Creelman Brothers Sock Machines 1874 to1926

"Creelman Brothers" The source for many of today's sock machines.

A New machine

for Hard Times

!A summer of financial decline on Wall Street.  Stock prices collapse in a panic!

!Hundreds of banks close.  Millions of unemployed men roaming the streets!

   Children abandoned to live amid the crime and filth of the street!

This is not another headline for the market collapse of 2008 but the year of 1893 when the first "Money-Maker" sock machine hit the market.

 

 

   The "Money Maker" was a special sock machine designed by the Creelman Brothers for use in the home. "Its production began in 1893 and it originally sold for $10."   To put that in perspective the average 1892 weekly wage in the US was but $9.42.

"In addition to the ten dollar model, the Creelman factory also made more expensive versions for sale at $18.25 and $25.00.  On these models Creelman's gave coupons for $2.00 off the price of the machine if the buyer paid cash." 

   "Creelman claimed that their machines were designed for use in the home and were so simple to use that "a child or a blind person could use them."

Riding the Wave of Mechanization

    Located less than 10 miles from the shores of Lake Ontario Canada the Creelman brothers set up shop. It was the early years of factory mechanization in the small township of Georgetown when Richard & Robertson Creelman arrived on the seen. Their first machine was the "STAR" which was always intended for use in the Victorian knitting mills of the mid 1870's & 80's. During the 1880 there was the World Star, and the "New Star" and New "K" or cone ribber machine a take off on the very successful Tuttle sock machine, the first to have a way to mechanize ribbing. Soon to follow in was the "Banner" and attachments that added belt drives.  By 1913 the Creelman factory had also developed a line of 6 home knitting machines ranging in price from $20 to $26. These included:  the Money Maker,  Money Maker - A,  Improved Money Maker,  New Improved Money Maker, the Dollar & the Klondyke.

Fire, Bullets and Business

   Before the reality of the home machine was realized  there were many struggles.

  Just five years after the second and larger machine shop opened in 1881, the building was partially destroyed by fire.  In 1886 such losses would mean the end of most factories but not for Richard and Robertson Creelman.

There was at least $9,000 of fire, water and smoke damage to the offices and machine shop. There was no way around it, reconstruction was going to be expensive.  But the brothers found a way. Within just a few months the brothers were prepared to move the entire business, machine shop and all to Ingersoll for a bonus of $5000 and a $12,000 loan at 5% interest. An interest rate that would be considered good in today's business environment.

Yet another serious set back came just a short time later when a suspicious accident ended with an errant gun shot wound to the palm of Richard's hand.  The story was that he had accidentally shot himself, and with the small black powder hand guns of the day that is quite possible. But there were also rumors of a more sinister kind as talk swirled around a beautiful young maiden and a duel done under the influence of hard drink. A custom long made illegal but still in vogue among young French Quebec men of the day. Such romantic notions often enter a story to make historical figures more human. But Richard would have been about 35 and likely past the age of such exploits but his actions soon after do suggest there was much more to the story than meets the eye.

With what must been a hand racked with pain, Richard quickly left Canada and boarded a ship for Europe. Though it was reasonable to assume he was seeking the best medical knowledge of the day his life abroad lasted for several years.  While sailing the seas he continued to build the business and opened offices in Belgium. After that he traveled the world by ship to open new markets. This quickly paid off, as the factory began reporting orders from across Europe, South & Central America as well as New Zealand. By his return to Canada around 1890 his partnership with his brother had ended. 

As Reported by the Toronto Daily Mail: 1893

"Creelman Brothers were pioneer knitting machine manufacturers in Canada. They have seen nine competitors fail…….. and now have the most complete knitting machine plant on this continent. This firm attributes its success to its ability to design original, practicable, and patentable, improvements of superior merit. Its facilities for turning out valuable machines at the lowest possible price has enabled it to not only hold its trade, but secure a large foreign trade in spite of all competition." 

   "In the latter the firm claims to have solved the question of how to build a cheap and practical machine, which it is putting on the market this year for the first time at ten dollars, a price low beyond precedent. It is called the money-maker, and will prove itself a friend to many a weary mother and is eminently worthy of its suggestive name"  

The Parts of the Money Maker

   The unique open cam system of the "Money Maker" would be one of the first low cost sock machines to enter the homes of working class America.  This would be the start of the open cam systems that would be seen in the Auto Knitter and other sock machines still to come.

