used by a seamstress locally. But machines sat in house a long time, so need care.
I’ve got a later model similar to the one you’re working on. The self winding bobbins need to have a special bobbin with a little metal ball built into the bobbin. This faces up and operates when the cover is almost closed. I am probably telling something you’ve already discovered but if you need a couple of bobbins, I can give you some. My machine is still working and it too has a walking foot. Mine is a slant shank machine. 623 I believe.
There is a vintage Singer group you can join– vintagesingers@groups.io –that has a lot of useful information.
The International Sewing Machine Collectors Society website also has a wealth of information.
The Singer.com website might also be useful.
Hi,
I am very late to this forum, but I’ll tell you anyway.
I was given a SINGER 760 for my 21st in 1972.
It was so complicated to understand that I was often in the Singer shop asking questions, so much so that they offered me a job – and, hating the job I had – I took it!
I was meant to be the clerk but often ended up
on the shop floor, and enthusiasm must have shown because I sold well, much to the annoyance of the other workers (we worked on commission) .
What I saw, behind the scenes was often saddening; frail elderly ladies were coming in, tentatively looking at the gleaming new machines, fearful of the prices as much as how they worked, so different were they from their cherished black one they had owned for decades, with a handle for propulsion.
Some would ask ‘how I made them go’, not seeing my foot on the pedal beneath. Their previous old machines were traded in for peanuts, and a hire purchase often agreed. The lucky machines had a quick brush down and straight out for sale by the front door of the shop, the unlucky ones; often with sideways bobbins and beautiful mother of pearl decoration, were kept for the area manager, who came once a month – and smashed them up. I saved what I could from this cruel end and have them still, more as ornaments than for use.
My birthday gift, the 760 has given me trouble for over 50 years now; snagging underneath repeatedly. I tried everything, and decided, finally it was the fault of the bobbins. They would undo, were in two halves with a screw thread in the plastic – for what reason – well, I couldn’t see any sensible reason for it, but if not screwed up firmly they would stand proud a fraction and thus caused the whole stitch to fail.
Endlessly I would cut the snag and begin again. It was a special gift, the top of the range, so I couldn’t say what I felt- that it was rubbish.
When it did work it was great, and I used it a lot, but only recently, when I found an earnest repair man* who didn’t just want me to pay for the service and go, did he agree that the spools were badly designed. The ones with a cream coloured bottom the worst.
I do hope yours , if you have one , works better than mine. I am oddly fond of it, perhaps it has taught me perseverance!
All the best.
*the place I had worked at had a workshop downstairs, and the father of the man who repaired my machine most recently had been the manager of that workshop, so we had a lot to talk about!
You see, it pays to chat.
Hi Trish, thank you so much for taking the time to share your experience and insight! Much appreciated. I have recommended that other readers to this post read your comment as well. Yes it is such a pity for such a pricey machine in its day. I believe you have confirmed my thoughts on this machine.
It sounds as though the hook gear may be cracked. There are replacement parts on eBay, and the you tuber “in stitches” shows a repair of that item. You might want to take a chance if you still have the machine. Good luck with whatever you have decided to do. Thank you for the slice of life post.
Mine’s missing the slot upper threaded guide on top of the sewing machine and mine’s a 360 no it’s a 760 just want to know if I can buy the parts to it thank you
You may be able to get one retro fitted at your local sewing machine centre. Or probably look on eBay for second hand parts for that machine. A last resort would be to get a second machine the same to use as spare parts.
I have an unused singer sewing machine. All the attachments. Hand written receipt from owner. Great confition….looking 2 sell
My father got me one of these for Christmas, 1974. It’s a wonderful machine and mine still works great — a little dusting and oiling every year. The Singer repair man told me it was one of the 3 best machines that Singer ever made so keep at trying to get it going.
Hi Susie,
I purchased a Singer 760 recently from an elderly man whose wife had died. He said it had been a good machine that she had used over the years. Unfortunately I’ve found it’s missing the tension assembly but otherwise is fully intact . Perhaps we can come to some agreement and at least have one working machine
I have a 401 A would love to the accessories that came with it. Where to look would be a big help.
Best check on eBay or Gumtree.
I bought one two years back from lady who was overwhelmed by all of the possible settings and I can tell you this was one of my best purchase. On youtube you can find some videos about repairing. On my machine I did readjusted the cam for automatic button hole sewing which also positively impacted different stitch patterns 😀
It’s obvious that the machine needs new plastic gears. All five of them to be exact. Not an easy job if you’ve ever done one. The gears are available on line. Installing them and retiming them all is the challenge. I’m in New Jersey, USA. I charge 200.00 $ U.S. for gear jobs or rebuilds. Just to give you an idea about the cost. Gears are a big problem with the 400 and 700 series machines. They went from metal gears to plastic gears. Big mistake.
The gears are nylon, I believe, not straight plastic
My mom had one, did alot of sewing. I remember those disks for different stitch patterns. Hope you can get it working again. Sewing machines are a wonderful invention. I own 2 Janome and a Featherweight, and recently acquired 2 Treadle, 2 portable and 2 in newer cabinets machines. All were used by a seamstress locally. But machines sat in house a long time, so need care.
Hope you eventually get it fixed after all the hard work of cleaning it – good luck 🙂
I’ve got a later model similar to the one you’re working on. The self winding bobbins need to have a special bobbin with a little metal ball built into the bobbin. This faces up and operates when the cover is almost closed. I am probably telling something you’ve already discovered but if you need a couple of bobbins, I can give you some. My machine is still working and it too has a walking foot. Mine is a slant shank machine. 623 I believe.
Enjoyed the read. Hopefully all will work out.
There is a vintage Singer group you can join– vintagesingers@groups.io –that has a lot of useful information.
The International Sewing Machine Collectors Society website also has a wealth of information.
The Singer.com website might also be useful.