Restoring Singer Cabinet
 

Does anyone know if there is a place in New Hampshire or Massachusetts that can restore the 6 drawer cabinet that my Singer treadle came in? There are some trim pieces missing from the bottom edges of the cabinet. It also needs refinishing as some of the veneer is missing in spots. Needs a good restaining, too. The machine itself is missing it's bobbin and bobbin case, but I am fairly sure I can get these from Singer (or from the great folks here on QB). Don't know what else is wrong with the machine as I haven't gotten into it yet. We paid very short $$ for it ($25 or so) and DH doesn't want to put alot of $$ on fixing it up.

Thanks for the help.

Anita

Restoration is very labor intensive and will likely cost you several hundred $. At least.

Here's an odd suggestion for you. Look to see if you have local trade schools. I had my g'grandmother's treadle base refinished via the local juvenile detention center. A friend of ours is the woodworking instructor there and had his students do this for me. For FREE! They are not allowed to take payment of any sort. Now a nice batch of cookies...what can I say. Good luck. Might be worth a shot for you.

if you can work a deal like NJ suggested, it would be great. I highly doubt you will find anyone that will do this affordably. You are way better off paying more for a machine with a great cabinet. I refinish mine myself, and I still will pay quite a bit more to get a cabinet without veneer issues.

Thanks for the suggestions, NJ. I basically need someone to cut the one trim piece (at bottom of drawers- kind of triangular shaped molding). Other than that, I've been told by a local woodworker that refinishing is not too difficult and that he'd "walk me through it". I will be contacting someone local who refinishes furniture to see what they charge. Thanks again for the answers.

Anita

P.S. If need be, I'll live with it the way it is. Husband doesn't want to put lots of money into it. Says we should trash it if it is too expensive to restore. {{{HORRORS}}}!

I know that there's a zillion of these old cabinets out there - today. Just remember that proper restoration of antiques involves very little "hands on" work. If you just want it to look pretty then grab a can of solvent and some sand paper and go for it. If you are worried about value as an antique (not much currently) then spend the money and take it to an expert. IMHO there are so many of them around, just get the solvent.

If the veneer is just loose or bubbled it can be re-attached. Missing veneer can be replaced with a little more effort though there's a good chance the patches will show a little bit. To me it's not a big deal, repairs are part of an item's history too. I say fix it as well as you can and enjoy it.
Rodney