 

 

The open V- shape of the shell is what separated the first Money Makers from other Creelman made machines. The cam shell's spring loaded V-cam seen in detail above was less costly to produce than the more numerous and intricate parts of the closed cams system found in the New "K" machine. Another unique characteristic of the "MM" was the smaller crank. An idea that was seen later in the Gearhart sock machine and is thought by some to reduce the weight but it also reduced the speed one could crank out socks in the home.  As a result the home cranker was not likely to be of any real competition to the still productive knitting mills of the day.  As these lighter machines dominated the market, later  versions of the "Money Maker" would return to the full size crank wheel.

As these parts sheets for the " Money Maker series shows, the primary base, gear ring, ribber assembly and accessories  greatly  resembles what we know today as the Creelman Brother's Money Maker - A but is  better known to most of us as the P.T. Legare one of our most common antique sock machines available today.  The closed cam system of the basic 18 lb model 400 PT Legare or MM-A, evolved from the hefty 45 lb or more "New Star" and New "K" machines.  This cam system had proved itself to be largely trouble free in their decades of use in the knitting mills of the Victorian age. Soon the lighter and less costly sock machines were quickly adopted by the small cottage industries which made good use of the durable P.T. Legare. Many of our antique PT Legare machines have cranked 1000s of socks during their first years of use.

The contribution of the Legare Catalog house.

There is a great deal of confusion over the sock machines with any of the various Legare company labels. But this is one of the few parts of sock machine history that is really very simple.  Regardless of the machine, the Legare or P.T. Legare label comes from  a retail catalogue company in Canada that was still selling goods well into the 1950s.  This catalogue company sold farm machinery and products for the homes of Canada.  This is a business model that is very similar to Sears in the US.  And just like Sears they had agreements to sell the products from many manufacturers and it was Creelman, not Legare, that made all the 400 series sock machines that were sold as one of the Money Maker series or the

P. T. Legare in North America. But that is not to say that all the sock machines sold by the Legare company were made by Creelman.

The durability of the P.T. Legare 400 is a testament to the sturdy cast iron sock machines made by the Creelman factory.  The renewability of these machines is amazing.  With power cleaning and a new baked on enamel to ward of rust,  many of the old 400 series of machines be they the MM-A or the P.T. Legare will continue the Creelman legacy well into the 21 century.

Hand & Belt Drive

For nearly 50 years, sock machines were individually cranked by women, men and steam to produce socks with teams of workers running rows of machines in knitting mills.  By 1920's the tide had turned and the use of individual machines slowly came to an end. The age of mechanized sock machines was replaced by the automated sock production of 5 socks or more at a time, relying on the power of electricity instead of the power of people or steam. 

In 1926 the aging founder, Richard Creelman and his son Clifford put the factory up for sale, splitting off the different parts of needle making from the manufacturing of the home and factory machines.

Richard Creelman passed-over in 1932 at the age of 80.

Sock machines for the home, using the Creelman design  was then taken up by the Verdun machine shop.

There the Legare and Verdun 47 along with the unique Verdun Automatic continued  evolving the Creelman circular sock machine designs.  This continued for another decade before changes in farm and home sent most of our old sock machines back in their boxes waiting to be re-discovered by a new generation of devoted crankers and collectors.

This blog includes information collected from multiple interviews with CSM users & collectors as well as residents of the area around Georgetown Canada in the 1990's,  my personal copy of the Creelman Brothers parts, manual and advertising publications as well as the historical accounts recorded in the Georgetown Independent,of October 2, 1985

 

Buying Without Trying: Part 3 on buying a CSM

Looking for a life changing relationship?  Go and get a new sock machine!

Many sock machines are acquired much like an arranged marriage. You may only know this new potential from the choices made by those you trust. And just like an arranged marriage you may only have a picture to give you some sense of what the possibilities will be.  If all I had were the voices of trusted friends and family that would be enough, no pictures needed. But when you are new to discovering this new world of sock machines your source of knowledge and inspiration will be what you see.  What you see may call to you loudly!  Before you answer that call, listen to the whole story the machine has to tell.

......Where to start?

A lot can be learned by just watching eBay auctions.

See what different machines go for on eBay by inputting Sock Knitting Machines / All Categories, as the search.  Then to get the CSMs to the top of the page, go in and select "show >Highest Price First" to sort the list.   The Creelman, PT Legare 400, Legare 47, Verdun-47,  Canadian Auto Knitter and Gearhart are not rare machines.  Those that are in excellent condition with all or most of their original parts & paper work can command an extra $100 or so but very few of these un-restored old sock machines will cost more than $ 750 on eBay and in the current economy the average is about $535.  But fluctuates weekly.  It will cost about $45 to package & ship a machine in the US.  Because of new fees added by eBay there has been a trend to increasing S & H charges, as the fees do not apply to them.  But for now that only adds about $15. 
For the buyer, eBay is the closest you get to market driven pricing for sock machines.  Apart from the occasional glitch, the pricing in auctions is a window to the current real time market value of nearly anything eBay facilitates selling.

