What do you think about when you are working
 

on an old machine?

I envision the previous owners of the machine looking down upon me cleaning their old sewing machine with love and care and smiling. I hope they know it is appreciated and that I will do my best to make it shine and run well.

Ohhh, i thought it was about when I'm at work. I'm thinking about old sewing machines, house fixups, anything but my job...been there toooooo long.

ha ha ha - I think all kinds of things - usually not that - there are some real knot heads out there that have given up on their grandma's machine. Occasionally I wonder about the grandma...

[h=2]Q: What do you think about when you are working[/h] on an old machine?


A: Lord, please don't let me drop this tiny little screw ...... *%&#@^ .....
A ½: Lord, please help me find this tiny little screw ..... PLEASE!



Joe

Ha, Joe!

Christy, I think of the original owners of these machines, and how proud they had to have been of their beautiful modern machine. And how glad I am to now have it, since their family didn't want it, but I sure did. Lots of nostalgia for me.

Joe,
2. Where is the magnet so I don't have to get down on my knees...

The last machine I worked on I was so happy thinking about what a great job I did and how smooth everything went. I put back on the last part which was the bottom cover plate on one of my Singer Slant O Matics and HORRORS!!! there were two little screws just laying there looking up at me, mocking me! SO for me I think about keeping focused and counting parts and putting them in groups in little plastic lids etc. :p

:D Joe's answer.. I have a screw from some machine... I think it was a spare in the first place.

Also: I shouldn't take this part off yet, I should wait .... screws everywhere... I should go to bed... where did that go? This way? *&^%!!

something like that...

ha ha - I TRY to stay focused but if you have ever been around me...

I don't know enough to let my mind wander while I'm working on them. I'm focused on the machine.
Rodney

I'm not thinking so much as trying to follow the teeny tiny singer diagrams on my tablet so I have less chance of screwing something up...or in wrong...or not at all. The more I do the better it will be but for now I'm just learning from the service manuals.

If Wilbur is over I'm thinking about how I'm going to not have a disaster...

I always say to myself how privileged and lucky I am to have this wonderful machine in front of me and I will just stare and wonder on the technology - that 100 years after it was manufactured it's still intact, clean, not a dent on the body, cabinets in good condition, and parts are in good working condition. And they never make this kind of machine anymore. And I wish i could buy all the machines that I want to keep and use.

I think about who owned the machine and look for clues. Did you ever see the movie "The Red Violin"? That's what I mean - who originally owned it and how many hands did it pass through until it ended up with me.

Wow great answers! I guess I think ALL those things! Sometimes I get a little emotional knowing how old a machine is and that someone probably sewed clothes for their children or things for their home on it.

The machine i just got-the 301 LBOW had newspaper clippings in the accessory box. One was a simple clip a Hint from Heloise about putting foil on your ironing board, but the others documented a family tragedy. There was an accident with 3 teen boys and one was killed. In another article a bartender admitted to selling them liquor and in the third One boy's family was suing another (I assume the driver of the vehicle). Apparently Gramma had saved the clippings to document the family history but had secreted them away with her sewing machine.

Please let this be the fix that will make my mach workxo"/#&?

I always tend to wonder where the machine has been, what it has "seen" and the times it "lived" through. I tend to do that with all my antiques though.

I am in another frame of mind here--when I am sitting at my machine (any of them), I start to wonder what the next person to own this machine will be thinking; and sometimes get a little down because NONE of my kids love my talent and phobias about sewing machines. I start to wonder what I might have done differently those long years ago when sewing was an absolute passion with me---it just didn't rub off on my kids. I think all it did was take my time with them away from them, and they didn't even have Smartphones. Am I in a funk this morning????

Funny that I never even consider the previous owners.... I think about the inventor, engineer, and craftsman that made it and I try to do them proud...

This thought process backfired once when on a crappy made machine, found myself not caring much either...

Thanks for the laugh, Joe. I'm guilty of the same thing!

Cricket

I usually marvel at the engineering, try to increase my understanding of the machine, test out it's capabilities, and wash my hands frequently. LOL

Joe, we can all certainly identify with you and love your sense of humor :)

I keep a flashlight (doesn't need to be a big one)and one of those magnets that telescope with a mirror on the other end. Picked up at Harbor Freight for $7.00 (got 2). Also have couple of those magnet trays next to each machine. Comes in handy when I come up with an extra part that wasn't there when I started. Or you can get magnetic sheets at the craft stores and cut to size to fit in different trays, metal lids or whatever.

:) When I work on, mainly replacing bobbin thread, and sew on my Singer 15-91, I reflect on the fact that this machine is 83 years old and sews great!!

I love getting a machine with documented "history" so I know where it started and how it was used. I got both my 201s from families whose relative bought it originally.

My hand crank 99 went to Canada with its original owner (a missionary) and sewed for kids.

My 401A came from a friend. Her x-boyfriend's mother gave it to her.

I don't know where my White treadle came from but I brought the original owner with it. I can't leave it open at night. It sews by itself. :-)

After all that is said and done my next thought as I'm cleaning it up is which of my children are going to try and take this from me? I've lost a 401, 201 and two Featherweights that way.

Just thought I say that those two little screws held the feed dog in place and took me quite a while to find out where they belonged because I had put the cover back on!! It's all good, right?