I purchased a 158-15251 about a year ago. It's in great shape. Whoever had it before took really good care of it. Only two very tiny scratches on the bed and that's all. It looks like new and sews beautifully. I will never get rid of this machine. Just love it.
I have the Kenmore model 158 16540 that I bought in 1970 from Sears. It runs beautifully but broke the plastic foot pedal and found another (different kind) online. My son took them both apart and replaced the new one with my old plug os it would fit the machine. It’s a great machine… thanks for all the great info you provide!
I had a Kenmore 158 in the 70's and I purchased one last year to replace that one, also a 158. I love this machine. I love the free arm. I do not, however have the table, which works for my life. Thanks for the info.
My grandmother owned (and passed on to me) the version of this machine with the cams. She bought hers in the portable case. I imagine her reasoning was that by doing so she could take it and sew at various places (which she did) and sew. Also by having it portable other members of the family such as my great grandmother, and my mother could borrow and use the machine at various times (this by the way made it difficult when I inherited the machine to hunt down all the attachments which luckily I ultimately was able to do). Being portable also made it easy to tuck into a closet when not in use.
my mother has that machine. My Dad used it to do a lot of mending and making things for hunting. She really doesn't use it so I offered to trade it for one of my two vintage Kenmores... but I can't decide which one to give up LOL. Her's is built into a desk which is nice but I like the desk I use...
I have the same machine in the same cabinet. I found the receipt in the drawer. It was purchased on August 16, 1977. The cabinet cost $150. We lived a block away from a Sears store and my mother walked me down and bought me a 148.1937 a couple days after she bought the 1941. I have all the attachments the notes she made when she oiled it! They are both great machines. I'm working on bringing them back to their best condition. Hoping to pass the 1937 on to my granddaughter. The needle still moves up and down when I fill a bobbin, When I figure that out it will be hers.
@Vintagesewingmachinegarage I think you can view the 70’s as the boomer years for sure. Many of us came from very large families- Streets and schools were buzzing with kids. Then the focus began to slowly shift as we grew up and it was time to leave home and onto our adult life. Having a portable machine for me was very important - off to University, moving in/out of rentals etc. indeed it was an asset to have a portable case.
I got one of these tables with a 1914. The table itself was not in good shape, but the elevator and the the flap was in good shape. Rest of it wasn't so I took the hardware out of it. Have both of the screws so I can put this into another table. Cut out the top and put this into a table later on if I wanted to
Knurling is the right term for the grip on the sides of that bolt. I know I've seen advertisements for sewing groups/clubs in papers from the 70s. I haven't noticed them in the papers from the 80s that I've read and I haven't looked at the papers from the 60s. But if there was a sewing club then wanting a more mobile machine would make sense. That's all I know.
Good point about the possible sewing clubs that existed. I sometimes wonder also if people would share machines such as within a family. Having a portable would have been convenient, but I also think that the very high cost of sewing tables might have also been a reason for consumers wanting a machine they could get and use on a dining table. Also, remember that the average size of a house in N. America in the past was much smaller in square footage than today. Space was a precious commodity; especially with larger families than most that we have now.
The first item that you pulled out of the drawer is a "travel adaptor", which allows a North American, 120 VAC, appliance to be plugged in to an European, 220 VAC electrical outlet. Although many countries in Europe have slightly different designs for their plugs, they mostly have basically the same form. Of course, you might fry your appliance if it doesn't accept the higher voltage as that little adaptor is not a step down transformer.
