You are all so wise, I'm needing advice. We found an old Davis vertical shuttle treadle at a garage sale for next to nothing. BUT, it is greasy and dirty (and I mean icky!!) and has a huge water stain on the wood top. How do I clean all this and or restore the finish?

Also, the only info on this machine would indicate that it is from the late 1800s. Thoughts?

Billy is going to restore a machine and do a tutorial for us go to this site

http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-43881-1.htm

Very fine steel wool.... "0000". Homer's furniture refinisher, in a dark walnut color.

Using the steel wool, apply the Homer's, rubbing with the grain of the wood. You may have to repeat it several times, wiping the wood dry each time.
When it's looking the way you want it to, finish up with Homer's Beeswax and Orange oil...following the directions.

Don't sand the veneer. veneer is so thin that it's easy to wear completely through it.

That's a beautiful machine!

Ok, do I start with the stained part and work oput over the rest? Do I concentrate on the lighter areas of wood? I guess nothing can hurt it worse than it is!!

Do an "all over"...it's not going to be a complete refinish, you'll be darkening the areas that are bleached out, and oiling the wood at the same time.

If it doesn't turn out the way you want, then you're going to have to get more drastic, and I'm not the one to tell you how to do that...but I'll bet Billy can! :)

Wonderful machine! I use it for all of my quilting - it is such a cool machine! Good luck in fixing it up - I love mine!!

Congratulations, looks like a doable project. I will enjoy watching your progress. There are so many on this board that share their knowledge it is great.

What a GREAT machine :mrgreen: Very lucky find :thumbup:

I've been using PB blaster on machines - try an inconspicuous spot..
you really should not use WD40 or 3in1... use sewing machine oil for oiling
join the Vintage treadle list on yahoo groups...

What a great machine!

Billy suggests NON PUMICE "GoJo" hand cleaner...it's made to cut grease and oils...and the non pumice variety won't scratch the surface or decals.

What a great find, I can't wait to see the after pics!

What a wonderful find. It's going to be a beauty when you are done.

The table looks like it was shellacked, try a bit of alcohol in an iconspicuous area. That may clean it up. Rottestone may clean up the top. It will clean, polish and oil at the same time.

Striping the orignal finish may take some of the value away from the cabinet

You can also try Fromby's (or another brand) refinisher. It will leave the original finish.

If the white isn't very deep try toothpaste with the Mr Clean Eraser.

I know to clean a painting I was told to use spit on a cotton swab, you may try that on the gold.

Anything you try, start where it can't be seen in case it does more damage.

It's a beautiful machine.

I will try and post a tute on the cleaning of the machine as soon as possible.

I am trying to finish a pair of 1932 Fords for a guy and his wife before June and I am hauling you know what trying to get the final things done before the end of the month. But right now they are getting the interiors put in and I still have to go and pick up the Garnish moldings in Knoxville, some more plated parts in Nashville and then I am still working on the small details like painting the hoods and buffing them out. (he changed his mind on the type of hood he wanted)

But here is a quick synopsis of cleaning a machine.

After pulling all of the plates off of the machine including the tensioner, bobbin winder, belt guard if it comes off, and the Handwheel, you can give the mechanics a good Kerosene bath trying not to get too much on the finish. Afterwards the Go Jo cleaning with cotton balls and Q-Tips, thoroughly oil the machine (anywhere metal touches metal) then hit it with the Scotts Liquid Gold in the pour bottle and its a new machine!

And if you want to clean the plated parts use SemiChrome or Mothers Mag Wheel Polish.

Billy

What a beautiful case. I have never seen a cabinet llike that. Let us see poics when you are done.

Do you mean Howard's? It sounds the same as what I use. An antique dealer with very high end furniture said that was all they used. This stuff works great and does not compromise the authenticity of the piece.

What a wonderful find!

Thanks all of you, I'm saving all this information for when we get to our new home and settle in. I'm sure it will be late summer before I can get to her but rest assured I will!! :D :D

What a beauty!

wow, you found a cool machine, have fun getting it all cleaned up and ready to sew sew sew

Charlee, what is the expected result using the Homers? I bought a can and have been working on my new aquisition from the auction, and I dont see that it is helping very much. Perhaps my expectations are too high? I thought that it would sort of melt the old finish and redistibute in an overall look. I have been rubbing and rubbing and the old doesnt seem to be changing much..Am I just too impatient....

