Posted 8 years ago
fortapache
(3290 items)
This Singer RFJ8-8 is unusual as it was made in both Canada and Great Britain. Not to say that this model was built in both countries but this example is marked both Made in Canada and made in Great Britain.
Anyway I have been wanting one of these super cool mid century modern Green Singers for a few years. I bought one a few months ago but the condition is not good and it has the wrong base.
This one is in excellent condition although it needs a new drive belt. It has an intact cord and foot pedal. I am thinking of having this one sent out so it will be fully functional.
That's a nice Singer sewing machine fortapache! I'd definitely have it repaired to make it fully functional, if it were mine.
Thank you very much Scott. There is guy relatively near that restores vintage machines. I'll replace the belt myself to keep costs down.
That's at least two of us (in favor of restoring)! [;>)
Thank you very much NevadaBlades. Perhaps I should plug it in.
Thank you
mikelv85
Efesgirl
jscott0363
TassieDevil
fleafinder
brunswick
vetraio50
NevadaBlades
Thank you SEAN68.
I have this machine . My father and I bought it together in 1968 in Montreal for $50. We split the cost. It's a treasure!!!
Thank you very much Susanellen. The price hasn't changed.
I have one identical to the picture. Made in Canada. Bought it for 50.00 put a new belt on it and it works like a dream.
Thank you very much Dee1960. I paid $50 for mine too. This one still needs a new belt.
Thank you freon.
How awesome so many of us have this Singer sewing machine. I'm surprised the price is still the same to buy ~ $50.00. A few months ago I had to find a sewing machine person (I'm now in Toronto), as a screw had come loose and the machine wouldn't cooperate. This man was amazing in fixing it ~ cost me $80 to fix and he did a major cleaning. So now it's a $130.00 machine!!! :) haha!! Only the light doesn't work on the machine so I just use my own lamp .... would have cost too much to fix this. Susan
Hey Ya'll...I just acquired one of these... it was so lovely I could not resist....found it at a salvation army store..unfortunatly there was/is no top half of the case...still it's absoulutely lovely and super clean although I paid twice as much as most of you have plus $7.00 in sales tax but I'm not unhappy about it because I'd never seen another like it before. I wondered if it it's a "featherweight" Model..I runs and the light works but the belt is shredded because it was stuck and imoveable when I first discovered it in the store..but I tugged and rocked the handweel back and forth till it freed up...the belt was stuck to the handwheel when I rea;lized that was all wrong with it ..I bought it..I have several other machines(crazy Huh) an Elna Super matic...a Big Ole Pfaff 332 in a very cool case that opens out into a work table and a couple of other odd machines hat are what I call.. Techno Doo Dah ...off brand names with all kinds of button and knobs etc..generally the Singers are well made and devoid of excess and useless gadgetry....but some of these odd machines are just overloaded with futuristic Doo dah buttons and stuff...
Hi - I just purchased the sweet green RFJ8-8 for $15!!! Amazing - right?? Found it on local FB Market. The young lady I purchased it from said it belonged to her Grandmother. I couldn't have ever let it go! I scrubbed on it for a couple of hours and it's looking good! Now to replace the light bulb, needle and oil it. Can't wait to name her and take her for a spin! Do you name yours?
Forgot to mention, I found a manual online. Now I need to search for attachments and an extra bobbin or two.
fortapache, You've probably long since figured out that the model number of this vintage Singer sewing machine is not RFJ8-8, but rather 185.
What was mystifying to me was why so many people had at least initially come to that conclusion. The Internet is full of references to "Singer RFJ8."
I finally found a nice, clear image on the Internet that answered the question for me:
https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/78MAAOSwiEpg-yGa/s-l1600.jpg
https://www.ebay.com/itm/284382686681
Because of the temporary nature of eBay listings, I'm going to describe it here for posterity. It's a small silver-colored metal plate with black print affixed to the sewing machine head body below the balance wheel. The pertinent text on it reads:
SINGER
CAT. NO. RFJ8-8
A dedicated label plate is much more attractive to the eye than an unexplained alpha-numeric sequence printed at the top of the stitch regulator panel on the front of the sewing machine head pillar.