My mom who sewed all through the '70s and the '80s had a sewing machine in a table for many decades but she had a huge kitchen table that had a couple of leaves and she used that as her cutting table. That was what she pulled her fabric out on and she put her patterns out on and she cut from when she finally changed her sewing machine. The guy that bought her old dress maker did not want the table so she threw it away and she went with portable sewing machine something she could put away and pull out and she sewed from the great big huge kitchen table and things were a whole lot better and easier for her doing that than what she was on the old table with the sewing machine it was sturdier more room. She could put the sewing machine on one end and have all the fabric on the other end. She liked that a lot better than her little table. So I imagine that as time went on portable sewing machines and huge tables were more desirable than a table end with a sewing machine in it. My grandmother did the same thing. She had a Kenmore 158. I don't know the rest of it. I've got the machine but I don't remember what model number it is was in a carrying case and she did the same thing. She put her machine on a kitchen table. Big huge kitchen table and put all her material out on that and she was doing it a couple of decades before my mom was doing it I think my mom just held on to her sewing machine for as long as she did because she really loved that sewing machine because when she switched she went to a huge table and a lot of other people. I know today they prefer a sewing machine on a huge table rather than a portable table. Even the ones that have them with the table. They bought another table up to it to make it bigger
People who quilt like the single stitch plate attachment you showed. If you are sewing shapes with points (such as triangles) the points tend to get sucked into the machine if you sew them with a zig-zag plate. As a quilter I have to confess I am a Singer fan (own multiple vintage ones). Singers are great if you only need to do strait stitch, depending however if you are looking to sew garments, or other items and want fancy stitches then the Kenmore might be a better machine for you.
Thank you for another great video. I hate the Kenmore cabinets because they ruin the paint on so many sewing machines. I'm sure disappointed customers complained about this. Shame on Kenmore for not correcting this design flaw. They should have at least added some padding to the metal part to prevent it from gouging the machine bed. I also prefer cases because I have so many machines. I believe I have one of those bolts. I hope I didn't toss it as I had no idea what it was for. Thank you so much for sharing this information.
i have the 158 1212 180, inherited from my mother. it's an extremely solid machine for sure. it's been my second machine -- i messed up my modern juki machine by taking it apart to fix a bad jam, messing up the entire alignment and timing, so now i'm back to the kenmore full-time. (repair is too expensive!) unfortunately the clutch is no longer working well so the needle moves when i wind bobbins, and occasionally on thick fabrics it's not strong enough to force its way through -- and parts are very hard to come by now. basically i'm in all kinds of trouble! but the kenmore is still doing OK for small jobs. if i ever see one in a thrift store i'll have to buy it for parts, i guess.
Cases became popular in the 70s because of table costs (inflation) and storage. Machines were used less frequently (ready-made was already cheaper) so a dedicated table sewing platform was less necessary, just shove the cased machine in a closet.
Great point you shared! It makes sense as well as the fact that more households were moving to needing 2 full time incomes which gave less time to sewing at the pace that prior generations had.
The plastic brown plug is a conversion plug to connect the North Americain appliances (110 volts) to European countries and others (220 volts). Of course, you need a transformer between your appliance (110 volts) and the 220 volts plug before connecting it.
Oh my goodness! I have that exact table and I love how big it is when opened my kenmore is a cam version and it's a great machine a co-worker gave it to me when downsizing and I had had the machine already
Very nice. The version that took cams would have been up at least one price point higher. Back then, pricing was largely a reflection of features; the more you paid, the more options that came with the model.
@@VintageSewingMachineGarage it has a wonderful stitch every once in a while it stitches a little wonky so I'm trying to figure that out! I make bags so it goes through many layers like a champ!!
I am really enjoying all your content and going through it right now since I've got my first antique: a Willcox and Gibbs chainstitcher. I was wondering if you've ever restored one of those or seen and tried it and what your thoughts are on them (or if these machines made an appearance in one of your videos but I've missed it). Many thanks!
Awesome machine. I have one in a portable case. I also have the flatbed version in an almost identical cabinet. The plug adapter is for North American to Europe use, NOT BRITISH ISLES. The presser foot in question is a super high shank zipper foot. I thoroughly enjoy every one of your videos.
I’m just beginning to investigate the Kenmore brand. I have several Singer vintage machines. Have you ever worked on a Singer 319w? Do you work on machines for others?
I have this Kenmore model in a cabinet (with the bolts) but I need a spring on one side of cabinet lift to stabilize the shelf. Do you know where I can purchase the spring?
