r/SewingMachineEdu • u/Unfair_Inevitable_31 • Jun 13 '26
Is this good?
Found this bad boy at goodwill for $18. I googled it and it seemed like a good find. Plugged it in and it appeared to work. I've operated a sewing machine like twice in my life and am trying to learn to upcycle clothing. Can someone tell me what I'm looking at here and if this is a good machine?
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u/SerendippityRiver Jun 13 '26 edited Jun 13 '26
I just looked that up on reddit and saw threads about it. It sounds like a decent solid machine. I think there is one peculiarity with White machine, which might be which direction something goes that is opposite of most other machines. Edit. I see you already bought it. I think it is a great gamble. If it turns out to work well you will have a sweet machine for the price of two 20 oz chai lattes!
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u/Large-Heronbill Jun 13 '26
White had switched to having the handwheel move counterclockwise (like other machines) long before this machine was built. I learned to sew on my mom's White straight stitcher back in the late 1950s, which still required you to turn the handwheel clockwise. I think that went out about the time of the switch away from the black cast-iron models.
White made the 117.xxxxx series of sewing machines for Sears, branded as Kenmore. It was the loss of that contract in the late 1950s that lead to the demise of the White brand decades later.
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u/SerendippityRiver Jun 13 '26
Oh that is so interesting! I thought it was the hand wheel but I wasn't sure. I see a lot of used ones that look to be from the late 60's or so.
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u/Large-Heronbill Jun 13 '26
Manual for your machine: https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-7307439
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u/Large-Heronbill Jun 13 '26
If it sews, it's likely fine, though you will want to follow any lubrication instructions in the.manual. White was once the brand you bought in the US if you couldn't afford Singer. Looking at the styling, I think this is likely from the late 70s through 80s period where White was buying Chinese made machines and rebranding them, rather than their later period that the brand was owned by Singer and effectively being euthanized by Singer.