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International Sewing Machine Collectors' Society

The purpose of the International Sewing Machine Collectors' Society is to foster the collecting of, and research into, sewing machines.

Singer Model 12K Industrial Sewing Machine

Singer Model 12K Industrial Sewing Machine - sewing leather
Singer 12K industrial strength - sews leather!
ISMACS News 102
March 2011
John Langdon

No, not the outrageous claim of an unscrupulous Ebayer, but a real, live, cylinder bed variant of Singer's New Family domestic; with a top feed (feeding presser foot), on display at the London Sewing Machine Museum. The date suggested was an optimistic 1862, however, the ornamentation is based on the 'acanthus leaves' which suggests closer to the mid-1880s.

Singer Model 12K Industrial Sewing Leather
Singer 12K Industrial Sewing Leather

It clearly has purpose-made castings and seems to have parts peculiar to both the 12K (belt guard with narrow legs) and 13K (external presser foot lift) and a mighty, flat presser bar spring more usually associated with heavy industrials. Underneath, with no drop feed mechanism to take up space, the shuttle parts fit conveniently within the narrow bed.

Singer 12K Industrial Sewing Machine - sewing leather

While wondering whether this oddity was made by Singer, or by an enterprising workshop, Martin informed me of an almost identical industrial 12k he had seen in the Clydebank Museum collection.

Does anyone know more?

John Langdon

Singer 12K Industrial Sewing Machine

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Singer Model 12K Industrial Sewing Machine Back

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Singer Model 12K Industrial Sewing Machine Bottom

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