Hi. Thank you for your work. I bought a Morse Apolo 6500 recently, is there any information you could give me? Was it a good machine? What can I expect as far as performance? Any information would be appreciated.
It was one of the last great Morse models. It 'might' have been made by Toyota given most Morse models had been produced by them. I would date this model somewhere in the late 60s as it still has a lot of "Atomic Age" or "Space Age" styling. As far as performance, it should work similarly to other Japanese Class 15 machines from that period.
I have a lovely table for my Kenmore 1941 and don’t really like it. The table places the machine so that the needle is way too far over to the left. I like sitting in front of the needle. Also, it is too far back from the front to be comfortable. That said, the machine comes up in two positions. It can be used as a flat bed and is completely flat and can be used all the way up in order to use the free arm. Wonderful machine. I also have a 1931 which uses cams.
Hi Catherine. While I occasionally list a few parts I might have that I can list, it is not common. I don't have any Super High Shank feet or attachments available but you can check sites like Ebay, Etsy, etc.
Can you answer a question ❓ what kind of bobbin does it use I bought one at the second hand store for $29.00 and when I bought it home I had my some oil it works but the needle what kind can you help
These use common Home Sewing Machine needles that you can purchase in various sizes and tip types (denim, leather etc). Bobbins are Class 15 bobbins. (Vintage are best and not costly).
I purchased a 158-15251 about a year ago. It's in great shape. Whoever had it before took really good care of it. Only two very tiny scratches on the bed and that's all. It looks like new and sews beautifully. I will never get rid of this machine. Just love it.
I repair old Machines, and I love Kenmore machines. Thanks for all the good information you provide.
Thanks for watching! Its always great to hear of others helping to keep these machines alive!!
I have the Kenmore model 158 16540 that I bought in 1970 from Sears. It runs beautifully but broke the plastic foot pedal and found another (different kind) online. My son took them both apart and replaced the new one with my old plug os it would fit the machine. It’s a great machine… thanks for all the great info you provide!
I have a Kenmore Ultra Stitch 8. It was in the thrift store for $10! A good cleaning and oil, it purrs like new!
That is awesome!
I had a Kenmore 158 in the 70's and I purchased one last year to replace that one, also a 158. I love this machine. I love the free arm. I do not, however have the table, which works for my life. Thanks for the info.
Very cool!
My grandmother owned (and passed on to me) the version of this machine with the cams. She bought hers in the portable case. I imagine her reasoning was that by doing so she could take it and sew at various places (which she did) and sew. Also by having it portable other members of the family such as my great grandmother, and my mother could borrow and use the machine at various times (this by the way made it difficult when I inherited the machine to hunt down all the attachments which luckily I ultimately was able to do). Being portable also made it easy to tuck into a closet when not in use.
my mother has that machine. My Dad used it to do a lot of mending and making things for hunting. She really doesn't use it so I offered to trade it for one of my two vintage Kenmores... but I can't decide which one to give up LOL. Her's is built into a desk which is nice but I like the desk I use...
I have the same machine in the same cabinet. I found the receipt in the drawer. It was purchased on August 16, 1977. The cabinet cost $150. We lived a block away from a Sears store and my mother walked me down and bought me a 148.1937 a couple days after she bought the 1941. I have all the attachments the notes she made when she oiled it! They are both great machines. I'm working on bringing them back to their best condition. Hoping to pass the 1937 on to my granddaughter. The needle still moves up and down when I fill a bobbin, When I figure that out it will be hers.
@Vintagesewingmachinegarage I think you can view the 70’s as the boomer years for sure. Many of us came from very large families- Streets and schools were buzzing with kids. Then the focus began to slowly shift as we grew up and it was time to leave home and onto our adult life. Having a portable machine for me was very important - off to University, moving in/out of rentals etc. indeed it was an asset to have a portable case.
