Fat Iron Wheel for Antique Singer Treadle (Foot-Powered) Sewing Machine Frame

Description

My husband and I have owned and restored over 1000 antique and vintage Singer sewing machines, and along the way we have accumulated a stock of old Singer parts. The parts aren’t doing anyone any good sitting in our workshop, so we have decided to send them on to where they’re needed.
The Singer Company manufactured treadle (foot-powered) sewing machines for about 100 years, from the 1850s until the 1950s. The foot pedals and the various frame parts on early treadles were made from cast iron, and so were the wheels. We often come across treadle frames with a missing wheel, and maybe you have, too.
There were two kinds of wheels for Singer treadle frames made before the 1950s. The oldest frames used a fat wheel, like this one, and newer frames used a skinnier wheel. The dimensions of this wheel are
:
Diameter
:
one-and-one-quarter inches
Width (measured at the center hub)
:
nine-sixteenths of an inch
Width (measured at the outer rim)
:
one-half inch
Center hole for the axle
:
one-quarter inch, and the original quarter-inch axle shown in photo one comes with the wheel
These things are easy to install but you do have to be careful because old cast iron is very brittle and easily broken. The trick is not to force the axle through your frame. When Singer built the treadle frames they inserted red-hot axles through the frame ends and then used a press to flatten one end of the axle to hold it in place. The trick to removing the original axle is to use a file to reduce the diameter of the axle on the flattened end so that it will slip easily through the holes in the frame. You can see in photo two how my husband reduced the end of this axle to free it.
Do not try to hammer the axle through the frame!
Reduce the diameter with a file until it just slips through. When you install the “new” wheel and axle, use a dab of Gorilla Glue or something similar to hold the filed end of the axle in place in the frame.
I know this sounds a little bit complicated but it really isn’t hard to do.
This wheel and axle will also work on some treadle frames manufactured by companies other than Singer. Just measure the opening in the “fork” where the wheel has to go to figure out if it will fit.
Important:
We have four wheels and axles available as this is written so the chances are good that you will not receive the exact parts shown in our photos, but the others also date from the late 1800s and have a similar appearance.
Please ask if you have questions! We are happy to help you.
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