Bell Model MB/102
Cute little guy...
Is only nine inches long! Note built-in sewing light.
The control pedal is almost as big as the machine!
Backside shows a few "play-marks".
Closeup.
The case it comes in...
Can also be used to enlarge the sewing surface with the table extension supplied.
Note new sliding cover (dark blue, looking black) in foreground.
Date stamp found inside this US made machine.
The real advantage of this machine and partially why I wanted one so badly.
It can be clamped onto the edge of a table, turning it into the smallest
free arm setup I've ever seen. Perfect for making little Belly Dance do-dahs!
Picture gleaned from the 'net of a green version. Note apparent
lack of the sliding cover over the foreground compartment. They
must have been easy to break or simply were lost (as mine was).
Size and color comparison. Pictures of the non-green Bell, as seen on eBay and
elsewhere on the www, often show it looking white due to overexposure and/or
white balance issues. It actually is a deep beige - my White brand machine shown
here is white in color!
Original auction picture for my machine. Looking white as they often do.
Bottom view, clearly showing the US origin, and the model.
Test seam. Works great!What I've been able to find out so far:
I'd been after one of these Bell micro machines ever since I saw one on eBay - it proved quite hard to get as another bidder was apparently bent on cornering the world's supply of these little machines! But here it is at last - not a toy, but a serious machine in its own right. It uses full sized Greist attachments, regular needles, and small, but available (see below) bobbins. They are apparently referred to in some circles as the "Stapler" machine, no doubt due to their resemblance to that common office appliance. This one is labeled "Model MB"; however I've also seen some labeled "Model 102", which I'm guessing may be later production.
Not only were these machines were made in two colors; they came in two different cases: the briefcase style I have, pictured above; and this larger, rarer, more upright style:
Base looks a bit different...
Top is *way* different
Foot pedal strapped inside lid.
Newly discovered "alternate" foot pedal.As can be seen above, there were at least two different foot pedals that came with the upright case style - both of which differ from the pedal that came with the more common briefcase. Who knows?
Bell later collaborated with Germany's Messerschmidt; the "Bell-Messerschmidt" machines, as well as some of the tiny ones such as mine, shared an identical green color. This originally lead me to believe that the beige color came first, as the Messerschmidt collaboration didn't start until the mid to late 50s - and mine bears a date stamp of 16 December 1952. HOWEVER, I've since ran across reference to a green Bell Sewing Machine that apparently bore a manufacture date in 1953, apparently well before the Messerschmidt collaboration. So obviously, I haven't a clue! I also haven't a clue what the situation was with the two different case styles other than it appears that the briefcase style was more prevalent. So far, the very few pictures of the larger, non-briefcase style case that I've seen have all had green machines in them.
More on the Messerschmidt collaboration can be seen in the Needlebar's
Bell picture gallery, as well as mention of some Bells (other models) being imported from Japan and a second German manufacturer, Kaiser-Gritzner. My little Bell, however, was made in the United States as "Made in USA" is clearly visible. This "Micro-Bell" may have been the only Bell model made in the US. However, the US wasn't the only country this model was manufactured - see below.
My machine has no sign whatsoever of a serial number - I have seen multiple eBay auctions of serialized machines; apparently serialization wasn't done until later production runs. I'd like to see if they still stamped the build date inside a serialized machine.
The first thing I did was to clean it up, and oil everything - it was very dry. I even had to oil the latches on the briefcase, they were dry too! There was a rubber pad on the bottom which was disintegrating - I removed it and replaced it with a reproduction hand cut from similar rubber (turned out that wetsuit rubber was the ticket).
Once I received the
A note about revision levels. The reproduction manual clearly shows a couple of differences between my machine, and what is depicted therein. It shows a "N" for Neutral position for the Forward/Reverse switch. There is seemingly no mechanical difference as I can slip mine into a Neutral position also. In addition, the manual shows a more complex thread path using thread guides that aren't present on my machine - nor on any others I've seen pictures of good enough to be able to tell. There were also at least two different styles of tensioner knobs.
I'm guessing that the two kinds of cases were available concurrently as the "large case" Bell machine above does NOT have the late production badging or Forward/Neutral/Reverse switch labeling.
The only thing I needed to do was to fabricate a replacement cover for the attachments compartment in the briefcase - I had been wondering how things were supposed to stay in there (see picture above) - but the manual showed a sliding plate - so it was easy enough to fabricate a new one from metal, the original was plastic.
Here is a picture of a late production machine, showing the additional
"N" for neutral labeling as well as slightly different badging.
It certainly won't replace my beloved White as its a bit fussy to thread; and doesn't have much of a sewing area, even in the case with its larger surface; nor does it do zig-zag. But it'll be great for portable use as well as sewing little things in its free arm mode. Its well made and rugged, sews VERY well, and is definitely no toy.
Adventures With New Bobbins! Came across a steal of a deal for new bobbins on eBay - seller knew what she had and was selling the same bobbin for both the Singer 29-4, and the Bell. They're virtually the exact same size*, and better yet are made of metal. The thinner wall construction possible with metal means they'll hold slightly more thread, and won't have the breakage worries of 50+ year old plastic.
Singer 29-4 bobbin (left) from eBay, original Bell supplied plastic bobbin (right).
Original bobbin in shuttle...
Winding new Singer bobbin
New Singer bobbin in place
Sews perfectly!
Linda at
* For the pair I sampled: They're the exact same diameter; the center hole is one mil smaller for the metal one (fits fine on the bobbin winder, isn't used when in the shuttle); and the metal one is about 2 mils shorter overall, yet is about 30 mils taller inside so it can hold more thread!
But Wait! There's More!
This one was found on eBay in the UK. Look closely at the bottom label.
Made in France! This one's labeled as a "Model 102" which I'm guessing
was later production (regardless of country of origin).
And a different kind of carrying case than what came with the US built machines...
No kind of sewing surface extension as with both the US case styles.
The End of the Line?
Apparently one of the very last ones made. Note plastic tension disks and arm.
I wonder if it has the "N" marking on the forward/reverse lever, but cannot
tell from this photo.
Note different address on bottom. This owner also had to recreate the bottom
cushion - in this case from cork. These last two photos courtesy ofA very close look at the French Bell (above) as well as the "Upright Case Style" (also above) reveals that they too "appear" to have the same plastic bits - I hadn't noticed until I knew what to look for. Goddess knows when they switched to plastic, but I'm glad mine has the metal parts! If plastic really is present on these two machines also; than I'm confused as plastic would seem to indicate very late production - yet at least in the case of the "Upright Case Style" machine, it does NOT have the "N" marking on the forward/reverse lever - yet the "late production" machine also depicted above (which *does* have the "N" marking in question), has metal tension disks and sewing arm, NOT plastic. Yet another confusing story in sewing machine archaeology!
Lost?
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