The Supernova Ultra, 1958-63, was a high spec. machine at the time. This is the Automatica with cams for decorative/embroidery stitching & buttonholing, a sophisticated ziz-zag & many small but useful extras. Like a built in needle threader, a magnifying glass to help with it, a press button needle clamp, 2 position foot lever, 2 speed motor, drop feed for free motion work, even a shade for the light! Has a high quality drop leaf table & superb paint finish. It also has an attractive, classic shape in my opinion: ) Compare it to a period Bernina 530, Elna Supermatic, or Singer 401G from 1959 in Europe.
It also comes with a shapely, sturdy, tough carry case. This model is called a Transportable, but it is heavy! This one weighs 38lbs 17kg complete. The base on its own weighs 3.1kg!
I came across this one online, without a foot control or Accessories but I took a chance & it is very, very nice: ) Close to immaculate & obviously has had little use. I found a foot control & the appropriate Cams/Accessories without too much trouble.
Comes with 12 prebuilt cams plus the buttonholer cam, seen on the right with the long arm attached to it. Has a fair selection of feet but note that they are high shank & the more common low shank will not fit! Same with attachments like rufflers, for example. Also available for this machine when new, as an extra, was a box of individual cams along with a ‘Cam Holder Bushing’ to make up your own individual cams with 100s of possible combinations.
This freearm machine (cylindrica) normally came with a camset with fewer built up cams, but has a range of individual loose cams & the Cam Holder Bushings to make up your own sets. See the 3 green topped units below. The freearm does not have the circular needleplate as fitted to the flatbed machines.
I found the cam systems on these Necchis to be quite complicated at first, but when you understand that there are 2 different cam drive systems on the machines it becomes much clearer! Essentially the Supernova has flat bottomed cams & the Lycia 424 Automatica has notches on the base, which engage with slots on the machines cam drive base. (Where you insert the cams)
There is video on YouTube by J.A. showing the basic use of the cams on the Supernova machines here. This is the flat bottomed type without notches. The Lycia & Julia use the notched type.
For an explaination of the differences between the 2 types check this video. As a beginner with the Necchi cam systems (and the actual machines) I found these videos very useful: ) He has many other videos showing his fantastic collection of vintage Necchis & their differences/uses/adjustments/repairs. Well worth a look I say.
It was a little sticky in places & had a stuck hand-wheel/clutch which is not unusual for a Necchi machine that has not been used for a while. Certain Berninas are the same & it’s because of the close tolerance engineering & often the use of the wrong oils. Once it had been freed, serviced & oiled it stitches beautifully. It is quiet & just feels like a quality machine, a pleasure to use. Has an oscillating hook & is very fast in the high speed Max setting. Spec says 1200SPM & I believe it. The Min setting is great for when you need to be slow, for buttonholing say, or free motion work.
The lower switch is for Light/Machine on. Or off. Drop feed control is pointing to normal stitching here, turn it left for drop feed. The cream blank is for belt drive if used as a treadle.
This machine has been set aside for a couple of weeks while I deal with my recent Julia, but I decided to have it out to check the plastic spiral/worm gear in the thread length adjuster mechanism.
Looks excellent to me & I’m very pleased to see it. Should’ve checked it before actually, but better late than never?
I’m looking forward to using this machine even more now: )