I got one of these tables with a 1914. The table itself was not in good shape, but the elevator and the the flap was in good shape. Rest of it wasn't so I took the hardware out of it. Have both of the screws so I can put this into another table. Cut out the top and put this into a table later on if I wanted to
Knurling is the right term for the grip on the sides of that bolt.
I know I've seen advertisements for sewing groups/clubs in papers from the 70s. I haven't noticed them in the papers from the 80s that I've read and I haven't looked at the papers from the 60s. But if there was a sewing club then wanting a more mobile machine would make sense. That's all I know.
Good point about the possible sewing clubs that existed. I sometimes wonder also if people would share machines such as within a family. Having a portable would have been convenient, but I also think that the very high cost of sewing tables might have also been a reason for consumers wanting a machine they could get and use on a dining table. Also, remember that the average size of a house in N. America in the past was much smaller in square footage than today. Space was a precious commodity; especially with larger families than most that we have now.
The first item that you pulled out of the drawer is a "travel adaptor", which allows a North American, 120 VAC, appliance to be plugged in to an European, 220 VAC electrical outlet. Although many countries in Europe have slightly different designs for their plugs, they mostly have basically the same form. Of course, you might fry your appliance if it doesn't accept the higher voltage as that little adaptor is not a step down transformer.
How you found a machine with all the stuff to it except the manual is beyond me!!!
My mom who sewed all through the '70s and the '80s had a sewing machine in a table for many decades but she had a huge kitchen table that had a couple of leaves and she used that as her cutting table. That was what she pulled her fabric out on and she put her patterns out on and she cut from when she finally changed her sewing machine. The guy that bought her old dress maker did not want the table so she threw it away and she went with portable sewing machine something she could put away and pull out and she sewed from the great big huge kitchen table and things were a whole lot better and easier for her doing that than what she was on the old table with the sewing machine it was sturdier more room. She could put the sewing machine on one end and have all the fabric on the other end. She liked that a lot better than her little table. So I imagine that as time went on portable sewing machines and huge tables were more desirable than a table end with a sewing machine in it. My grandmother did the same thing. She had a Kenmore 158. I don't know the rest of it. I've got the machine but I don't remember what model number it is was in a carrying case and she did the same thing. She put her machine on a kitchen table. Big huge kitchen table and put all her material out on that and she was doing it a couple of decades before my mom was doing it I think my mom just held on to her sewing machine for as long as she did because she really loved that sewing machine because when she switched she went to a huge table and a lot of other people. I know today they prefer a sewing machine on a huge table rather than a portable table. Even the ones that have them with the table. They bought another table up to it to make it bigger
People who quilt like the single stitch plate attachment you showed. If you are sewing shapes with points (such as triangles) the points tend to get sucked into the machine if you sew them with a zig-zag plate.
As a quilter I have to confess I am a Singer fan (own multiple vintage ones). Singers are great if you only need to do strait stitch, depending however if you are looking to sew garments, or other items and want fancy stitches then the Kenmore might be a better machine for you.
Thank you for another great video. I hate the Kenmore cabinets because they ruin the paint on so many sewing machines. I'm sure disappointed customers complained about this. Shame on Kenmore for not correcting this design flaw. They should have at least added some padding to the metal part to prevent it from gouging the machine bed. I also prefer cases because I have so many machines. I believe I have one of those bolts. I hope I didn't toss it as I had no idea what it was for. Thank you so much for sharing this information.
i have the 158 1212 180, inherited from my mother. it's an extremely solid machine for sure. it's been my second machine -- i messed up my modern juki machine by taking it apart to fix a bad jam, messing up the entire alignment and timing, so now i'm back to the kenmore full-time. (repair is too expensive!)
unfortunately the clutch is no longer working well so the needle moves when i wind bobbins, and occasionally on thick fabrics it's not strong enough to force its way through -- and parts are very hard to come by now. basically i'm in all kinds of trouble! but the kenmore is still doing OK for small jobs.
if i ever see one in a thrift store i'll have to buy it for parts, i guess.
