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Vintage Morse Zig Zag Sewing Machine Review (and History 2024)

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It simply isn’t like the old days. Today sewing machines are made from plastic as well as their long life can be questioned on a nearly daily basis. The old equipments were made from steel components and also after 50 to 60 years they are still rolling on.

The old Morse sewing makers may be just one of your favorites however its beginning is not so favorable. While there were Americans at the head of the company selling and also distributing these well-built sewing devices, they were in fact made in Japan.

To learn much more regarding the old Morse sewing machines just remain to review our short article. There is much more surprising information for you to check out and digest. Things are never what they appear to be.

That Made Morse Sewing Machines?

It has long been believed that the Morse Sewing Machine Supply Corp out of New York City was the firm in charge of making these top steel sewing makers. Yet that is far from the truth.

All that Morse did was import various sewing machines that were copied from various other brand names. Those brand names were Necchi, Sears Roebuck and also Nihon Mishin Selzo Kabushiki Kaisha as well as if one chose to look closely enough, they would see some similarities between the Morse sewing machines and those brands’ offerings.

There have been two Japanese companies that have been cited as the actual producer, one was called Pine and the various other called Toyota. But Morse as well as his companions hid the nation of beginning recognition tags and no person truly understands that made the Morse sewing equipments.

Rather, they used the brand names of Morse and Mercury to mislead the American public into believing that their devices were made in America. This got the business in a great deal of problem in the 1950s.

The business and their sewing devices were condemned of going against the Federal Trade Commission Act yet what activity was taken is not known at this time.

Just how Old is My Morse Sewing Machine?

The normal means to inform the age of a sewing machine is by discovering the identification number and also looking up old records. For the Morse sewing machine that may be a little bit challenging as the business went out of service in the 1960s.

No person actually understands what took place to the records or if they do they are not stating. What can be understood is that the Morse Fotomatic # 17093 handbook is dated to 1953. So if your sewing machine suits that serial number than it is nearly 70 years old.

The difference between the old vintage Morse equipments as well as any kind of modern-day ones claiming to be Morse is the construction products made use of. The ones made in extra recent times are made from plastic and not older.

If you have an all-metal Morse machine then you are looking at an age in between 50 to 70 years of age. There won’t be any older than that as the firm did not form until 1948. After that since the Japanese didn’t keep records it may be impossible to find the age of a vintage Morse sewing machine

How to Date a Morse Sewing Machine

There are two fundamental ways to date an old Morse sewing machine One is through their serial or model numbers, that is if you can locate documents returning virtually 70 years. The various other is with the sort of components the sewing machine has inside.

Plastic was made use of to create a whole lot of various sewing machine parts. That pattern started someplace in the 70s and 80s. If your Morse sewing machine has plastic components chances are that it is not greater than 40 years old that it is not a genuine Morse machine

If your Morse sewing machine is made from all steel parts, after that your sewing machine ought to be someplace in the area of 40 to 70 years old. The Morse Sewing Machine Supply Corp was just in organization for approx 15 years as well as what Mr. Morse did after his firm failed is unknown.

It seems he was able to rebound from the court choice about the violation of the Trade Commission Act yet that the rejuvenation only lasted for regarding 10 years. There is a resource that says Morse sewing equipments are still being made today yet who has the company and that manufacturers that brand is unidentified at this writing.

Morse Zig Zag 550

The Morse Zig Zag 550 appears to be a great machine The one we found was a boring eco-friendly color yet it appeared to be in fairly excellent form with the motor functioning as it should.

The case appears like plastic aiding to keep the weight down. The all-metal Morse sewing equipments weighed even more than a boat’s support and also were really resilient. This one has actually stood the test of time and its components seem to be in excellent working order.

Our problem has actually been that we were able to find the owner’s handbooks for a variety of Morse sewing machines yet not this model. Even more people chat regarding the 4300 than they do this one. There is an 1550 model out there yet, it may not have the exact same capacities and also capacities as the 550.

There is also a 5500 design and right here is a link to all the proprietor’s handbooks still available for Morse sewing makers.

Morse Zig Zag 4100

This machine may be recognized by its more preferred name the Fotomatic. There are a variety of these models still operating and it seems that they never ever shed their wonderful sewing powers despite just how lots of years have actually passed considering that their development.

Some people have compared this model to the old animation number Mighty Mouse, not just for its color choices but due to the fact that it is a powerhouse of a sewing machine Where people fail when this machine begins to fall short is that they throw the child out with the bathwater.

