Montgomery Ward UHT J1276 Sewing Machines (still being written)

Montgomery Ward Sewing Machines

Montgomery Ward Sewing machines, often called the Signature series, are incredibly well designed, heavy duty, all metal, Japanese manufactured machines, which Montgomery Ward contracted out, just like Sears did, for their Kenmore sewing machines.  Of all the Montgomery Ward Sewing machines I have ever owned, sewed with, or worked on, they never had an actual part breakage  or failure, they only needed the typical "disposable parts ", belt, bobbin tire, needle, motor brushes, or electrical cords, need replaced. 

(UPDATE-I have since discovered a cracked plastic/nylon/similar material spacer/cam behind the stitch selectors on these wonderful MK models- in most models, some have 2, which eventually crack, so it stops being able to select between stretch stitches, regular stitches, and the buttonhole program.

VIDEO UPDATE ON STRETCH STITCH PROGRAM BUTTONHOLE PROGRAM VERSUS REGULAR STITCHES- PLASTIC SPACER/CAM CRACKS! 

Other than that, they only needed old oil cleaned out (frozen up with dried oil, is the usual culprit), and needed the standard servicing, that most owners can do themselves. 

Montgomery Ward Signature UHT J1276 Sewing Machine

Straight stitch sewing on a MW sewing machine, especially for fine, silky fabrics, is easiest, if you can find one of the relatively rare, low shank left homing needle hole feet. I feel very blessed to finally find 2 of them, after trying more than 15 low shank straight stitch feet, and 3 different snap on ankle shanks, which I tried around 10 snap on straight stitch feet, none of which worked, so I was thrilled to finally find 2 low shank, left homing, straight stitch feet, among the hundreds of sewing machine feet, and 60+ machines I own, at the moment! (1/30/2013)

Montgomery Ward Signature sewing machine straight stitch presser foot

To be honest, these metal Montgomery Ward Sewing machines are so tough (and heavy), that when I had friends in desperate need of sewing machines, especially for sewing alterations, and sewing for a living, at home, the need for a tough machine, that was the only reason I was willing to let any of my MW machines go to a new home! (My friends could not use high speed industrial machines, nor did I have any industrials, at those times, to offer.)

I love the flatbed UHT J1276, especially,  since it has my very favorite built in stitch selection, from straight stitch, to stretch stitches, and zigzag stitches, with all of the most useful, and basic decorative stitches, most people will ever need.

While I do not have the manual for my MW machine, I love how simple it is to figure out the settings, and they included a quick glance chart of basic machine stitches, and functions, which is better than most manuals!

Montgomery Ward Signature 1344 Stitch Chart 

These cams are NOT for the UHT J1276, they are for an earlier model, which is usually gold, with a cam door on top, but I bought these, since it was the most affordable set of Montgomery Ward presser feet, I could find, at the time, on Ebay.

The Montgomery Ward Signature Sewing machines carry case, is one of the toughest, heavyiest duty carry cases available, but if you ship a machine, either ship the case separately, to avoid damaging the machine, and case, or you need to use packing tape, to securely tape the sewing machine to the base of the case, wrapping it several times, and do NOT leave the front plastic clip lever turned to secure the machine in the case, use the wrapping tape for that, or the clip will break in shipping.

Wrap the feet accessory case, and pedal and cords, in their own gallon zip lock bag, and bubble wrap, and securely tape them in the harp area of the machine, then securely protect the machine head in bubble wrap, leaving room for the case cover. Place the case top on, and secure the latches.

Now, snugly wrap at least 3 layers of heavy duty, big bubblewrap, around the entire machine, and case, everywhere! No part should be protected with less than 3 layers of the bubblewrap. Now, you can finally place it in a standing upright position, inside a large, sturdy box, which you can further protect with Styrofoam,  or more bubblewrap, until packed tightly, so nothing moves inside the box! Securely tape it shut, label each side, "FRAGILE! THIS SIDE UP! With an arrow pointing up to the top of the box. Insure it, and you should be able to safely ship it, with a reputable shipping company, without it getting damaged.