Keep a log on the different name brands of sock machines and learn which ones show up weekly, monthly or only once a year. How much was asked for them in a buy-it-now, if offered and what actually was bid on it.

 Watch the feedback the buyer gives. You can learn a lot about patterns in how long it takes for a machine to arrive, how well it was packaged and if it arrived looking like its picture.

Buying without trying from an individual, especially a trusted CSM Friend can lead to "weded bliss" with your new CSM.  Thanks to a dear CSM friend, I take long breaks as I write and rewrite this blog to spend time with my newest CSM, a Tuttle, and what a joyous challenge.....

............but that is a blog for another day....
Finding your CSM through trusted CSM friends is by far the best way to find that perfect machine.   But if you are new to the CSM world that is not an option so the next best means is to be well informed of the more common pitfalls on your path to a sock machine. 
Do you have someone claiming their old machine for sale is a  "restored" sock machine.   Ask the seller to define "restored".   

If this were any other antique machine, restored should mean that both the function and the appearance are returned to the original ideal. 

For example, at an antique auto auction a restored model T Ford has a working engine with a body & interior that as much as is possible, looks original.

If only the function is restored  but the body and interior have all the years still on them, the engine is rebuilt but the Auto is not considered restored.  A sock machine is no different. A fully restored sock machine like this Creelman MMA circa 1887 not only cranks socks well,  it is beautiful and with a little care, it will go on cranking socks another 100 years.

Keep your focus on a good sock maker and be on guard for sellers that speak of how rare a machine is or that all the old patina has been retained like any good antique".  The metal working parts of a CSM do not have patina,  they do have years of wear, oil, grease, wool and metal particles mixed with dirt.  Removing that is the first part of a re-built machine and any true restoration.    
 Did you know that the average cost of a complete restoration from Colorado Cranker is $233.00? And a re-build is not much more than $125.  When you shop for your unrestored machines,  go in knowing what the full price might be to rebuild or to have it fully restored.   Be certain to get good clear photos of ANY machine you are considering. If the restored machine looks no different than the un-restored machines on eBay, believe what the machine is telling you!

When your only choice is to buy without trying the machine or knowing the seller,  request pictures that are clear and show all parts and sides of the machine.   With the pictures in hand or on your monitor,  it is now all about what the machine in the picture is telling you.

Part 4:     Not with out Pictures 

Does the text written by the seller match what the picture is telling you?   If not, believe the picture.

  In a dispute, the picture is what will be the last word.    So if any seller claims this PT Legare 400 shell has a "normal" range of stitch size adjustment.  What is in the picture?  It is showing you that the stitch pointer is at the tighter end but the V-cam bracket is sitting on the bottom of the shell frame,  so this machine will not adjust down to a larger stitch.  The lower range of stitch size is not usable because there is a factory V-cam set for fine yarns.  This machine has had lots of use in a factory and it will only use Lace weight or Fingering sock yarns.  Believe the machine; it has no bad days or laps of memory and absolutely no financial incentive. 

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  Does it look like the sock machine has all the parts it needs to do knitting and ribbing?  Would you know if this part were not there and what you can not do with out it?

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  Do the screws appear to fit. Missing screws or poorly fitting screws can suggest a lot of use which may require restoration. Some screws may not be found in the same size and will require machining to replace.

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  Does crank gear look straight and are all gear teeth present. If not the fix requires major welding and my be a fatal flaw to smooth cranking.

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  Do you see misshaped parts. Circular parts should look round, not oval, slumped or turning to powder. Badly cast metal parts and swelling metal do occur in certain types of CSM metals. If parts appear to be out of round they will not fit together or work well.

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  Is paint evenly distributed the same color and finish? If not and parts are spread out on a table not put together, they may not be original to each other and may not actually fit together.

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  Side cams like this below, are an essential CSM part you seldom see. So how do you know if they will need new metal or replacement?  Look at the appearance of the needle side of the yarn guide, the face of it.  If there is any sign of deep grooves, chips or gouges or that the face has been braised or re-shaped. This is a sign of extensive use in a factory  and the side cams may well need the same reshaping as the the yarn guide.  

