Champanier

I went to buy something else entirely, but then we got to talking and there was a sewing machine and it was a fiddle base and you know the rest...


The seller is making something with the drawers and coffin top, so I just bought the head, stand top (in bad shape - lots of missing veneer), and treadle base.


The machine moves very freely. I'm not sure it will clean up much - a lot of the decals seem to be actually gone, not just dirty.


Given that I only have parts of the stand, I wonder if this would be better converted to a handcrank. I've looked on eBay from time to time (just casually) and seen only repro cranks. Are vintage ones available for reasonable prices?

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it's a fiddle so it's to old for the standard singer handcrank, those need a cast in mount. you'd be very lucky to ever find just the crank for that old of a singer.

I've stopped replacing bad veneer because of availability and the price. Now all the bad wood get glued back in place, sanded smooth with a very heavy finish of lacquer, Then sanded to whatever shine I feel like it wants.

The finished product looks fabulous, you see all the old splintered wood it look like ragged edges, running you hand over the wood it's as smooth as can be , along with missing design work, it looks 100+ yrs old yet looks like new. I have a VS 1 but with less decal left. no top and only one drawer. this one was also missing the same piece of that hinge as yours. I made that piece. Thats another long story, alot of welding a filing

Candace

Vintage hand cranks are very pricey:<

SteveH

I have that same head in a treadle and it sews fantastic. Interesting note, I have seen 5 of those with broken or missing hinges and it is ALWAYS the front one... Odd.

Rodney

Great looking machine! The decals on the arm are intact enough that I think it will clean up nicely.

CD (ThayerRags) here has what I think might be the correct handcrank. They fit the Singer 27 anyway. It has a "U" shaped mount that fastens where the belt guard is. Those ones are a lot less common than the regular Singer cranks though.
Rodney

Champanier

Yes, I remember you posting your beautiful VS2. This had the same stand and top, but the seller kept the top and drawers. That is funny about the hinges. I have the top and treadle part, but I have to see whether it can go together without the drawer framework. It was already in pieces when I got it, but the seller gave me some hardware that was on the drawer frame.

I worked for about three hours on the decals with sewing machine oil and cotton. It made some difference, but it's making me nervous. I can't quite tell if I'm actually cleaning or taking off decals. The finish on the decals is crazed and some have definitely flaked off in the past. I'm not seeing anything but dirt on the cotton, so I think it's okay. They're very slow to emerge, but I keep reminding myself that the machine is 124 years old, so there's a lot of dirt to get through. I think I'm somewhere between WWI and the Depression.

Champanier

Thanks, Rodney! I've never seen a Singer handcrank in person, so it's hard for me to picture how they work and go together usually. I read online that some of the VS2s were made as handcranks, but haven't found any pictures, so I don't know if that's accurate. I did find a post on another site about converting a 27 and it had the u-shaped mount - and said they're hard to find. I'll have to dig the 27 out from under the Christmas train and compare!

Champanier

Here's today's progress. I havent touched the metal yet. The decals look very fragile...

Dial-up folks, I downloaded an app to reduce photo size. Are these okay now or do you need smaller files? Thanks!

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manicmike

Looks great Linda. If you were very keen you can get the nickel plating re-done too. A bit of brasso works wonders on the Singer plate.

Champanier

Thanks, manicmike! I've looked up nickel plating and don't find anything nearby, but I've thought about collecting a bunch of pieces and getting them all done at once if I have to send them somewhere.

Meanwhile, the faceplate and other small pieces are in Evaporust. I'll see what I can do with polish. The bobbin plates aren't too bad. Thanks again!