The 347 mannequin was a well-liked addition to the Singer Manufacturing Firm’s intensive line of home stitching machines. This strong, electrical mannequin was manufactured primarily within the Sixties and featured a particular slant-shank design, accommodating a variety of attachments for varied stitching duties, from fundamental mending to ornamental stitching. Recognized for its clean operation and durable building, this particular mannequin supplied customers a dependable platform for numerous stitching tasks.
This machine represented a big step ahead in residence stitching expertise. Its electrical motor freed customers from the restrictions of handbook machines, permitting for higher pace and management. The slant-shank design expanded its versatility, accepting specialised attachments for buttonholing, embroidery, and different superior methods. This accessibility made complicated stitching tasks manageable for residence customers, additional solidifying the stitching machine’s function as a family staple. The 347 stays wanted by classic stitching machine fanatics and collectors, testifying to its lasting enchantment and sturdiness.
This overview supplies a basis for exploring particular subjects associated to the machine, comparable to its upkeep, widespread points, and the provision of substitute elements. Additional sections will delve into these areas, providing sensible steerage for homeowners and fanatics alike.
1. Classic Stitching Machine
The Singer 347 finds its place inside the broader class of classic stitching machines, a classification encompassing machines typically 25 years or older. Understanding the traits of classic machines supplies beneficial context for appreciating the 347’s options and historic significance. These machines signify a definite period of stitching expertise and supply distinctive qualities usually absent in fashionable counterparts.
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Mechanical Performance:
Many classic machines, together with some variants of the 347, function primarily via mechanical means, counting on gears, cams, and levers. This mechanical operation provides a tactile connection to the stitching course of and might present a degree of sturdiness and repairability not all the time present in newer digital fashions. The rhythmic whir of a mechanical machine and the direct engagement with its transferring elements are hallmarks of the classic stitching expertise.
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Development and Supplies:
Classic stitching machines are sometimes characterised by strong building, continuously that includes all-metal our bodies and inside parts. This construct high quality contributes to their longevity and resistance to put on and tear. The 347, identified for its sturdy building, exemplifies this sturdiness. The usage of high-quality supplies in classic machines usually distinguishes them from many modern plastic fashions.
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Aesthetic Qualities:
Classic machines possess a particular aesthetic enchantment. Ornamental decals, intricate engravings, and the general design aesthetic replicate the stylistic traits of their respective eras. The 347, with its clear traces and practical design, embodies the mid-century fashionable aesthetic. This visible enchantment contributes to their collectibility and desirability as ornamental in addition to practical objects.
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Historic Significance:
Classic stitching machines supply a tangible hyperlink to the historical past of stitching and style. They replicate the evolution of stitching expertise and the altering function of residence stitching in society. The 347, produced throughout a interval of great progress in residence stitching, represents a particular second on this technological and social historical past. Finding out these machines supplies insights into previous manufacturing practices and shopper preferences.
These aspects of classic stitching machines illuminate the 347’s place inside a bigger historic and technological narrative. The machines mechanical operation, strong building, aesthetic enchantment, and historic context mix to create a compelling profile for collectors, fanatics, and anybody within the evolution of stitching expertise. Inspecting the 347 via this lens supplies a deeper appreciation for its enduring enchantment and its contribution to the wealthy tapestry of stitching machine historical past.
2. Electrical mannequin
The Singer 347’s classification as an electrical mannequin signifies an important technological development in residence stitching. Previous to widespread electrification, treadle-powered machines dominated the home market, requiring bodily exertion and limiting pace management. The appearance of electrical motors remodeled the stitching expertise, providing elevated pace, precision, and ease of use. This transition freed customers from the bodily calls for of treadle operation, permitting for longer stitching classes and extra intricate tasks. The 347’s electrical motor instantly contributed to the broader accessibility and recognition of residence stitching throughout its manufacturing period.
