Bent Needlebar Top! HELP!!
This weekend I purchased a sweet New Home Climax and treadle from 1881. Tonight I tore into it and discovered the very top of the needlebar is bent. It is the division where the thread would go through a slot. How I missed it earlier I have NO idea!
Can I bend them back without breaking? Should I use heat to help reduce the chance of breakage? They are steel, I know that much.
I do know that the last time this machine was remotely operational was 1966. That's when the original owner passed away and it was sent to her brother in Washington state.
The shipment process was not good to it. Not only did the needlebar get bent but the stitch regulator knob fell off and one of the machine mounts shook loose (we found them in the OLD packing material and newspaper). Please help me get this baby running again!