This is the latest machine to come my way. When we got to church last week our friend told me he had a sewing machine in his boot for me. My first question was "Has it got rust?" and his answer was "Don't know, I haven't looked at it."

So after church we went to his car and had a look. Nice wooden case, foot pedal beside it (oh no, I'm not an electric girl) but also, oh joys, the original handle also! When he took the cover off the first thing I noticed was a pile of what looked like thick sticky black paint on the bed of the machine. It wasn't until we got home that I realised that it was the remains of the bobbin winder tyre that had melted and dripped down.

Has anyone had a bobbin tyre melt on them before? All I can think is that the machine was running with the bobbin winder engaged to the balance wheel and enough friction built up to melt the tyre. But why it was never cleaned up I'll can't begin to guess.

The machine is now transformed - off came the motor and on went the handle. It's a 1927 99K and now looks beautiful. It is now cleaned and oiled, and today's job is to test the stitch.

I've put a video on youtube if anyone wants to see it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hStB5h4UG31 - I just wanted to show how incredibly easy it is to convert an old hand machine back to its original condition by taking off the motor. I also realise that I was incredibly lucky that the machine still had the original handle with it.

As for the motor, my husband's brain started whirring and he started muttering about trying it out in his shed... All I can imagine is fuses blowing, so I'll make sure I'm out on the day he decides to plug it in so I don't blow one of mine.

Nice machine. :) Hope you have fun with it.

Lucky you! I've always wanted a hand crank type.
(Don't laugh but when you said "our friend told me he had a sewing machine in his boot for me" I pictured him pulling a toy sized machine out of a boot he wears on his foot....then I noticed you're in England. The light came on! "Boot" in England is "trunk" in USA. lol)

Sweet! Rubber will melt and degrade if the conditions are right. Maybe it has been stored in a particularly warm place...whatever....it's a beauty.

I was thinking the same thing. Enjoy.

Earthwalker - That did cross my mind, but the wooden base and case show no signs of cracking or shrinkage, and none of the fading you would get from exposure to sunlight, so there's no evidence of any other part of the machine having been subjected to excessive heat.

Aaagh - sorry, I got the link wrong! I couldn't tell if the last digit was 1, capital I or small l. Here's the right link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hStB5h4UG3I

You got a beautiful machine. I've been thinking of swaping out the motor on my 99k for a hand crank too.