Just found this thread. I'm wondering if there are any updates?

I don hope the person is using this Davis. The Davis Vertical Feed machines are excellent for quilting and attaching binding.

Wow I would like to know to!

This looks like an old thread on here. You don't really have to totally disassemble a sewing machine to put it in working order.
Muv has some nice videos for cleaning and fixing up sewing machines.
http://www.quiltingboard.com/vintage...v-t167789.html I first found these videos from a Google search I did trying to find more info because I thought the machines did not need to always be disassembled to get them to run. Then I discovered Muv was a QB member!!!! Grab a nice cup of tea and enjoy her videos!!! This is really good info!

Thanks Celeste for the PM telling me this thread has been reactivated. I still have not done anything with her. We are busy settling into our new home and she is in a corner of the dining room with a pretty Christmas table topper on her. Refinishing kitchen cabinets come first and we are active retirees who are never home!!

Thank you also Miriam, for the link to the videos. I'll watch them soon and when the kitchen is done...................

Hello Dakotamaid,

What a great machine! We very rarely see Davis vertical feeds here. It is the one American machine I would like to have a go on.

I have had a good squint at the pictures. The discoloured metal, especially the bobbin winder, looks like a residue of dust and oil. This should come off easily with a bit of persistence with metal polish. The stuff I use is called Peek, made in England (hurrah hurrah) and is obtainable in the States. If you can't find it in the shops you can buy it online from http://www.tri-peek.com It goes a very long way. I am still only halfway through a tube after cleaning about 10 machines. Make sure you don't let the Peek get onto the japanned area of the decals, because it could lift off the top layer of the decal. If there is any stubborn oily residue on the japanned areas or decals, try a little bit of undiluted washing up liquid (ie. for dishes) on cotton wool or a soft cloth. Once dust and stubborn residue has been shifted you can wipe the black areas with machine oil on cotton wool.

Miriam - Thanks again for posting the links!

Hi Muv, could you explain what the term japanned means? Also is the Peek the tube that you show on the video on how to clean a vintage machine? Do you happen to own a Treadle machine? I believe I have watched all your videos and have seen anything on the Treadle. Would you consider doing one specifically to the Treadle? I have taken apart my tension disc several times because although I get the most beautiful stitch plus thanks to you I have the perfect scant 1/4 inch seam, my thread keeps breaking and I have followed your threading instructions. It feels like the thread is too tight then breaks which is very frustrating as it happens every 2 inches or so of stitching. Anything you could recommend would be greatly appreciated.

I just cleaned off my grandmother's Singer 1905 I think I am going to clean her up & possibly use her. I learned to sew on her with my grandma's watching closely so that I wouldn't go to fast. We made skirts & clothes for school. She would let me hand quilt with her but not the piecing and now I know why. Thank you for posting your questions they will also help me.

would that FORMBY'S, not Homer's...as in Homer Formby??

To clean the bright metal pieces on my Davis VF I used Bar Keepers Friend, which removed all the oxidation and rust spots. It has a little bit of a mild acid in it that cuts through all the gunk.

To clean the body, I used Dawn dishwashing liquid on cotton balls, then rinsed that and tons of gunk off using just wet rags, dried it, then used sewing machine oil, which removed still more gunk. Mine is down to bare metal in some spots and has virtually no decals/decorative paint left, so I didn't have that worry. Just had to be careful not to do any further damage to the finish. The black finish is the "Japan" that was mentioned earlier.

Dakotamaid, could you please tell us the Serial Number and the city, which is stamped on the front shuttle cover slide plate. There is a group on Yahoo.com called Davis VF, and they are collecting the serial numbers trying to get some good dates established. Davis SM Co. didn't keep any records that could be found, so there's no way to date the machines for sure. Charlee's VF and my VF are within a very few thousand of each other, and hers says Watertown, NY and mine says Dayton, OH, so we know hers was 1889 and mine was 1890. They moved to Dayton OH early in 1890. That's as close as we can get without paperwork with them.