Sewing Machine Manuals And Pictures
Singer 15-91 Home Sewing Machine
The Singer 15-91 is the final model in a class beginning in the late 1890's with the 15-30 class, which was replaced in the mid-1930's with the 15-88 treadle operated and 15-89 hand cranked, followed by the 15-90 w/side motor and belt, then the 15-91 w/built-in direct drive "potted" motor. The last 15-91 made by "The Singer Manufacturing Company" was in the mid 1950's.
The Singer 15-91 in the photo on the left was built in 1953, according to the Singer machine serial numbers lookup (for double letter prefixes). It was fully functional, with a rebuilt "potted" motor, and was sold for $200.00 at my leathercraft and sewing shop.
This Singer 15-91 is capable of sewing cloth and Denim fabrics to over 5/16" thick with the standard foot. This includes materials like Sunbrella. Sewing sticky materials, like Marine Vinyl and soft leather, requires an even-feed-walking foot, or a roller foot attachment (low shank). The standard steel pressor foot, when sufficiently tensioned down to prevent the material from lifting with the needle, usually drags the top layer of sticky material out of alignment with the other layers. An even-feed attachment, or roller foot compensates for this and allows the top layer to move freely, while still maintaining sufficient top pressure as the needle moves up. It also reduces the maximum clearance under the foot by about 1/16 inch.
The 15-91 uses Class 15 bobbins and standard household series HAx1, which is available wherever home sewing needles are sold. Note, that on a Singer 15-91, the needle's flat side and eye faces left and it threads from right to left. The maximum needle size available is #125/20, which is good for sewing through thick material. The largest thread size it can properly sew and tension is #92 bonded nylon, but it is best limited to #69 nylon. Too much thread tension will overstress the take-up parts and the motor. You definitely don't want to burn out the pod motor because the only way to get another motor is to buy a used one, or have it rebuilt at a sewing machine repair shop.
When the 15-91 machines were in production, they came with a mechanically controlled bakelite foot controller pedal. Most of these pedals are worn out, and if they work at all they may do so intermittently. This could pose a fire hazzard. All of the modern replacement foot pedals are now electronically operated. These controllers have a special three prong socket that plugs into a matching shaped socket on the power cord. Any old controller pedal won't fit it. This electronic foot controller is made to fit a Singer 15-91, and several other models that use the same power plug assembly.
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Manuals
I have two manuals available, in Adobe PDF format (Zipped. Requires a pdf reader.), for the Singer 15-91 sewing machine. Here is the user's manual (5 Mb) and here is the adjuster's manual (2 Mb).
If your device lacks support for zipfiles, here are the raw pdf files: user's manual (5 Mb) and the adjuster's manual (2 Mb).
You can click on the links to open them in Adobe Reader, or another PDF reader, or right-click and choose to save the files to your computer. You can get the latest version of the free Adobe Reader, from Adobe.com.
For your computer's security, please make sure you have installed the latest version of Adobe Reader, set to automatically check for updates, or Foxit Reader, which requires manual checking for updates.
I am available for hire as a paid sewing machine consultant. Contact me if you need assistance choosing a classic or industrial sewing machine that meets your needs. I can also service classic iron body Singer sewing machines inside my shop in Birch Run, Michigan.
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