Earlier this month my wife and I took a short road trip to pick up an ancient Minnesota Mdl ~B~ sewing machine. It was a nice trip and we got to meet some good folks while we were at it.
Once home I tried out the machine and it was cranky and promptly broke the one and only Davis long needle that was in it.
So I contacted Mizkaki and she sent me some MTx190 needles to use in it. While waiting for that I took the externals off and started cleaning it.
My goal was to get as much grunge and solidified oil off of it as I could with out ruining any more of what decals were left.
In between the cleaning I re-wired the connector from the motor to the foot control. That wire was pretty bad. The other wire isn't too bad and I left it alone for now. I'll redo it when I get a better plug for it.
The machine was a grungy and varnished up as the inside of an old truk engine.
Cleaning and cleaning and cleaning and finally I got to the point that I had removed as much as I could. Pouring oil on it or on the cotton balls didn't get any more brown stuff off of it.
Then I turned it over and worked over the bottom. Oil wouldn't touch the crud so I used Hoppe's #9 gun cleaning solvent. That works good for things like this and is mostly kerosene.
When I got the bottom as clean as I could get it without taking it all apart I set it upright and let it sit overnight.
Today I finished the wiping down and reassembly of the externals. Re-re-re-oiled the entire machine, including oil holes that had been plugged and blocked up for decades.
Then I put it back in it's case and threaded it up.
When I went to wind my one and only bobbin I needed something to drive the bobbin winder. I had an idea and it worked. I have a selection of old rubber machine belts and the smallest are just right to drive the bobbin winder.
I have four machines that use shuttle bobbins and only two that are properly adjusted and fill the bobbins equally. This little machine and my FREE.
I found a couple parts I'm going to need to replace. This is some sort of wire that could be a spring or a guard but I don't know. I'm looking for a picture of a machine that is complete so I can fabricate a replacement.
After getting the bobbin filled up I threaded the shuttle, put it in then put in one of the MTx190 needles. I threaded the machine as best I can without a manual and gave it a try.
I sewed up some scraps and played with the upper tension. It didn't really work as good as it should have. I noticed from my other pics I have the spring in opposite the way it was originally. I'll have to switch it next time I sew with the machine.
I was able to get the tension good enough to sew quite a bit with it. It's noisy due to the friction drive wheel having flat spots but it does sew.
As I was sewing some the material caught on the front slide plate and jammed up the machine. The front plate is a home made replacement. I need to find an original or one that I can make fit.
Now we just need to decide what we are going to make with the little machine.
Now I need to find those parts and some data about when it was made and by who.
Joe