http://www.quiltingboard.com/vintage...u-t243144.html
I up dated there last night.

Hello, everyone. I'm brand new to the Quilting Board; please bear with me if I make mistakes. I'm also new to sewing and sewing machines. I just bought a machine yesterday and have spent several hours cleaning it because it was filthy and smelled like someone died. I'm not sure I'm doing this correctly. I've attached pictures so you can see what I've done so far. (The interior is next.)

[ATTACH=CONFIG]467561[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]467560[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]467559[/ATTACH]

Looks like you are doing just fine with the cleaning of the outside. Take your time cleaning the insides and ask questions as you go along. There is a lot of good members to answer your questions on this board.

KenmoreRulesAll,
Your machine looks great. Well done!!
Sharon Weaver in Texas

Free-Westinghouse LZ
 

Glenn and Sharon, thanks very much. It looked nice under that coating of dirt, lint, cobwebs, and smoker's haze. (The thickness of that coating probably protected the finish.) I doubt the machine has sewn in decades but it started right up and the light works.

As for the innards, I'll probably use a toothbrush and oil to begin, wiping out the grimy oil as I go using paper towels and Q-tips. I've read that this is one way to clean sewing machines. Some of the joints between moving parts may need some kerosene (? -- not sure about that). I don't (yet) detect any frozen parts and the handwheel moves very freely and keeps moving after I give it a quick turn. It is, however, filthy. It must have been a spider hotel.

After I posted the pictures, I realized I had forgotten to re-attach one of the coolest parts of the machine (well, cool to me): the bobbin winder thread guide that is a collar piece on the shaft of the handwheel. I'm not sure what it's called but I'll post another picture soon.

Thanks again!

P.S. You can call me Ken. It's not my real name but it's easier to type.

Love that machine! hadn't seen one like that before, looks like it was a domestically manufactured zig zag before the brand was moved to Japan?

Ken,
Very nice looking machine. Was it the machine which inspired you to take n interest in machines and sewing? I know that a lonely Minnesota A started me on the road to investigating and restoring the grand old ladies.
Helen Ann

Hey, Jim -- thanks very much. It says it's made in W. Germany. I did some research and it was produced under a contract with Free-Westinghouse, Anker, and New Home, so there are 3 versions (that I know of). I've seen pictures of other Free-Westinghouse LZ machines and they have a beautiful decal on the inside of the column. I wonder why this one doesn't. It reminds me of the Pfaff 130 except a little smaller, with a lower profile. The warranty I found inside the cabinet states it was purchased in 1955. It came with quite a few presser feet, bobbins, etc. The seller sold it to me for $50 with the cabinet and had a very cheap-looking New Home Janome machine from the 1980s (made in Taiwan) in a broken cabinet for $95. (I passed on that one.) Then he sold me a Kenmore for an additional $10, a Japanese-made 158.16250 convertible that looks like it was used maybe 3 times and in a very solid cabinet. I don't really know what he was thinking.

Hey there, Helen Ann -- thanks very much. My interest in sewing and machines is one borne of necessity. I decided that I needed to learn to mend a small stack of clothing I hadn't yet tossed rather than buy new clothes. Also, I have a Volvo wagon that needs a nylon cover so I thought I might try to make one and I also have a bench that needs a custom-sized seat cushion. I'm not a quilter at all so I hope I'm not considered an unwelcome interloper; perhaps you and others can convince me to start one.

My very first machine is a used Janome 6500P. Way too much machine for a beginner and not the best choice for heavy-duty sewing (although I've never had a problem putting anything through it). So I bought a White. And that machine addicted me. I'm more into machines than sewing. When I scroll through Craig's List, I want almost every single one of them and I'm starting to eye some of the industrial machines with the big clutch motors and custom tables.

Great googly moogly. You made it look like that in one day?