Any sign of welds, cracks or breaks? These may limit how you can refurbish your machine. Epoxy welds will not hold up to heat set paint or powder coating and can make proper metal welds very difficult.

Is there more than a mild coating of rust on visible bare metal? If so it may require deep cleaning using sand or glass bead blasting to make them safe as well as clean.  

Colorado Cranker Slide-Show: Click Pause to read essentials

Get your own

Be encouraged, those machines that have survived to 2010 have a very good chance of being excellent sock makers. If the metal is in good condition and all the parts necessary are there, few sock machines are irreparable. If you do not have the tools or the knowledge to make a needed repair, just ask.
We will help you do it yourself when possible.

For advice, parts, tools or repairs contact us at   coloradocranker@q.com

Thank You for Reading our Blog

Come Back in 2010

Colorado Cranker Restorations

Your Path to Cranking with Joy: Part 2, Why & Where to Start

This is the second in a four part series that tackles where, what, how and why of Sock Machine buying.

 

Why Desire A Sock Machine ?

This may seem like an odd question but why do you want a sock machine? 

The answer goes right to the hart of what machine you should be focusing on. Here is my list of frequently noted reasons for wanting a CSM. See if there is one that comes close to your current reality.

1. Have you seen a Circular Sock Machine at a Wool Festival or Old Thrasher & Tracker days and you can not dispel the compelling thought of cranking or just having one or many sock machines?

2. Do you enjoy history, maybe doing reenactments or think of using your sock machine for producing old time clothing.

3. Do you love making socks and just want another way to make them faster. Or maybe you have a real project in mind like reducing a growing yarn stash or making socks as a way to support your favorite cause or selling custom socks.

4. Are you a flat bed knitting machine user but suspect these curious round sock machines would be a more enjoyable tool for making socks?

For those who just want to crank out socks then what you will focus on is how the machine functions.

When you want a CSM for making socks there could also be an expectation of making socks using yarns you already have. You may also want to make socks or other knitted garments for a specific purpose such as socks for the military, small hats for preemies or producing a line of socks using one type or size of yarn. All of these are reasonable expectations for your first sock machine and it is important to recognize ahead of your purchase what features will be more likely to meet your expectations.   Many of these uses are best addressed at your local and regional crank-ins where you can witness first hand which machines use what yarns and how easily they crank those yarns. Most any sock machine can crank out a sock but with what yarn,  lace weight, fingering or will it do sport or DK weight?  Not all machines can crank the yarn your dreaming of using, or it just may not crank it very well.   For example, how much effort does it take and can you envision wanting to crank with that same effort for several hours a day.   The compelling nature of these machines can fade quickly when cranking is more of a struggle than a pleasure.

 

What about the money?

Crank-ins also offer you the best opportunity to hear about the way the different users found their machines, what they paid for them and if they believed that source is one they can happily recommend. No one person, has experienced all the possibilities and your height, weight and arm strength may make your experience very different from another person using the same machine. So the more CSM users you listen to, the more machines you can try out, the more likely your first purchase will meet your expectations.

When Your Focus Is More For Collecting or Historical Interest

You have just identified your first big fork in the road.  It is likely you will want to focus your CSM  purchase on a particular period of sock machine manufacturing if not a specific brand or type of needle control system. My recommendation is that you start your CSM search at the library and doing a lot of web surfing for all the sock machine pages you can find. It is also important to soak in all the pictures of machines you can find. One place I recommend for learning about what the different machines look like is http://www.oldtymestockings.com/default.asp

 

Though your local crank-in can certainly give you a feel for what a machine looks like and feels like. Much of your first efforts will be less social and very hands on.

As soon as you have a good working CSM vocabulary and can easily recognize the different brands, types and the major parts it is then you can have meaningful discussions with collectors, historians, restorers and long time users to develop your own historical narrative. But be prepared, there is no one version of CSM history and as new discoveries are revealed the story is ever changing and always up for discussion where everyone is part of history but no one owns it.

 

In Part 3 we tackle the issue of what yarns work best with what machine set up and why it is important to believe what the machine is telling you.

Your Path to Cranking with Joy

Part 1

Where to Start

There are many paths to circular sock machines but they do not all lead to an equally satisfying experience.  When I was a kid in Missouri & Kansas during the 1950’s the most common means of getting a sock machine was to inherit it or discover it at a farm sale with little certainty all the parts were present or functioning. Part of the excitement of discover was Wow! I wonder if I can make it work. I was reminded of that this weekend during a crank-in held in the farming community of Brighton Colorado. These fine old sock machines continue to capture our imaginations today just as they did 60 years ago.

