She is a beaut. I bet if I had been around, she would have jumped right in my car too.

Nice machine and cabinet! Should you have that problem in the future, in addition to changing the position of the washer, also play a bit with the tightness of the screw in the hand wheel. A slight alteration there makes a big difference.

A Model 15 clone is always worth having. They are wonderful machines. I have two, love them both.

My 15k80 has what looks like a brittle brown hazing over the black japanning. It is predominantly around the oiling holes. Is it an original part of the varnish/japan covering or is it just dried up oil? I would like to clean it off but do not want to do any unnecessary damage. Is it what is meant by shellac?

To be sure we would need to see a photo, but cleaning a machine with sewing machine oil is almost always safe.

Shellac is the product made from beetles that is like a modern poly coating. The older "japaned" machines are "painted" with mixture of shellac and black pigment and then baked.

Using new oil to soften and clean the old oil works very well but slow (and safe) you can use other "treatments" but they are progressively more risky to the decals.

Many thanks. The sewing machine oil strategy seems the best course of action. I'll give it a try and see what happens. I want the machine to look good but not at the risk of damaging the finish which to be honest is in a pretty good condition. The RAF decals are more or less intact. I'll try to upload some photos.
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First photo shows staining around oil hole. Second photo shows the worst patch and third is quite difficult to see. Any ideas??

Stitch,

I would clean it with oil and a soft cloth only. Then when you no longer get any grunge off the machine I'd suggest reading this thread posted by by Glenn> { http://www.quiltingboard.com/vintage...s-t186522.html }
PM him for help if needed.

Joe

Hi Joe,
I'll do as you suggest and repost some (better) photos when complete. Many thanks.
stitch1967