Singer/SIMANCO Tools

[Private Lugnutz]

I wanted to properly thank d42jeep for the SIMANCO screwdriver he generously sent me recently in one of our frequent exchanges by showing it off a little with my other Singer/SIMANCO tools, and I realized we don't have a thread on the topic. I have shown these pieces individually in 2oolhound's 'Oilers' thread, in Unaiu's 'Tape Measures' thread, and in Outlaw's 'DOE" thread, but never all at once.

The Singer Sewing Machine Company oil can doesn't have a part number on it, and neither does the Singer tape measure.

The cabinet screwdriver (225498) and the wrenches are all SIMANCO. The DOE machinery wrench with the reinforced square and hex throat jaws is 8910. The offset/obstruction DOE wrench with the hex throat jaws is 29457. And the little SOE with the factory hanging or keyring hole is 42850.

Some close-ups...

Singer, the sewing machine dynasty, was first established as I. M. Singer & Co. in 1851 and, after operating out of smaller shops for several years, built its first major factory in Elizabeth, NJ, in 1863. Two years later they changed the name of the company to the Singer Manufacturing Company, or SIMANCO. Tools and accessories can be found with the Singer and/or the SIMANCO branding.

Honestly and frankly, I really don't know much about the tools and I haven't really tried to hard to get smart on them, either. I'm not a Singer/SIMANCO guy, if there is such a thing. I know they're considered collectibles, mainly by people who collect antique and vintage Singer sewing machines, and there appears to be a few clubs out there who have started some lists of tools and accessories.

Some of the tools and accessories were kept in a wooden box that slipped into a holder on the door of a 1930’s Singer sewing machine cabinet.

Nine4gmc has one, linked here. And I know there is plenty of interest in old sewing machines by the upholsterers here and occasionally up on the Fab thread. Maybe there is some interest in the tools as well.

I will be slow-rolling the thread for sure. This is one of my more patient collections. These pieces were found one at a time over many years, I am not actively looking for them, and I am content to continue at that kind of accidental pace.

But if anyone has any Singer or SIMANCO pieces, or knows anything more about them, or has any literature, please post. I'm happy to learn more about it casually.

 

[DadsTools]

SIMANCO 120140, 1/4" blade by 10-5/8" overall length.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

That's interesting, because I have a screwdriver with a no-roll handle that looks just like that, but it has a super short shank, and it's unmarked. Maybe the ink wore off mine.

 

[DadsTools]

That's interesting, because I have a screwdriver with a no-roll handle that looks just like that, but it has a super short shank, and it's unmarked. Maybe the ink wore off mine.

Hard to say, Lugz. When I acquired this driver, I conducted some online research and couldn't find a whole lot of info. My conclusion was that Singer had its tools made for it by other mfrs, and sold them as accessories to its sewing machines rather than as a standalone tool line. That being the case, this distinct handle may have been another mfr's existing design that Singer simply had them label for it.

My example was certainly not any kind of high quality tool, and the blade had some rotational play inside the handle. I assume that back in the day, home sewing was pretty much exclusive to women, so these were probably targeted to that audience and not made as a 'man's' tools. The lettering on mine is slightly recessed so it was stamped and not just printed on. You can see from the handle wear that if it was just printed on the surface the lettering would be long gone.

It was found in a lot of screwdrivers where I could positively date some of the pieces from the 1930s through 1950s, so I assume this driver is from that same time period. Since some of these drivers in the lot were high quality, and so, considering the wear on the handle (unlikely to have been caused by the wife's occasional use on a sewing machine), I suspect this example somehow made its way to the workshop.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

...Singer had its tools made for it by other mfrs, and sold them as accessories to its sewing machines rather than as a standalone tool line.

Agreed, accessories, and strictly aimed at maintenance of Singer Sewing Machine Company machines. But it's my understanding that they also offered maintenance services, with traveling repairmen, similar to NCR, just to name an example. They would've been servicing industrial grade machines in factories, too,ostensibly. One of my great-aunts worked at a place called Scotty's Fashions in my hometown that made apparel for brand names in NYC, for example. I have vivid memories of walking by there as a kid in the summers with the doors flung wide open for circulation watching rows and rows of women with the machines whirring away. I can imagine the tools being used by visiting repairmen, or hanging in a little tool shop in a closet of a place like that where a man was hired to maintain the machines.

My example was certainly not any kind of high quality tool, and the blade had some rotational play inside the handle.

Mine seems well-made, although the handle has a split in it. The ferrule is unusual. Finger-jointed. It also has a special tip.

This is the only no-roll handle screwdriver I have.

I assume that back in the day, home sewing was pretty much exclusive to women, so these were probably targeted to that audience and not made as a 'man's' tools.

As I alluded to above, I think their application was beyond home sewing use. The wrenches in my collection are forged and as robust and well-made as any early automotive or machine tools I have. But again, I haven't really researched it vigorously and thoroughly.

