Adventures cleaning my White 31
03-15-2018, 06:39 PM
#1
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Join Date: Jul 2017
Posts: 46
Adventures cleaning my White 31
This is a thread for the White 31 I bought recently. To be honest I bought it more for the cabinet, which is in fantastic condition. Refinished maybe?
[ATTACH=CONFIG]590908[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]590909[/ATTACH]
The machine itself was completely frozen. I took everything off that I could. I could not see any debris in the machine and could not identify the specific point where it was locked. I soaked it first in kerosene, then wd-40, loosened various bolts under the bed, and soaked in more wd-40. I finally resorted to forcing it with a socket wrench where the handwheel had been, and whatever part that was stuck finally came loose. After that it moved -mostly- freely.
Now for some aesthetics. This thing is filthy. You can see the original black color on the parts that had been covered by other plates and panels. Kerosene did not have any effect on the grime other than to make it even more obvious. I was able to make some headway using baking soda and a toothbrush, as you can see on the left and right corners of the bed.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]590910[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]590912[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]590911[/ATTACH]
Several hours of scrubbing later and a kitchen covered in tiny muddy baking soda splatters..
[ATTACH=CONFIG]590913[/ATTACH]
The bed had a bit of a dull finish so after this photo was taken, I polished and waxed it to match the glossiness of the upper body. Some of the paint is worn off of the bed from what must have been years of use. Next I doused it in sewing oil and reassembled everything. The sewing oil made a huge difference, of course. The handwheel went from "just moving" to gliding. More pics soon!
[ATTACH=CONFIG]590908[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]590909[/ATTACH]
The machine itself was completely frozen. I took everything off that I could. I could not see any debris in the machine and could not identify the specific point where it was locked. I soaked it first in kerosene, then wd-40, loosened various bolts under the bed, and soaked in more wd-40. I finally resorted to forcing it with a socket wrench where the handwheel had been, and whatever part that was stuck finally came loose. After that it moved -mostly- freely.
Now for some aesthetics. This thing is filthy. You can see the original black color on the parts that had been covered by other plates and panels. Kerosene did not have any effect on the grime other than to make it even more obvious. I was able to make some headway using baking soda and a toothbrush, as you can see on the left and right corners of the bed.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]590910[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]590912[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]590911[/ATTACH]
Several hours of scrubbing later and a kitchen covered in tiny muddy baking soda splatters..
[ATTACH=CONFIG]590913[/ATTACH]
The bed had a bit of a dull finish so after this photo was taken, I polished and waxed it to match the glossiness of the upper body. Some of the paint is worn off of the bed from what must have been years of use. Next I doused it in sewing oil and reassembled everything. The sewing oil made a huge difference, of course. The handwheel went from "just moving" to gliding. More pics soon!
03-16-2018, 01:23 PM
#4
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Join Date: Jul 2017
Posts: 46
I know that she was owned by the grandfather of the woman I purchased it from, and it had been one of his prized possessions 
But I do always wonder how these machines reach such a sorry state. I buy vintage typewriters and vacuum cleaners a lot and they are consistently in better shape than the sewing machines I find.
But I do always wonder how these machines reach such a sorry state. I buy vintage typewriters and vacuum cleaners a lot and they are consistently in better shape than the sewing machines I find.
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