page_title: Singer Model 27 and 127
section_title: Pillar-mount
hierarchical_section_title: Singer Model 27 and 127 / Power / External electric motor / Pillar-mount
caption_attribution_description: English: Figure 3 from US patent 1448234
context_page_description: The Singer Model 27 and later model 127 were a series of lockstitch sewing machines produced by the Singer Manufacturing Company from the 1880s to the 1960s. They were Singer's first sewing machines to make use of "vibrating shuttle" technology. Millions were produced. They are all steel and cast iron, and were built before the advent of planned obsolescence, and so they were designed to be repaired rather than replaced. Consequently many remain today, some in collections and others still in service. In company literature they were called "the woman's faithful friend the world over".
context_section_description: Later motor kits dispensed entirely with the treadle, treadle belt, and cabinet.  The motor bolted right to the machine's pillar, where—thanks to its compact size—it could remain even when the machine was tilted into its cabinet or enclosed within its cover.  This was an improvement over earlier pivoting-motor designs, large offset belt-drive motors, and the many schemes for entirely replacing the handwheel with a motor.  Credit for the original idea may belong to George F. Green, who proposed it back in 1879 but was probably unable to build or obtain the sufficiently compact motor required by his design.  It was Frederick Diehl and Martin Hemler, Singer employees, who finally developed the idea in 1921.
  Speed is controlled by a rheostat, originally mounted on the treadle pad but later as an independent pedal for foot or knee control.  The kit includes a dual electrical outlet that mounts alongside the machine in its case: one outlet is for the motor and is controlled by the foot pedal; the other is for a sewing lamp (see below) and is always energized.  A sewing machine thus electrified now fit entirely inside a woman-portable carrying case.
  Electric motors became so common that Singer made provision for them: the model 127/128 'modernized' versions included mounting lugs for a motor, whereas earlier models had to be drilled and tapped.  Some 127/128 machines were even given motors right at the factory, and of those, a few models used a smaller lighter solid handwheel instead of the larger heavier spoked handwheel used on machines sold as treadles.  The spoked handwheel is better for treadles because its larger inertia keeps it spinning longer, whereas the lighter solid handwheel is better for motors because its smaller inertia causes it to start and stop more quickly.
  A few older 27 and 28 machines have also shown up with solid handwheels, which they must have received retrofit during the addition of their electric motor.
caption: Figure 3 from Frederick Diehl's pillar-mount motor patent
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