 

[DadsTools]

Yes, the handle on yours is similar, and the driver looks much better made than mine. It appears on yours that there is one flat side and one rounded side on the handle if I'm seeing it correctly. The one I have is flat on both opposite sides, though it may be hard to see in the photos. I can see the wrenches you have are well made, but I can't imagine my screwdriver being used in a commercial or industrial application.

Ah, yes, the old USA clothing industry. I worked as a teen at Bellmawr Industries where we wove double-knit fabric and prepared it to be sent out to clothing makers. It was knitted in a tube on round knitting machines, wound in a roll, then sent to the other facility to be split flat, heat set and steam framed. The knitting latches were tensioned in the machine with rubber bands--if a band broke when your hand was in the wrong place, the latch would harpoon you. No open doors or even fans at the knitting mill! It would disturb the threads. During the summer, at least once a week a woman would be carried out from passing out in the heat. A literal sweat shop. Brutal. But a different era to be sure.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Now a little more engaged and curious than I have ever been before about these Singer/SIMANCO tools I have found, I did a little productive research this morning.

First, I discovered that early Singer manufacturing and marketing practices show up in a lot of modern non-fiction books about business, maybe even moreso than Ford. Those references confirmed my vague superficial understanding about Singer's repair services, heralded by the authors as unprecedented at that time. It was interesting reading.

Secondly, I found a source for dozens of free (PDF) vintage Singer sewing machine manuals, from the late 1800's to the 1960's, on a website owned by the International Sewing Machine Collectors Society (ISMACS), linked here. Paging through those further confirmed and elaborated on the repair services, which evolved from mechanically-savvy traveling salesmen at the turn of the century...

...to dedicated Singer sewing centers. While all the manuals include lubrication instructions, none of them mention any maintenance tools, and all of them stress the importance of contacting a Singer representative or going to the nearest Singer center.

According to the Singer site, these shops numbered 600 nationally in 1951.

I have concluded that oil bottles and later oil cans were considered accessories with spare needles and operational tools, like scissors, seam guides, etc., although there was some indication that simple screwdrivers (with a wire loop handle) were also part of an "attachments" package. Whereas heavier tools like wrenches and perhaps the heavier duty screwdrivers are most likely from repairmen and repair shops. So I probably have a mixed bag going, not a kit.

I do have a few queries out there now, to the ISMACS site owner, as well as a Singer machine guru out there, linked here, about tools and accessories.

 

[ndnchf]

Just slightly related. I was refurbishing this Singer 31-15 a couple years ago. It had the oil can holder, but the rare Singer oil can was missing. Out of pure luck, I found one in an antique mall just as I was finishing the machine. It mounts to the right side, below the table.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Slightly? That's perfectly on topic, Chief! The tools, whether used by the owner/user or by these traveling or service center technicians, are inseparable topics from the various components and the fasteners and the lubrication ports and points on the machines. Yours looks terrific, by the way. Thanks for classing up my thread.

 

[ndnchf]

Glad you like it

This is another one I did - A Singer 29-4 from 1916. It had fallen over and had some broken walking foot parts. But I was able to refurb it and get it running nicely. While not an original, period tool - here I'm using a dial indicator to measure the bell crank lever and motion ring parts to see how much wear I had on the walking foot parts.

 

[DadsTools]

I have concluded that oil bottles and later oil cans were considered accessories with spare needles and operational tools, like scissors, seam guides, etc., although there was some indication that simple screwdrivers (with a wire loop handle) were also part of an "attachments" package. Whereas heavier tools like wrenches and perhaps the heavier duty screwdrivers are most likely from repairmen and repair shops. So I probably have a mixed bag going, not a kit.

This sounds correct. I think the info and artifacts support this.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Well, one of my queries for more info - to the International Sewing Machine Collectors Society (I think you're supposed to say that while sipping tea with one pinky in the air...), is probably going to go nowhere. Last night I got a snarky reply from one of them, a Mr. Graham Forsdyke...

"Sorry, I don't reply to multiple-addressed mails.
Why would you require three people to make the effort to answer you?"

...to which I answered saying (paraphrasing), that 'requires' and 'effort' were strong words for a casual query, because there were three names on the contacts page and I included all of them so as not to insult either of them, because it looks like they're colleagues, which is what I was accustomed to, and that if one addressee answered the others wouldn't have to, or read that reply and add whatever bits they wanted, and finally, that if this was how they treated curious newcomers I would rather not ever have the answers to my questions or struggle to get them answered myself or somewhere else than have to interact with rude people.

