Sewing Vloggers

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

My New Baby, a Morse 4300 Fotomatic



I have been on the lookout for a while now for a heavier duty machine to use in my bag making. I love my true and loyal Pfaff. I plan on making a lot of bags for gifts for the holidays and the last time I did that I knocked the Pfaff out of time. I was looking for one of those prized tanks from the 50's - 60s. DH and I found it a church rummage sale this past weekend for 5.00 dollars. I think he was more smitten than me and has been surprising in step with this purchase and the rejuvenation process. Gotta love that guy! I spent most of Sunday taking plates off, watching tiny screws, and buffing, buffing, buffing. I think it looks great. Now to get it running like I know it will. You machine sharpies out there will notice the bobbin winder is missing. It's in the egg cup! I took it apart for cleaning and at that point needed to make dinner. In my excitement I grabbed the camera and started shooting.

I think this throat plate is just amazing. What a mirror! I used jeweler's rouge on all the shiny parts and it did an excellent job. This machine was made by Toyota in Japan in the 50-60s and my research tells me the finish on the head is car paint. All I have left to do is to put some Turtle Wax to it and the exterior will be done.
It does twin needle, buttonholes, blind hem, straight and zigzag and has an adjustable pressure. I love it's retro look. I have found someone to work on the inside and will visit them today. The motor runs like a top, and the big wheel spins, but nothing else moves left of the wheel. The light even works. After poking around with the guts and trying all sorts of things we both agree that it is something really simple as the motor runs so well. When I opened the back plate there was a spring on the bed. Hopefully we will have the mystery solved soon. If nothing else, this was a cheap date, giving me great pleasure with all the detailing for a Sunday afternoon. 

As far as the history of the machine, it is always fun to know a little bit. This belonged to the aunt of a forty something volunteer at the church sale. She said her aunt got it as a wedding gift, used it 2-3 years and then it became a hall table until today. How many sewing machines in cabinets became lamp holders? I bet a lot still are.
So consider yourselves formally introduced to my new friend, Morse. I hope we will all be able to spend lots of quality time together......Bunny
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For the Sew Beautiful Blog Tour either scroll down a bit further or click on the box in the side bar. Thanks for visiting and hope you come again and often......Bunny

18 comments:

  1. I too love old machines. What a beauty! And what a great deal.

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  2. Wow! That's an awesome find, it look hardly touched. It's a beauty, ENJOY!

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  3. I've never heard of a Morse. It looks sturdy, and I bet something is just 'froze up'. I know you will sew on it many hours.

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  4. Beautiful machine, what a great find! By the way, I picked up an Indygo Junction purse pattern today and thought, "I need to do this... for Bunny!" I will make you proud, promise!

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  5. WOW- I have never seen anything more beautiful - except my children. I just love it! That's it - I'm coming to the US. I wonder if something like this would fit in hand luggage - hmm? Ps found my ironing board cover with grid - June Tailor - Press-mate, here in Australia.
    Thank you for your pictures.

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  6. Beautiful, Bunny -- and you did a spectacular job on the finish work!

    It's got all the panache of an American vintage car, including that fantastic retro "grille". Great find for you; great home for it!

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  7. Great fine,the machine looks brand new and for $5.00!! I'm sure you'd hava lots of fun with it.

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  8. That is a beautiful machine! Wow-she looks brand new.

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  9. A beauty Bunny. I have gained a real appreciation for vintage machines. My Viking is absolutely flawless, but my old Singer could use some turtle wax. What a great idea.

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  10. I have this same machine! My mother-in-law inherited it from her Aunt and gave it to me when she heard I had an interest in sewing, but no machine. It gave me a lot of fits, but got the job done until I got a new machine. I didn't know anything about having them serviced back then, but suspect if I had taken it in it would have given me much less trouble. I plan to eventually get it back out and spruced up and either pass it on to someone interested in sewing that doesn't have a machine or save it for one of my girls.

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  11. OMG what a cool machine! I found an 82 Bernina Nova at the thrift shop. It's built like a tank. They don't make them like they used to!

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  12. Hello I came across your blog when I was researching about the Morse sewing machine. I am considering buying this same make and model and wondered if you still love yours. My find isn't $5, it's $125. What do you think? Worth it or not? Thank you!
    Fawn

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    1. It is worth every penny of the $125!. Since it has been so long since you posted, I can only hope that you purchased the machine and that it has been as good of a machine for you as the one I purchased in a beautiful cabinet in June 2019 for $250 after it had been converted to a treadle machine since I live off the grid.

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  13. You probably just have the clutch disengaged. tighten the inner small wheel while holding the larger outer wheel. you may have done this already. if so sorry.

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  14. Pretty late to be posting, but happened to run across this. I just got the same model from Goodwill and am so love its looks. There is something missing on the presser bar so that it is not stable. You have encouraged me that this machine is worth putting a little money into it to get that fixed. I love tinkering with old machines, but don't know much and don't have a similar one to use as a template. Do you have a schematic that shows the parts and how they go together? I have looked online and haven't found anything. A user's manual won't have that level of detail. Thanks so much. I love your blog because of your high level of detail and enjoyment of sewing with a high level of quality.

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  15. This technical post helps me to improve my skills ,thanks for this wonder post I expect your upcoming blog, so keep sharing. Buy Instagram Followers In India

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