The impression of electrical operation extends past easy comfort. Electrical motors present constant energy supply, leading to extra uniform stitching and lowered chance of skipped stitches or pressure inconsistencies, widespread points with manually powered machines. This consistency proved notably advantageous for complicated tasks requiring precision and uniformity, comparable to garment building or detailed embroidery. The 347’s electrical motor facilitated a better degree of management and accuracy, increasing the artistic prospects for residence sewers. This precision contributed to the machine’s fame for reliability and its enchantment to each novice and skilled sewers.
Understanding the 347’s electrical operation provides sensible advantages for present homeowners. Troubleshooting mechanical points usually necessitates consciousness of the motor’s operate and its integration with different parts. Sustaining the motor, together with correct lubrication and electrical security practices, ensures continued dependable operation. Recognizing the machine’s electrical nature informs choices concerning energy provide and compatibility with fashionable electrical programs. This information empowers customers to take care of and function their 347 successfully, preserving its performance for years to return.
3. Slant-shank design
The slant-shank design of the Singer 347 stitching machine represents a key characteristic distinguishing it from different fashions and contributing considerably to its versatility. This design refers back to the angled configuration of the presser foot shank, the element that holds the presser foot in place. Understanding the implications of this slant-shank system is essential for appreciating the machine’s capabilities and deciding on acceptable equipment.
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Attachment Compatibility:
The slant-shank configuration determines the varieties of presser ft and attachments suitable with the machine. It permits for a variety of specialised attachments designed particularly for slant-shank machines, increasing the 347’s performance past fundamental stitching operations. These specialised attachments cater to numerous stitching duties, together with buttonholing, zipper insertion, and ornamental stitching. This expanded compatibility considerably enhances the machine’s versatility for numerous stitching tasks.
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Enhanced Cloth Management:
The angled shank contributes to improved cloth management, notably when working with a number of layers or difficult supplies. The slant permits for higher clearance and maneuverability, facilitating smoother feeding and stopping cloth bunching or slippage. This improved management is very helpful for intricate stitching tasks requiring exact stitching and constant cloth dealing with.
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Visibility and Entry:
The slanted orientation of the shank improves visibility of the needle and stitching space. This enhanced visibility aids in exact needle placement and facilitates extra correct stitching, notably when following complicated patterns or working with intricate particulars. The improved visibility additionally contributes to ease of use and reduces eye pressure throughout prolonged stitching classes.
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Upkeep and Adjustment:
The slant-shank mechanism, whereas strong, requires periodic upkeep and occasional changes to make sure optimum efficiency. Understanding the mechanics of the shank and presser foot meeting permits for correct cleansing, lubrication, and pressure adjustment. Common upkeep contributes to the longevity of the machine and ensures constant stitching high quality.
The slant-shank design of the Singer 347 instantly influences its capabilities and consumer expertise. From expanded attachment compatibility to enhanced cloth management and visibility, the slant-shank system contributes considerably to the machine’s versatility and precision. Understanding this design component empowers customers to make the most of the machine successfully and admire its distinctive traits inside the broader context of stitching machine expertise.
4. Sixties Manufacturing
The Singer 347’s manufacturing inside the Sixties situates the machine inside a particular sociocultural and technological context. This period witnessed important shifts in shopper tradition, manufacturing processes, and technological developments, all of which influenced the design, advertising, and supreme reception of the 347. The post-war financial growth fueled elevated shopper spending, with residence home equipment, together with stitching machines, turning into more and more accessible to a wider demographic. This burgeoning market created demand for dependable, versatile, and inexpensive stitching machines for residence use.
The Sixties additionally marked a interval of innovation in stitching machine expertise. The transition from primarily mechanical machines to electrical fashions, as exemplified by the 347, displays the broader societal embrace {of electrical} home equipment. Manufacturing developments, together with improved supplies and manufacturing methods, allowed for mass manufacturing of sturdy and feature-rich machines. The 347’s strong building and incorporation of options just like the slant-shank design exemplify these developments. Moreover, the Sixties noticed growing emphasis on design aesthetics in shopper merchandise. The 347’s clear traces and practical aesthetic replicate the mid-century fashionable design sensibilities prevalent throughout its manufacturing period.
