Vintage Sewing Machine Shop.....Come on in and sit a spell

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04-24-2012, 05:32 PM

#33871

miriam

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Join Date: Mar 2011

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Posts: 15,507

Quote:

Originally Posted by danimal

Glenn-
Haha! I looked everywhere for tutorials on how to fix the shellac and couldn't find anything, maybe because I was looking for varnish. Kind of pixxed off when I did run across your tutorial recently, too late! I tried using Howards and some 0000 steel wool to clean it, which helped some but left the decals bright yellow blurs. Will post some pictures.

We all have made sacrifices to the school of hard knocks now haven't we...

04-24-2012, 05:46 PM

#33872

Glenn

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Join Date: Mar 2010

Location: Huntsville, AL

Posts: 2,609

Quote:

Originally Posted by miriam

We all have made sacrifices to the school of hard knocks now haven't we...

I recommend you add more shellac and make the head shiny and smooth use the instructions I gave but it is to late for the decals.

04-24-2012, 05:48 PM

#33873

danimal

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Join Date: Apr 2012

Location: Seattle

Posts: 15

Sure have. Good thing this board exists to prevent some of them! pics in machine photos, ignore laundry pile.

04-24-2012, 05:58 PM

#33874

miriam

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Join Date: Mar 2011

Location: Somewhere

Posts: 15,507

Quote:

Originally Posted by danimal

Sure have. Good thing this board exists to prevent some of them! pics in machine photos, ignore laundry pile.

At least yours looks clean and it should still sew - maybe you can paint something on there and put some shellac on over it - I'm so not handy that way. I gummed up a few perfectly good sewing machines with 3 in 1 oil before. Maybe we should start a school of hard knocks thread on here.... what I learned in the school of hard knocks?

04-24-2012, 06:10 PM

#33875

danimal

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Join Date: Apr 2012

Location: Seattle

Posts: 15

Could call it " Vintage Giggles, What were we smoking?"
I have the rotary hook I cracked/broke on my 185j, the 128 blackside shuttle I stepped on or the smoking 306w motor I oiled to contribute.
Good times!

04-24-2012, 06:13 PM

#33876

miriam

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Quote:

Originally Posted by danimal

Ok let's roll with it...
I have my Necchi i used liquid wrench on and melted the stitch regulator.

04-24-2012, 06:20 PM

#33877

bsktkeeper

Senior Member

Join Date: Jul 2010

Location: central In.

Posts: 300

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crossstitcher

bsktkeeper I beleive your machine if it is a singer is a 27 dated March 6, 1903 -40500 made. Enjoy her. Probably won't be the only Old Girl you will ever get. Once they know you love them they tend to follow us home.

She is a Singer and has a bird in the center next to the throat plates. This is my 4th oldie and I love all of them. I don't know if I will get this one to work' but she can just look pretty

04-24-2012, 08:10 PM

#33878

vintagemotif

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Join Date: Sep 2010

Posts: 4,972

Oh NO! Dan has a naked Davis NVF. Dan, I have one Davis NVF that has some green decals on base; that was the way the machine came when I purchased it. I have only used sewing oil to clean it up.

All the Davis NVF that I have seen have had the shellac shot and brown.

04-24-2012, 08:26 PM

#33879

vintagemotif

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Join Date: Sep 2010

Posts: 4,972

Janice, I can see the photos now of your very lovely Davis NVF. Well, worth your drive down to LA.
If you use Glenn's method of cleaning the machine, I would go around the decals and then clean the decals up with just sewing oil. These decals can turn green with other chemicals, but sewing oil works great.

I would NOT use baby oil on them since baby oil has other oils, perfumes. The baby oil will be fine for the Singers and other machines with shellac intact, and babies bottoms, but not on these Davis machines.

With that stated, I wish I had bookmarked the blog of one collector that I found a couple of years ago. I can't find the blog now, but he stated that he only cleans his machines with sewing oil. And that it would take him weeks to get the crud off, but it would come off. He had the prettiest machines I have seen on a blog, a very beautiful collection.

Congrats again! You are going to LOVE this machine!!!

04-25-2012, 12:28 AM

#33880

Muv

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Join Date: Jun 2011

Location: England

Posts: 822

Quote:

Originally Posted by nickylsf

Hi, I bought this machine about 20 years ago when I was living in France. I looked up the serial number and it appears to be from July 1925, model "15K".

I may have had the motor, but don't really remember. All I used it for before was as a table for my more modern

machine.

I would like to fix it up and get it running. My husband will help with the refinishing of the cabinet. It seems to me that the most obvious place to start would be a belt. Do you know what I should buy? I have seen them on E-Bay, but with different diameters and lengths. Also, does this model have a name?

Thanks so much!

Hello Nickylsf,

That is a fabulous treadle you have. It is the best model for free motion work, and it looks as though that is what it has been used for in the past because there is a cover over the feed dogs.

It shouldn't be too difficult to get going. As for cleaning and oiling, watch my videos - the links are in the sticky thread at the beginning of this section. Billy's cleaning method is far too radical and should have a health and safety warning attached. There is absolutely no need to strip your machine down and immerse it in dangerous substances overnight. You can clean your machine without even taking it out of the treadle table - just protect the wood with newspaper.