 

[d42jeep]

I’m really happy that my grabbing the rusty screwdriver has led (indirectly) to such an interesting thread. Thanks for all of the info, guys!
-Don

 

[lardy1]

Thanks Don for inspiring the thread. Thanks Lugnutz for you research and sharing your results.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I found another Singer Manufacturing Company (SIMANCO) wrench at the flea market yesterday, this one an "S" wrench with reinforced jaws typical of textile machinery wrenches. See Pics 1 & 2. It has an unusual size marking (see Pic 3) that is almost certainly not factory. Looks to me like someone punched that in there to help identify the opening (7/16") quicker when needed. Pic 4 is an update on my collection.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Delayed "S" wrench update.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

These were in a clamshell midget socket box in the the bottom of an old toolbox at the flea market today. And just like that, after onesy-twosying it for a year or so, I nearly doubled my Singer wrenches.

 

[Leviton]

Found a SIMANCO yesterday.
A 3.8" overall length, wood-handle, flat head.

Marking on the shaft is:

86613
SIMANCO
GREAT BRITAIN​

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Whoa! That thing is tiny! Nice find. I've never found a SIMANCO GB tool, but some of the best sites on the web for Singer/SIMANCO information are hosted in England.

 

[tshusker]

Here's my "SIMANCO U.S.A. 225??" screwdriver.

 

[four.cycle]

a recent acquisition:

 

[Private Lugnutz]

All steel. Nice.

 

[RTM]

Here is a little something from last Friday, a Simanco 26485 screwdriver, 3-5/8” long, and the tip just a hair over 1/8” (0.129). Got it from a guy who took up clock repair late in life.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Sweet. Is the handle flattened on both sides or just the branded side?

 

[RTM]

Both sides are flattened. About 5/8" Overall diameter, about 1/2" across the flats.

 

[bbbarracuda]

I recently picked up a few Singer tools. I have no idea what they are for or do. The wooden box jumped out at me and insisted I buy the whole group of things.

The flat as shown in the auction ad said small precision tools, and early advertising items.
The "puzzle box" stood out and I bought the whole lot just for that. Actually got quite a few singer and associated tools for early sewing machines that I don't have a clue what they do. They are pretty and shiny though.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

 

[Private Lugnutz]

That "puzzle box" is awesome! I would be inclined to discard the special pieces and just put my collection in there. I like the black metal tin, too. I have a similar one, a little deeper with a sewing machine embossed on it, but it's a PFAFF, not a Singer. I keep my 723 collection in it.

I'm just gonna say it. If you ever get tired of both of them, I would be amenable to a trade that would very likely be lopsided in your favor.

 

[steaks&anvils]

I recently picked up a few Singer tools. I have no idea what they are for or do. The wooden box jumped out at me and insisted I buy the whole group of things.

The flat as shown in the auction ad said small precision tools, and early advertising items.
The "puzzle box" stood out and I bought the whole lot just for that. Actually got quite a few singer and associated tools for early sewing machines that I don't have a clue what they do. They are pretty and shiny though.

Yep cool box.

My parents had a singer machine. It was treadle powered and had the four or six drawers, two or three on each side (as best I can remember). The machine folded into the top, it closed up and allowed the top to be closed over it.

It had a box like that with it, loaded with all the sewing machine feet. The feet fit perfectly on/under those metal tabs, each had a spot. In fact, if you put the feet back in the wrong spot, the box couldn't be closed. The tabs might be labeled/numbered? I can't recall.

It was at the mountain shack (cabin) and I remember playing with it. Taking out the feet and then figuring out how to put them back. I might even be able to put the feet away with my eyes closed.

They sold the box with the machine long ago.

 

[Farmer J.]

Yep cool box.

My parents had a singer machine. It was treadle powered and had the four or six drawers, two or three on each side (as best I can remember). The machine folded into the top, it closed up and allowed the top to be closed over it.

It had a box like that with it, loaded with all the sewing machine feet. The feet fit perfectly on/under those metal tabs, each had a spot. In fact, if you put the feet back in the wrong spot, the box couldn't be closed. The tabs might be labeled/numbered? I can't recall.

It was at the mountain shack (cabin) and I remember playing with it. Taking out the feet and then figuring out how to put them back. I might even be able to put the feet away with my eyes closed.

They sold the box with the machine long ago.

I have a machine like you describe, I think it's a model 66K from memory? Anyway, it will be coming out of storage soon for some attention so will post it up then, along with it's original oil can.. My Grandmother bought it new.
Unfortunately it doesn't have a box like bbbaracuda's with it. That's very nice.

 

[RTM]

Those Singer roll up boxes are cool. Buddy of mine made one a bit larger to hold some stained glass tools, lined with Blue Velvet, using olive wood. Being an over achiever, he dovetailed the joints instead of using finger joints. It’s very striking. I’ve been tempted to buy one, but don’t want to take away from Sewing Machine collectors.