Cases became popular in the 70s because of table costs (inflation) and storage. Machines were used less frequently (ready-made was already cheaper) so a dedicated table sewing platform was less necessary, just shove the cased machine in a closet.
Great point you shared! It makes sense as well as the fact that more households were moving to needing 2 full time incomes which gave less time to sewing at the pace that prior generations had.
I just bought a 158.17033. Hope it’s as nice as the ones I see on here. It’s on its way to me.
Hi Sir great video on one of my favorites. Would you please tell us the model number of this Kenmore. ? I like the old ones and have one. Thanks
The plastic brown plug is a conversion plug to connect the North Americain appliances (110 volts) to European countries and others (220 volts). Of course, you need a transformer between your appliance (110 volts) and the 220 volts plug before connecting it.
Oh my goodness! I have that exact table and I love how big it is when opened my kenmore is a cam version and it's a great machine a co-worker gave it to me when downsizing and I had had the machine already
That is awesome!
Very nice. The version that took cams would have been up at least one price point higher. Back then, pricing was largely a reflection of features; the more you paid, the more options that came with the model.
@@VintageSewingMachineGarage it has a wonderful stitch every once in a while it stitches a little wonky so I'm trying to figure that out! I make bags so it goes through many layers like a champ!!
I am really enjoying all your content and going through it right now since I've got my first antique: a Willcox and Gibbs chainstitcher. I was wondering if you've ever restored one of those or seen and tried it and what your thoughts are on them (or if these machines made an appearance in one of your videos but I've missed it). Many thanks!
I've never come across one to overhaul but they are a cool part of sewing machine history and I've heard that they make great machines.
Awesome machine. I have one in a portable case. I also have the flatbed version in an almost identical cabinet.
The plug adapter is for North American to Europe use, NOT BRITISH ISLES. The presser foot in question is a super high shank zipper foot.
I thoroughly enjoy every one of your videos.
Thanks for the info!
Mounting bolt thread size. M6x1.0 About 99% sure. Someone buggered mine and they easily cleaned with this tap
I’m just beginning to investigate the Kenmore brand. I have several Singer vintage machines. Have you ever worked on a Singer 319w? Do you work on machines for others?
I have this Kenmore model in a cabinet (with the bolts) but I need a spring on one side of cabinet lift to stabilize the shelf. Do you know where I can purchase the spring?
I lost these bolts in a move!!! trying to replace them but having a hard time finding it. Any ideas where i can find the bolts??
Hi. Thank you for your work. I bought a Morse Apolo 6500 recently, is there any information you could give me? Was it a good machine? What can I expect as far as performance? Any information would be appreciated.
It was one of the last great Morse models. It 'might' have been made by Toyota given most Morse models had been produced by them. I would date this model somewhere in the late 60s as it still has a lot of "Atomic Age" or "Space Age" styling. As far as performance, it should work similarly to other Japanese Class 15 machines from that period.
Awesome machine!!!
I love it!
I have a lovely table for my Kenmore 1941 and don’t really like it. The table places the machine so that the needle is way too far over to the left. I like sitting in front of the needle. Also, it is too far back from the front to be comfortable. That said, the machine comes up in two positions. It can be used as a flat bed and is completely flat and can be used all the way up in order to use the free arm. Wonderful machine. I also have a 1931 which uses cams.
Thanks for sharing!
Do you sell any parts? I am looking for Kenmore Super High Shank feet. Thanks, Toronto, Canada
Hi Catherine. While I occasionally list a few parts I might have that I can list, it is not common. I don't have any Super High Shank feet or attachments available but you can check sites like Ebay, Etsy, etc.
Catherine Needham: which ones do you need
The plastic foot is a zipper foot.
Can you answer a question ❓ what kind of bobbin does it use I bought one at the second hand store for $29.00 and when I bought it home I had my some oil it works but the needle what kind can you help
These use common Home Sewing Machine needles that you can purchase in various sizes and tip types (denim, leather etc). Bobbins are Class 15 bobbins. (Vintage are best and not costly).