Courtney
Courtney, from northern Colorado, has been working on both sewing machines and quilts. He writes to us about what he has been doing:
This month I have been working on a Christmas quilt and a few sewing machine projects. I am sewing the quilt on a 1945 Featherweight from the first Featherweight allotment after WWII. The quilt is for the woman who gave me the Featherweight and matching card table.
The project that has taken most of my time is actually for another friend. He said that he had an old treadle singer that didn't work and asked if I could get it running. I said that I would be willing to give it a try. When he brought it over, I could see that it was an old red eye Singer 66. I have a matching red eye myself from the same June 27, 1923, allotment. They are only about 2500 numbers apart. When I got Chucks machine it had a lot of treadle grunge on it and thread was wrapped all around the bobbin area completely jamming up the machine. My first job was to get all the thread out of the bobbin area so I could at least turn over the machine. Next, I gave the machine a good lubrication. I then set the timing and put in a new needle before working on the tension. The sewing machine seemed to sew fine however it was still quite grungy. So I washed it off with just soap and water which made an enormous difference. I then gave it a once over with a bit of WD40. Finally, I gave it a quick cleaning sewing machine oil, before putting on a bit of wax. The decals on the bed were starting to deteriorate and silver a bit and I wanted to get a bit of protection on them. I must say, when I was done, the machine looked quite respectable.
Another of my projects was to start on my aluminum Singer 99 which was delivered last month during our monthly zoom call. I haven't messed with the electrical components yet, just removed them. It's amazing that the motor seems to weigh almost as much as the machine. The machine did need a good cleaning, so I worked on that. It's not going to be pristine, but it does look much better. The case also needs a lot of work as the veneer on the back has come lose. With the electrical work on the machine as well as the woodworking on the base, it will take me another couple of months to get it presentable.
I did fall apart yesterday at a garage sale. There was this old treadle machine for $20. What made me spend my money was that it displayed a medallion of the Cash Buyers Union out of Chicago. I figured it was made some time in the 1890's as the company was founded in 1895 and burned down in 1904. The machine was made by National but had Kenwood painted on the head. The name was mostly gone on this machine. The treadle top has the typical problem with water delaminating the veneer, but the drawers were in good condition and the drawer pulls also had Cash Buyer's Union on them. The drawer pulls are probably worth what I paid. I had always wondered why companies who sold badged sewing machines spent so little on painting their names on the machines that their names often wore off, but they paid so much to have their name cast on the treadle stands. I found that the Kenwood which appeared to be cast into the metal uprights was actually a very thin casting of about a quarter inch thick that bolted into place and was made to look like it was cast into the base. They could pay for a generic treadle but make it look very expensive. Learn something new all the time!
Courtney
... to be continued