They think the electric motor has gone poor so they tossed it out. All the electric motor needed to go back to regular was a great cleaning, lube work, and also a little extra treatment. One of the special features on the Morse 4100 is that the handwheel requires to be disengaged when winding the bobbin.

Likewise, the needle uses 3 placements to get your stitching done. The left is for the straight stitch and the center and right placements are made use of for the zig-zag stitch. Then with 4 feed pets and also an easy to find needle plate, your sewing should still go efficiently although you are using a vintage machine

Morse Zig Zag 4300

One thing regarding sewing devices they all have something in common. No issue when they were made, they stop sewing well when their needle is placed in the machine backward. That is the very same problem for numerous Morse 4300 sewing makers. It will not sew well if you do not place the needle in appropriately.

You can obtain the proprietor’s guidebook at the link discussed above yet it will certainly cost you concerning $10 for the PDF data. And also, the machine has the stitches as well as parts you intend to see on a sewing machine For its age of course.

Everything is easily as well as easily situated so you do not waste any type of hand motions while you are sewing Also, the sewing machine is not that hard to uncouple as well as maintain it. Lubricating the machine just takes a few mins as well as once that is done it needs to function well for you.

The excellent information is that the Morse 4300 is not that costly to discover. We saw one rate at eBay for just $29 as well as others have said that the old machine opts for even much less depending on where you discover it. If you can find one, don’t pass it by as the old Morse devices still work like they are intended to.

Are Morse Sewing Machines Good?

We can not talk for every Morse sewing machine that was sold in America yet for one of the most part, yes they are good makers to have. We have not run across a great legit grievance concerning these devices yet.

Although their background is not the best, they were still well manufactured as well as included components that lasted a lifetime. Morse may have attempted to mislead the general public on where the machines were made to make more sales.

After all, the anti-Japanese feelings from the War had not completely gone away in the public’s mind. Yet that hidden item of details does not indicate that these sewing makers were of inferior high quality. Lots of are still functioning like they were first constructed 60 years later.

That long life talks to the quality of the sewing machine as well as the people that put in the time to develop it.

Locating a Morse Sewing Machine for Sale

If you intend to discover an old Morse sewing machine after that you will need to look at the usual suspects when looking for any kind of old sewing machine that has captured your eye. The top place to begin looking would be friends and family.

They might have an old machine existing around your house as well as wanting to maximize area. You never recognize till you ask them. The following area to look would certainly be the classified advertisements in your neighborhood newspaper or totally free classified papers that the majority of cities appear to have.

Or you can use that alternative and place an ad in them claiming you are searching for an old Morse sewing machine If you are not cautious you may be flooded with people discussing their non-Morse equipments.

Successive would certainly be your neighborhood second hand store or sewing machine repair service store. They may have one lying around as well as relying on the owners you could be able to turn a bargain for the ones they do have.

Your last opportunity might be Craigslist, ebay.com or some various other industry you discover on the internet. The rates for a Morse will differ relying on if the owner knows what they have or otherwise. Today costs appear to be affordable.

If you are on the internet you can check the different sewing discussion forums to see if they have any kind of leads for you. Once more you won’t understand till you ask.

A word on The Fair Trade Commission Act

We discussed previously that Morse, his better half, and partners ran right into a problem with this Act due to the method it was marketing their sewing makers to other Americans. There are 3 major objectives of this Act:

  • It was created to make certain the competition was fair.
  • Additionally for the customer to get accurate info.
  • To promote item safety.

In essence ‘organization are not allowed to deceive or trick you’ and also make certain they do not hold back important info you need to recognize. The Act also grants you the customer civil liberties as well as a course of action if you feel you have truly been misled or tricked.

To get the info that concerns you about the Fair Trade Commission Act just click on this link as well as here It will take some reading and also browsing to find where the Act aids you out the most.

Some Final Words

Although the Morse sewing machine breached United States profession legislations that behavior does not eliminate the quality of the sewing machine Morse may have felt he needed to get consumers to assume his equipments were American made so that sales would not be injured by the anti-Japanese predisposition that penetrated America at that time.

The machines are great and well worth the investment if you can locate one. There is no chance to recognize how numerous are left in the country as there is no other way to know the number of were made as well as marketing.

You may be resting on a sewing treasure and also do not even recognize it.

Avatar for Mutasim Sweileh

Mutasim Sweileh

Mutasim is the founder and editor-in-chief of sewingtrip.com, a site dedicated to those passionate about crafting. With years of experience and research under his belt, he sought to create a platform where he could share his knowledge and skills with others who shared his interests.