If only Singer had seen fit to preface the model number with the word "Model" a lot of confusion could have been avoided. Ah well.
Oops. I just saw that fortapache has confirmed on another post that these are the same machine (a Singer model 185K, serial number ER155839, made in 1960), so I'm going to link the sibling posts here for future reference:
https://www.collectorsweekly.com/stories/206020-singer-185k-sewing-machine-part-too#comment-1364215
Yes keramikos they are the same. I do have another of these I may have posted.
fortapache, Yeah, I saw that you had another model 185 with a wooden base. :-)
The one with the metal plate indicating the catalog number RFJ8-8 that I linked had 185J in the text description, so that one at the very least would have had its stitch regulator panel made at the St. John's factory. };-)
Maybe some of the RFJ8-8 labeled machines were hybrids, with some parts made in the UK, and some in Canada.
Tis a puzzlement.
Hmmm:
*snip*
The label shown here [THE SINGER COMPANY MADE IN CANADA WITH GREAT BRITAIN AND CANADIAN COMPONENTS] was found on a machine with a "328K" model number plate. Apparently Singer consolidated parts from Scotland and Canada to complete the 328 model production run.
Another joker in the deck is the 411G shown at right. It was a bit of a puzzle because the "G" indicates Germany, but the serial number points to Canada. After some research it appears that the head was cast (and stamped with serial number) in Canada, then the machine was assembled in West Germany as reflected in the model number suffix.
*snip*
https://www.oldsewingear.com/blog/where-was-my-singer-machine-made
I have this exact sewing machine. It works perfectly. I used to use it all the time. It’s so heavy that I don’t pull it out anymore as I can’t lift it because of my back. I’ve had it for 20 years, was my moms prior to that for as long as I can remember. I’ve thought of selling it but not sure the worth.
Hi, t_danette. :-)
I'm sorry to read about your back troubles. A Singer model 185 isn't as heavy as a Singer model 201, but that's no consolation when it's simply too heavy for you to lift safely.
The main purpose of the Collectors Weekly Show & Tell forum is for people to share information about their collectibles and while value can be part of the conversation, it's not the prime purpose.
I myself never do appraisals of anything.
There is an appraisal service offered by another company under the Barnebys coporate umbrella, but it's not free:
https://www.valuemystuff.com/us/appraisal
I honestly don't think I'd advise you to get a professional value appraisal from any source, because I suspect it would cost more than would be worthwhile for something like a non-rare vintage sewing machine.
Here is some appraisal advice from an expert at the International Sewing Machine Collectors' Society (ISMACS:
https://ismacs.net/sewing_machine_articles/how_much_is_my_sewing_machine_worth.html
If you've read this post and all of the comments thereon, then you already know quite a bit about your machine and know enough to conduct an intelligent search of eBay, craigslist, etc. to get a feel for how much Singer model 185 machines are worth.
If you want to know the actual age of your vintage Singer model 185, that would require looking up the serial number, which unfortunately is located on the underside of the sewing machine bed, so you'd want to get somebody else to lift it for you.
Here is where the serial number would be located (see the second picture in this post):
https://www.collectorsweekly.com/stories/301606-vintage-sewing-machine-serial-number-loc
Once you have the serial number, then you can look it up in the Singer serial number tables at ISMACS:
https://ismacs.net/singer_sewing_machine_company/serial-numbers/singer-sewing-machine-serial-number-database.html
You probably should stick with your local market (as in "local pickup only"), because aside from how much that would cost, shipping the machine would mean lifting it.
Another possibility would be to donate it to some local charity or thrift shop after honestly assessing its worth so that you can deduct the value from your taxes.
Good luck. :-)