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International Sewing Machine Collectors' Society

The purpose of the International Sewing Machine Collectors' Society is to foster the collecting of, and research into, sewing machines.

Little Wanzer Thread Oiler

Text and image excerpted from Martin Gregory's "A Note on Thread Oilers", ISMACS News 119
The Thread Oiler on the Little Wanzer Sewing Machine

"Many domestic sewing machines up to the 1870s came with thread oilers. On its way between the tension discs and the needle bar the thread was passed through a small brass cup or container packed with cotton wool soaked in oil.

"This coated the thread with oil so that any rough or fluffy surface to the thread was smoothed. In the early days, getting a polished surface around the eye and groove on the needle was a challenge to needle makers, as was getting a smooth finish and uniform diameter on the thread, to the spinners.

"Oiling the thread reduced thread breakages and enabled the sewing machines to operate faster and increase productivity. The down side was that, after completing the garment, it had to be washed before leaving for market.

"When Clarks introduced their ONT (Our New Thread) and Coates launched their six-cord machine thread in the 1870s, the problems of unravelling and non-uniform thread became a thing of the past, so one reason for supplying thread oilers for domestic machine disappeared."


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