Understanding the 347’s Sixties manufacturing context supplies beneficial insights for collectors and fanatics. Recognizing the machine’s historic placement informs assessments of its worth, rarity, and significance inside Singer’s broader product line. Information of the period’s manufacturing methods and materials availability aids in restoration and restore efforts. Moreover, appreciating the societal context surrounding the 347’s manufacturing enhances understanding of its function as a family equipment and its contribution to the historical past of residence stitching. The 347 represents a tangible artifact of a particular historic second, reflecting the technological and cultural traits that formed its design and legacy.
5. Sturdy Development
The Singer 347’s fame for sturdy building stems from a number of key components, together with materials choice, manufacturing processes, and design issues. The machine’s inside framework and exterior casing usually utilized heavy-gauge metallic, contributing to its total sturdiness and resistance to put on. Manufacturing processes of the period emphasised precision machining and meeting, leading to tightly fitted parts and strong mechanical linkages. This deal with construct high quality displays the prevailing manufacturing ethos of the time and contributed to the longevity of many Sixties stitching machines. The 347’s sturdy building interprets instantly into an extended lifespan, lowered want for repairs, and constant efficiency over prolonged durations of use. This sturdiness additionally contributes to the machine’s continued performance and enchantment amongst classic stitching fanatics and collectors at the moment. A well-maintained 347 can usually outlast extra fashionable machines constructed with much less strong supplies.
The sensible implications of the 347’s sturdy building are quite a few. The machine’s means to face up to common use and occasional mishaps makes it a dependable instrument for each novice and skilled sewers. Its strong building permits it to deal with heavier materials and extra demanding stitching duties with out undue pressure on its parts. The machine’s longevity additionally contributes to its sustainability, decreasing the necessity for frequent replacements and minimizing digital waste. Moreover, the sturdy building enhances the machine’s suitability for continued use, making it a viable possibility for these in search of a reliable and long-lasting stitching machine. The power to take care of and restore the 347, facilitated by its sturdy building and available elements, additional extends its lifespan and contributes to its total worth.
The Singer 347’s sturdy building represents a big consider its enduring enchantment. This deal with construct high quality, mirrored within the machine’s strong parts and exact meeting, instantly contributes to its longevity, reliability, and continued performance. The sensible advantages of this sturdiness are readily obvious, starting from lowered upkeep must the flexibility to deal with demanding stitching duties. In the end, the 347’s sturdy building underscores its worth as a reliable and long-lasting stitching machine, able to offering dependable service for generations of customers. This lasting sturdiness contributes considerably to the machine’s continued relevance inside the broader context of stitching machine historical past and its enduring enchantment amongst classic stitching fanatics.
6. Versatile Attachments
The Singer 347’s versatility stems considerably from its compatibility with a variety of attachments. These equipment develop the machine’s capabilities past fundamental stitching, enabling customers to carry out specialised duties and obtain numerous artistic outcomes. The supply and number of these attachments contribute considerably to the 347’s enduring enchantment amongst stitching fanatics. Understanding their features and purposes supplies beneficial context for appreciating the machine’s full potential.
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Buttonholing:
Devoted buttonholing attachments automate the method of making constant, evenly spaced buttonholes, a job usually difficult to execute manually. These attachments sometimes make the most of a template and adjustable settings to manage buttonhole measurement and magnificence, providing precision and repeatability. The 347’s buttonholing attachments simplify an important step in garment building, enhancing effectivity {and professional} end.
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Zipper Insertion:
Zipper ft facilitate the exact and even insertion of zippers, guaranteeing correct alignment and a clear, skilled look. Various kinds of zipper ft accommodate varied zipper kinds, together with invisible and lapped zippers. These attachments simplify a doubtlessly complicated stitching job, contributing to the 347’s user-friendliness and increasing its capabilities for garment building and different tasks involving zippers.
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Ornamental Stitching:
Numerous ornamental sew cams and attachments develop the 347’s repertoire past utilitarian stitching. These equipment allow customers to create ornamental patterns, elaborations, and heirloom-quality particulars. The vary of accessible ornamental sew choices supplies artistic flexibility and permits for customized expression in stitching tasks. This expanded performance contributes to the 347’s enchantment for these in search of each sensible stitching capabilities and inventive choices.
