27-4 Cleaning. At Last.

Before getting side tracked with the Domestic, I had the issue of the 15-87's bobbin winder not liking the smaller belt ring on the spoken handwheel.  Since the motor will eventually be going back on the 15-87 along with the solid hand wheel it wasn't really a major problem.  I just needed to decide which machine would take its place in the treadle.

Since the treadle sits in the middle of the dining room (along with the 201's treadle and the table for the 403A) I figured it would probably be best to put it up to a family vote which machine was going to be mounted on it.  My candidates were the 66-1 and the 1908 27-4.  I went with the 1908 instead of the 1896 due to the '08's better decals at present.

It was a split vote.  Our son went for the 66-1.  I guess the red eye decals look more violent or something.  The wife went with the 27-3 because the colors match the carpet better.  Another valid reason for choosing a sewing machine.

It came down to me.  Since I already have The Wicked Queen, Black Swan and 403A in tables for use I went with the 27-4 to have a VS machine as well.

A Gift From The Universe

When I picked up the seven drawer treadle it had a lot of top clamping presser feet with it.  It also has some non-Singer bobbins and bobbin carriers.

Treadle Cleaning

Well we didn't lose power during the "Blizzard of '16", and only got about 3" of snow.  Instead of sewing by candle light I spent the day taking apart the seven-drawer and cleaning it up a bit.  The iron isn't in bad shape at all, a bit of dusting with a brush, a little rubbing compound and oil and it is presentable.  The wood took a little more effort.

I started by taking everything apart.  I left the drawer frames attached, I probably should have taken them off as well but I'm not a furniture refinisher.  I'll leave that for the wife when she gets time.

What a Difference a Day Makes

So I had a treadle sized hole in my heart and 6 square feet of un-Singered space.  What to do?  Buy another treadle, of course!

Well That Kind of Sucks

The straight leg treadle is going on the inactive roster.  Here's the last photo before it will be taken apart and stored at least through the summer.

Change of Plans

(Jan 20th, 2019 edit:  Needle+thread asked in the comments what the difference between a 15-87 and 15-97 was.  All in the bobbin winder.  Which I then noticed were the older style on both of mine so, tada, back to 15-87).

I posted before that I would probably start working on one of the 27s next.  And I was going to, really.  But then I was looking at the 15-87's wiring and decided to pull the motor off.  Then take the motor apart.  Then start cleaning the case of the motor.  Then start cleaning the mounting bracket.  Then cleaning the pedestal where it looks like the motor wiring caught on fire against it.  Well, then I just had 15-87 pieces all over the place.  The steel wood and Dremel came out.

The 27s are back in line as I tinker with the 15-87.  It has cleaned up nicely.  I don't know if I can get the badge discoloration from the electrical fire fixed, but I'll keep working on it.

Really. I can stop whenever I want.

I just need one more.  Just one.

The 1896 27-3 arrived today.  And it will truly be the last one for a bit.  It's in pretty rough shape.  It's all together but it's going to take some work to get it looking good again.  And it will be the next priority after the current restoration project.

I don't think there is a decent decal left on it.  So I'm not going to feel bad going after it with the paint removing.  It really looks like someone went after it with Drain-O or something with a ton of ammonia in it.  The first couple of photos aren't in the best focus, but you aren't missing anything.

Holy Crap, Dude!

So yeah, I'm imagining my friend Sheldon saying that as he looks at this picture.

First Machine From Today's Haul

I figured I would post the photos going from oldest to newest.

First up is a 1908 Model 27-4.  One of the important items about this machine is that it fills out the 00 decade hole in my collection.  Hey, that's kind of important.  I'm now covered from the 1890s to 1960s, with the exception of the 1940s.  Maybe I'll pick up a 40s 99 to fill in there.

The decals are excellent compared to what I normally get.  Not as good as Wicked Queen's, but they are in better condition that Black Swan's.  There are just a couple of specs of silvering on them.  Someone did put tape over the front slide plate, but I'll work that off gently.  I think this one will be the first cleaned up.  It won't get the straight leg treadle though, that's still either going to be the 1896 (that should be here in a couple of days) or the 15-30.  I guess I need to get a couple more treadle bases to house the growing family.

Machine #2 - 127-3(1?)