 

[bbbarracuda]

That "puzzle box" is awesome! I would be inclined to discard the special pieces and just put my collection in there. I like the black metal tin, too. I have a similar one, a little deeper with a sewing machine embossed on it, but it's a PFAFF, not a Singer. I keep my 723 collection in it.

I'm just gonna say it. If you ever get tired of both of them, I would be amenable to a trade that would very likely be lopsided in your favor.

Thanks, but I'm going to hang on to them for a while.
I'm thinking that I'll just put the tools away and display the boxes with whatever inside. I actually have no idea to the worth of any of it, but the "cool factor" is enough for me.

 

[steaks&anvils]

Those Singer roll up boxes are cool. Buddy of mine made one a bit larger to hold some stained glass tools, lined with Blue Velvet, using olive wood. Being an over achiever, he dovetailed the joints instead of using finger joints. It’s very striking. I’ve been tempted to buy one, but don’t want to take away from Sewing Machine collectors.

Noble sentiment.

Just buy one and keep repeating to your self:

"If I don't buy this, they will probably just send it to the dumpster on Monday morning."

Repeat that phrase as needed. Repeat that phrase for ANY relic you are rescuing from the devil dumpster.

You can "always sell it later to a sewing collector" (repeat that phrase as needed too).

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Thanks, but I'm going to hang on to them for a while.
I'm thinking that I'll just put the tools away and display the boxes with whatever inside. I actually have no idea to the worth of any of it, but the "cool factor" is enough for me.

For sure. Had to ask! Enjoy.

 

[Farmer J.]

I got My Grandmother's Singer machine out of storage today.. here's a few pics. With it is an electric motor with a belt pulley on it, and a light as well as the foot control. Seemingly in order to convert the treadle machine to electric power. When she bought this machine new the idea of having electric power in remote country cottages was just a dream so it's treadle powered. I think she bought the electric conversion later but never fitted it having got used to treadle power!

 

[Farmer J.]

Here's a few more pics of the complete machine and cabinet arrangement. The machine sits within the top of the cabinet and has a natty spring loaded counterweight system to lift it up for working position. When it's closed the whole thing locks up even the side drawers lock shut with a mechanism same as a tool chest.
100 years of spare buttons in the drawers.
During WW1 my Grandmother worked stitching the fabric for aircraft, and she bought this machine as soon as the war was over and used it for the rest of her life.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

That's fantastic - and really bringing back memories. My brothers and I had three pairs of pants when we were young: church, school, and play. When we outgrew the church or school pants and the hem needed to be let out and resewn or we had holes in our jeans, we took them to our grandmother to be mended. If there was coal to be shoveled into the furnace while she worked on them, that's what we did. If not, we'd watch her. Funny how she made the same expressions when she was cooking, almost willing the work along magically with her voice. It's so strange to think about it now. We really had no concept of how poor we were. It never crossed our minds.

Is that a glass oil bottle?! Love it.

 

[Farmer J.]

That's fantastic - and really bringing back memories. My brothers and I had three pairs of pants when we were young: church, school, and play. When we outgrew the church or school pants and the hem needed to be let out and resewn or we had holes in our jeans, we took them to our grandmother to be mended. If there was coal to be shoveled into the furnace while she worked on them, that's what we did. If not, we'd watch her. Funny how she made the same expressions when she was cooking, almost willing the work along magically with her voice. It's so strange to think about it now. We really had no concept of how poor we were. It never crossed our minds.

Is that a glass oil bottle?! Love it.

Pleased you enjoyed it.. our memories are very similar, except i had trousers for church, school, and then WORK..! I split and carried logs instead of coal whilst Grandma sang hyms and sewed my jeans.. Surely, we are now at least rich in memories.
It is a genuine glass oil bottle, with the oil can next to it that came with the machine. One of the best things about it is the evocative smell of the oil, Grandma's house always smelled faintly of that as the machine was kept to the side of the fireplace right next to her chair. When not sewing she did knitting ( I still have some of the socks) and a patch of veneer on the sewing machine is worn right through where she put her knitting needles down!
I will take some pics soon of a Singer USA tool i found in one of the drawers, and see if we can identify it.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

will take some pics soon of a Singer USA tool i found in one of the drawers, and see if we can identify it

Looking forward to it!

except i had trousers for church, school, and then WORK

The play pants did double duty! Saturday mornings were for chores and we were not released until they were complete. Some of them were fun. Like gathering junk and riding along on the trip to the dump with Dad. (And I swear I can still neurologically summon the smell of burning leaves on command.) But it wasn't all masculine roughnecking. We worked for Mom, too. (Damn the French for making doors with so many glass panes to clean!) My brothers and I - and all our respective wives - thank her for her adamance.

 

[Farmer J.]

Here's a selection of the accessories and alternative parts I found in the machine drawers.
**** I have not read the instruction book yet, it's soaked in oil and being dried out****
The instructions probably say what these are, and I expect someone with more knowledge may recognise them.