Sew-vac for vintage/antique sewing machine

Submitted by honeydewtangerine t3_12500t1 in philadelphia

I have a vintage/antique sewing machine that needs a tune-up. It has a timing issue and that usually means a trip to a professional. Does anyone know of any sew vacs or tbh anyone who works with old sewing machines? It's from the 50s and in great shape, it's just not sewing because of the timing issue. I did a quick Google search and it looked like there were only like 2 in the Philadelphia area, but I thought to ask anyway

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hethuisje t1_je2e1fh wrote

I"m not a big fan of Steve's, they tuned my machine up once, charged $100 and didn't do much, as far as I can tell.

I had a really good experience a few years ago with a strange company called Eagle Enersave, that does sewing machines and... ceiling fans? They've since moved further out into the suburbs but have some google reviews referring to sewing machines, so I'm pretty sure it's the same outfit. https://www.yelp.com/biz/eagle-enersave-thorndale

In fall 2019 I tried to sew a costume on my 1960's Pfaff machine and bits of fun-fur got all over the inside and were, like, melting. My aunt suggested Gary from Eagle Enersave. He fixed the fun-fur problem and tuned it up great. Flash forward a few months, it's March 2020 and I'm ripping up dishtowels to make into masks. Somehow the machine jammed so that the needle and bobbin were out of sync and the needle was jamming into the bobbin case. It was horrible, like the Twilight Zone episode where the guy breaks his reading glasses. In desperation, I leave a message at 9pm on a weeknight on Gary's store answering machine, not sure when the store would ever be open or if he'd get the message. He called me back 15 minutes later, and walked me through a quick adjustment that involved temporarily disengaging the hand wheel in a way I didn't know was possible. And it's continued to work ever since then. A warm memory from a terrible time! Anyways, if I needed something done on my machine again, I'd drive it out there. Good luck with yours!

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ifthereisnomirror t1_je1xlid wrote

Keystone Sewing would service machines for the upholstery shop I worked at. It’s on north second street.

I don’t know if they would work on a vintage machine but they should be able to give you some ideas as to who might do that sort of work.

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grittyfanboi t1_je2d34r wrote

There's a shop in Collingwood that's pretty solid

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samsaraesque t1_je2i20l wrote

Collingswood Sewing and Vacuum -- they fixed my vacuum cleaner. 15-20 minute drive from South Philly. Their website says, "All makes, all ages."

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Little_Noodles t1_je323br wrote

If it helps, I’m running a vintage machine, and I’ve never done anything special to find vintage-focused shops when I want a tune up, and they’ve all gone just fine.

I think I did Steve’s Sew & Vac many years ago because it was near my husband’s work and haven’t needed to tune up again until recently, when I took it to a shop by my work outside Wilmington.

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danbiking t1_je4ke93 wrote

I just took two machines to DeSortes on Market street and he did a beautiful job and lightning fast! The shops been there since I think the 40s, the current owner grew up in the business and does a fantastic job.

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hasthemusic t1_je220nn wrote

I usually go to Phila Sewing Machine Co. The guy who runs it, Mr. Kim, is super nice and super helpful, and generally pretty cheap. He operates out of a dry cleaner's in East Oak Lane, but be sure to call ahead because he's only there by appointment.

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