Now when I put my ad up on Craigslist this is the type of machine I was expecting to get.  Decals pretty much gone.  Paint well chewed through.  It's a 1913 Model 127-3.  It's possibly a 127-1, the models are identical. The ISMACS website specifically calls out 1913 at the year of the 127-3 though, so I'll trust the experts on it.  I do get chastised pretty often for taking other people's word on Singer history.  I go to the books as well, but since I don't have decades of experience a lot of the descriptions in the parts manuals go over my head.  The 66s and 15s are easier because the later parts manuals have drawings of what each model looks like.  I haven't found that for any of the vibrating shuttle machines yet.

This one is beat up enough that I think it might actually slip to the front of the restoration line, ahead of the 15-30.  I still have no experience doing the transfer decals and the 15-30 is in good enough shape that I don't want to screw it up by making a mess of the decals.

Machine #3 - 66-4

So I had toyed with the idea of converting the current rebuild 66 machine to be a treadle.  I guess that's off the books for now.  This 66-4 is from 1925, a year older than the rebuild one.  I'm up to three 66s, same number as I have of 15s.  I'm thinking I'm keeping all of the 15s though.  The 66s will go to the back of the restore line after I finish with the current one.

Machine #4 - 66-6

Here's another 66-6 to go with the current rebuild machine.  This one is from 1931.  I guess I'm going to start adding years to the machine tags now.  I'm not sure why I keep having these 66s fall to me.  It's not like I'm the world's biggest 66 fan.  They are great, sure, but I'm more of a vertical or rotating hook kind of guy.  Maybe one day I'll stumble on a 115 and be in Singer Nirvana.

Last one (for now) - 15-87

Lastly, here's the 1937 15-87.  This one I offered back to the seller because I really think I got too good of a deal on it.  It has the RAF decals and it's a 15-87 with it's cool, funky reversed stitch regulator.  The seller was happy to have had me take it though, said it sounded like it was in my "wheel house".  So I'm keeping it.  I thought briefly about converting it over to a 15-86 for a treadle, but I need to get a lot more treadle tables before thinking about that.  So just into the cleaning line now.

Yay! More stuff!

Oh look, the treadle fairy came.

Another Before And After

I was sewing some 1.1oz ripstop nylon and insultex again to day.  When I needed a break before setting fire to the whole project I decided to give the 66's badge a quick polishing with some Eagle One Never Dull.  I was pretty impressed with the results.  Here's the before and after, of course.

It's hard for the camera to really do justice.  The badge is not washed out like it appears, it has a nice brass glow.  Though the camera does pick up some areas where I can give it a bit more polishing.  I'm really happy I got the badge removal figured out and didn't have to damage it or the pins removing them.

Also if you like old sewing machines here's a link for a film to watch

- Birth of a Sewing Machine - 

It's seventy minutes of silent footage of the Singer plant at Kilbowie shot in 1934 and is hosted by the National Library of Scotland.

Back to sewing ripstop.  Grrr

We Have Pin Extraction!

The 66 is stripped.  Finally!  After a couple of weeks of trying overly complicated expansion systems for badge removal, including an attempt at locating the worlds tiniest hydraulic ram, today I was struck with a simple idea.  Why not use a c-clamp to press the badge pins out.  Now right away it's a non-starter because most c-clamps have too much of an arc in them to be able to maneuver around inside the pillar.  But those aren't the only options.  While at the hardware store today I found a small bar clamp that fits the bill perfectly.  It's has a 2 1/2" deep throat, which is just deep enough to reach both pins.  The brackets were only 3/4" high, which gave room to work them into the pillar with a little bit of play.

Black Swan 101 Wheel Guard Installed and Darn-it!

Happy New Year!  So what did you do for New Year's Eve?  As for myself I spent the evening cleaning the 101 wheel guard that came in the mail yesterday.  It wasn't in too bad of shape, but it needed a bit of Turtle Wax Rubbing Compound to not look completely decrepit attached to Black Swan.  Once it was polished up I noticed the 15-30's hand wheel, which I had just given a quick nylon brush cleaning to previously, was looking a little grungy.  So at 12:00am New Year's 2016 I was hand rubbing a spoked hand wheel.  Par-Tay!  And yes, I have the most understanding wife in the world.