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Specialty Toes:
Past the widespread attachments talked about, the 347 accommodates quite a lot of specialised presser ft, together with ruffler ft for creating gathers and ruffles, cording ft for incorporating ornamental cords, and hemming ft for attaining exact and constant hems. The supply of those specialty ft additional enhances the 347’s versatility and expands its potential purposes for varied stitching tasks, from garment building to residence dcor.
The Singer 347’s broad compatibility with varied attachments considerably enhances its performance and enchantment. From simplifying complicated duties like buttonholing and zipper insertion to increasing artistic prospects with ornamental stitching and specialty ft, these equipment contribute considerably to the machine’s versatility and its enduring recognition amongst stitching fanatics. The power to adapt the 347 to a variety of stitching tasks via its numerous attachments solidifies its place as a flexible and beneficial instrument for each sensible stitching wants and inventive exploration.
7. Collectible Merchandise
The Singer 347 stitching machine holds a notable place inside the realm of collectible stitching machines. A number of components contribute to its collectibility, together with its historic context, sturdy building, distinctive design options, and relative shortage. As a consultant of mid-Twentieth-century stitching expertise, the 347 provides a tangible hyperlink to a particular period of home manufacturing and shopper tradition. Its strong construct high quality, usually that includes all-metal building and exact mechanical parts, distinguishes it from many later plastic fashions. The 347’s slant-shank design and the provision of specialised attachments additional improve its enchantment amongst collectors who admire its versatility and historic significance. Lastly, whereas not exceptionally uncommon, the 347’s discontinuation and the passage of time have contributed to its relative shortage, growing its desirability amongst collectors.
The collectibility of the 347 interprets into tangible real-world implications. On-line marketplaces and vintage retailers continuously characteristic 347 fashions, with costs various based mostly on situation, completeness, and included equipment. Collectors usually search particular variations or attachments, driving demand and influencing market worth. The machine’s collectibility additionally fuels a vibrant on-line neighborhood of fanatics who share data, restoration suggestions, and historic insights. This energetic neighborhood contributes to the preservation of the 347 and its continued appreciation as a collectible merchandise. Furthermore, the 347’s collectible standing motivates homeowners to take care of and protect their machines, guaranteeing the continued performance and historic preservation of those classic stitching instruments.
The Singer 347’s recognition as a collectible merchandise underscores its lasting worth past mere performance. Its historic significance, sturdy building, distinctive options, and relative shortage mix to raise its standing inside the amassing neighborhood. This collectibility interprets into real-world market worth, fosters on-line communities of fanatics, and motivates preservation efforts. In the end, the 347’s collectible standing ensures its continued relevance and appreciation as a tangible piece of stitching machine historical past.
Regularly Requested Questions
This part addresses widespread inquiries concerning the Singer 347 stitching machine, offering concise and informative responses to make clear potential uncertainties and supply sensible steerage.
Query 1: The place can substitute elements be sourced for the 347?
Numerous on-line marketplaces, specialised classic stitching machine elements retailers, and even some native stitching machine restore retailers usually inventory elements for this mannequin. Consulting on-line boards devoted to classic stitching machines can even present beneficial leads.
Query 2: What’s the typical market worth of a Singer 347?
Market worth fluctuates based mostly on the machine’s situation, completeness (together with equipment and unique case), and placement. Researching accomplished gross sales on on-line public sale platforms can present an inexpensive estimate of present market costs.
Query 3: How does one handle pressure points on the 347?
Pressure issues usually stem from incorrect threading, improper bobbin winding, or lint buildup. Consulting the machine’s handbook and on-line assets demonstrating correct threading and upkeep procedures can sometimes resolve these points.
Query 4: Are attachments from different slant-shank Singer fashions suitable with the 347?
Typically, slant-shank attachments designed for different Singer fashions are suitable with the 347. Nonetheless, confirming compatibility with particular attachments earlier than buy is advisable to make sure correct match and performance.
Query 5: What sort of oil is really helpful for lubricating the 347?