Our crank-in was being hosted by the Owner of Brighton’s “Deer Pants” yarn shop on Main street. We had a great turn out of 10 or so crankers from all over the central and northeastern part of Colorado with one driving some 70 miles to come. One visitor actually arrived from as far away as San Diego. She was visiting family but with the intent to attend our crank-in as an essential part of her trip. What a great group of crankers we had. All shared their CSM moments, creative solutions and yarn discoveries freely; everyone contributing and helping each other. That included one guest that had come for help in repairing a broken Auto Knitter shell and like any stalwart Cranker she left with information in hand and new hope. In another turn a wonderful couple walked in the shop without a machine but were clearly stunned to see us all there cranking. She had been cranking socks on her 47 in near total isolation. They had discovered us through a printed notice that we would be in the Yarn Shop that weekend.  They had come to see if we were really cranking socks like she did.  It is our hope she will join us at next months meeting.  
Yes, the fascination still lives and is being renewed in a new generation as nearly half our attending Crankers were younger than 40.

Obviously, being a blogger, my primary audience are those who use the Internet to acquire most of their CSM information. For the last 5 years or so it has become common for new CSM seekers to try using various aspects of the Internet to find there first sock machine. But as cranking becomes more common, at some point for each of us this experience of cranking socks becomes local and very personal.  I would suggest that if you have a local group of sock machine users, the sooner you seek local resources for information about sock machines the more likely you will have a satisfying CSM experience. It is this personal connection to other users of sock machines that can provide the new seeker their best opportunity for not just finding a sock machine but discovering a social network that brings with it a great deal of joy. So if you are a new seeker for sock machine information, a good start is to find a path that leads to your closest sock machine user group. It is among other users that you will experience the practical wisdom of what really works.  There you will have the opportunity to use more of your senses to gain a fuller understanding of how to use a CSM.  As you see, hear and touch the machines as they crank you develop a far more complete picture than can be gained by using the Internet alone.
The old adage of " buyer be ware" was never more true as there is no one stop source for CSM consumer reports.   Because even new is old technology being reproduced, new does not mean trouble free and old does not mean troublesome.   With several sources for full restoration, new needles, cylinders and dials, even the common older machines can be updated.  Today's CSM seeker has every opportunity to  put together a great machine designed around their needs and their pocket book. So lets take a journey between now and December to explore these choices starting with “why buy any sock machine”.

Before and After: hint for latch tool cast off

Summer here in Colorado was very wet and cool this year. Hank kept busy by frequent mowing and completing this very special Legare 400. What makes it so special is that it is over 100 years old.

Here is this very well used Legare 400 that we thought might never crank again. Now it is an amazing happy cranker. This color is Metallic Teal. The machine was made at the Creelman machine shop but sold under the P.T. Legare label. All the parts appeared to be original to this machine and equally well used. The age of this machine is likely 1898 to 1908. This machine was an eBay sale in 2008.

One of the greatest joys of restoring these wonderful old crankers is being the first to start them cranking again.

Here is a close up of the polished old and new fittings.

This cranker came with the usual 72 and 54 cylinder with a 36 slot dial. It also had the bent base yarn mast which provides more distance between mast post and shell. A great asset if you like to latch tool off your hem or ribbed cuff.

* HINT Latch tool off using a standard or bulky flat bed latch tool: To do a purl cast off enter the machine stitch from inside the shell, just as if your latch tool was a ribber needle. For a knit cast off enter outside the shell as if the tool is a cylinder needle. If you are casting off a hem, of every or everyother needle, it will look best to not mix the two. Doing outside cast off will be looser than the inside purl cast off. To make a ribbed cuff look hand knit, learn to mix, by doing a knit cast off on the knits and a purl on the purl stitches. Need more information go to: coloradocranker@q.com

The yarn feeder has an easy-thread slit that is very convenient and a real time saver when changing yarns.

Before the above powder coating was applied the whole machine was power cleaned and blasted to remove over a 100 years of sticky but hard oil, dirt and fiber that was 1/16 of an inch thick in some places.

After all the original metal parts are cleaned Hank puts the major pieces together to be sure the shell, gear ring, crank and base are all working well together.

The surprise was that under all the hardened oil and dirt was a nicely cast machine.

Here is the inside of the 54 cylinder that has a high rust and abrasion resistant clear coat on the inside. Another option is to have the inside of the cylinders painted the same color as the machine.

Thank you for visiting. Check back the first week of September for new pages.