That's funny. I'm 49 raising my 20 month old daughter. It's like raising my own grandchild - many of my friends are becoming grandparents. Thank goodness my wife is a lot younger than me. :-)

My son and stepdaughter (read daughter) are both 24. Some day I will have a grandchild but not too soon I hope.

I wanted to sneak in a few pictures of my latest project. I just finished it yesterday morning. It is a Willson And Gibbs that dates from either 1899 or 1900. It was seized up when I got it but everything was there except for the needle. Does anyone have a source for them?
Here is a before and after of the front and back and a couple of other before and afters for comparison.
~G~

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You can get needles on Ebay, Albrands and the Treadle lady.com

Great job cleaning that one up!
Rodney

Grant, your efforts put mine to shame. Your skills are Smithsonian, seriously. Did you use a dremel?

I did google it and came up with her listing on ebay. Prices seemed a little high but I had not gone through it as much as I should have before asking here. Thank you.

Thank you Rodney and Kenmorerulesall. Yes, I did use a Dremel to clean up a lot of the bare and plated metal parts with a wire wheel and a buffing wheel. I also used Mother's Mag Wheel Polish on some parts also. Some things work better than others. One thing I did learn is that the paint is not as resilient on these machines as they are on many other machines. It scratches easier than just about all other machines. Extra care has to be taken on them.
~G~

I became a grandmother 4 months before I had my last child. Aunt is younger than niece. They've been raised together and are more like sisters or close cousins. I just wish more of my kids or kidlets would show some interest in the machines. Arrow does but he's young so who knows if his interest is real and lasting or if it's just because he wants to do what Gramma is doing.

Cari

Grant that cleaned up really nice. You do such great work.

Cari

My most recent acquisition (as of 3 pm yesterday):

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The Pfaff 30. Straight-stitch with reverse, feed dog drop on the deck, class 15 bobbin, unusual 1.4 amp motor so this thing has power and speed to burn. Unusual bobbin housing including a hinged collar rather than the more typical bracket/screw setup.

The cabinet's finish is shot but it's sturdy. The machine hasn't seen much sewing but that's going to change. I love this thing. For $40, I really love this thing.

Nice get! Looks like the cabinet absorbed all the abuse. That machine is a pretty one, it looks new.
Rodney