Stitching machine oil particularly formulated for classic machines is really helpful. Keep away from utilizing generic family oils, as they will injury inside parts. Consulting the consumer handbook or contacting a classic stitching machine specialist can present particular oil suggestions.
Query 6: What are widespread upkeep duties important for preserving the 347’s performance?
Common cleansing of lint and dirt buildup, periodic lubrication of transferring elements, and occasional pressure changes are important upkeep duties. Consulting the consumer handbook for particular upkeep procedures is very really helpful.
Addressing these widespread inquiries supplies a basis for successfully sustaining and working the Singer 347 stitching machine. Additional analysis and session with skilled customers or restore technicians can supply extra help.
The next sections will discover extra particular facets of the 347, offering in-depth data and sensible steerage for homeowners and fanatics.
Upkeep and Troubleshooting Ideas for the Singer 347
Correct upkeep and well timed troubleshooting guarantee optimum efficiency and longevity for the Singer 347 stitching machine. The following tips supply sensible steerage for addressing widespread points and preserving the machine’s performance.
Tip 1: Common Cleansing:
Amassed lint and dirt can impede the machine’s clean operation. Common cleansing, utilizing a small brush and lint remover, is essential, notably within the bobbin space and across the feed canine. This preventative upkeep minimizes potential mechanical points.
Tip 2: Correct Lubrication:
Lubricating transferring elements with stitching machine oil designed for classic machines ensures clean operation and reduces put on. Seek the advice of the machine’s handbook for particular lubrication factors and really helpful oil varieties. Keep away from over-lubrication, as extra oil can entice mud and particles.
Tip 3: Pressure Adjustment:
Correct pressure is essential for balanced stitching. Understanding the strain mechanism and the best way to alter it prevents points like skipped stitches or puckering. The machine’s handbook supplies steerage on pressure adjustment procedures.
Tip 4: Needle Choice and Substitute:
Utilizing the proper needle sort and measurement for the material and thread prevents needle breakage and ensures correct sew formation. Frequently changing needles, ideally each 6-8 hours of stitching time, maintains sew high quality and minimizes cloth injury.
Tip 5: Bobbin Winding and Insertion:
Correct bobbin winding and insertion are elementary for constant stitching. Make sure the bobbin is wound evenly and inserted accurately into the bobbin case to forestall pressure points and thread breakage. Seek the advice of the handbook for particular bobbin winding and insertion directions for the 347 mannequin.
Tip 6: Electrical Security:
Given the 347’s electrical operation, make sure the machine is linked to a correctly grounded outlet and keep away from working it with broken cords or plugs. Periodically examine the facility twine for put on and tear and change if crucial. These precautions reduce electrical hazards and guarantee protected operation.
Tip 7: Troubleshooting Skipped Stitches:
Skipped stitches usually outcome from incorrect needle sort/measurement, boring needles, improper threading, or incorrect pressure settings. Systematically checking these components sometimes resolves the difficulty.
Adhering to those upkeep and troubleshooting practices considerably extends the lifespan and efficiency of the Singer 347. Common upkeep minimizes the necessity for intensive repairs and ensures constant, high-quality stitching.
The next conclusion summarizes the important thing attributes and enduring enchantment of this classic stitching machine.
Singer Stitching Machine 347
This exploration of the Singer 347 stitching machine has traversed its key options, historic context, and enduring enchantment. From its sturdy building and versatile slant-shank design to its significance as a collectible merchandise, the 347’s multifaceted nature has been examined. Its Sixties manufacturing situates it inside a particular technological and cultural panorama, highlighting its contribution to the evolution of residence stitching. Moreover, sensible steerage on upkeep and troubleshooting underscores the continued relevance and performance of this classic machine.
The Singer 347 stands as a testomony to the ingenuity and enduring high quality of classic stitching machines. Its continued operation in houses and workshops worldwide underscores its lasting legacy. Additional exploration of classic stitching machine expertise guarantees continued insights into the wealthy historical past and ongoing relevance of those mechanical marvels. Preserving and appreciating these machines ensures the transmission of beneficial stitching expertise and information throughout generations.
