Hi all
I don't come across items made from bakelite very often. Apart from two bakelite sewing machine pedals, the only other bakelite item I own is a bakelite thimble.
At one time, bakelite was everywhere. From door knobs to telephones. As the world's first foray into the world of plastic, it found it's way into all aspects of life. I think it peaked in the late 1950s and then slowly fell out of favour through the 60s and into the 70s as the new and improved plastics came into play.
Anyway, I have two sewing machines that came with a bakelite foot pedal. One is the Singer 301 and the other is the latest addition to my sewing machine collection. The Singer 66.
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| Image by Olwen White |
This type of pedal can be found on sewing machines from around the 1930s through to the 1950s. My 301 dates to around 1954 and my 66 is from 1949. So they fall neatly into that date range. Although it's most often associated with Singer, some other brands also used this type of pedal. Necchi used the pedal on some of their Supernova range.
You'll find the bakelite pedal is particularly common on Singer's Featherweight series of machines. Which explains why some people know this pedal as the Featherweight pedal.
Although the foot pedal on my Singer 66 is an original, I have had to replace the wiring to it.
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| Image by Olwen White |
Quite chunky and incredibly solid, the pedal is heavier than modern day equivalents. That's not the only difference. This pedal doesn't work in the same way as the wedge shaped foot controllers we use on modern sewing machines.
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| Image by Olwen White |
Unlike modern pedals, the body of the bakelite pedal doesn't move. Instead, you power the machine by pushing one of the two buttons found at one end of the pedal. The button on the left is just a block. It doesn't do anything. Power comes from the button on the right.
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| Image by Olwen White |
I've got to be honest, I'm not really a fan of this style of pedal. It's not an easy device to use. In fact, there are at least 4 different ways to operate it. Which can be confusing... and more than a little counterintuitive. It's little wonder that this pedal style is no longer found on modern machines!
In my latest YouTube video, I demonstrate 4 of the more popular methods that can be used to work this pedal. Why not check it out by clicking the image below.
Don't forget to like the video so I know you dropped by and why not let me know in the comments if you've used a bakelite pedal and how you got on with it.
Bye for now
Olly
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