Cleaning Case For The 1949 221

The Goodwill 221 arrived a couple of days ago and is in pieces for cleaning.  I'm going to do a post about getting it ready to sale.  I thought the case would be just one part of that post but it became a day long job by itself and so I thought I would run through what I did in a quick initial post.

Overall it's a better condition case than the 1948's. Mainly because it doesn't have a broken latch.  Still trying to source a replacement for that.  It looks like I'm going to have to go with replacing both latches with Cheney guitar case latches (the kind Alphasew used on their cases).

Back to the 1949. The covering for the case is pretty beat up.

The edges are where you see the biggest problem.  Keeping in mind that 221s were not on the high end (201s listed for $175 in 1948 while 221's listed for $105,just a couple dollars more than a 99 or 128).  Compared to the quality of the cabinets or even the trapezoid cases, these cases are made rather cheaply. The fabric covering is just glued in place, no stitching  or reinforcement anywhere.

Google pictures of a Singer trapezoid case and you will immediately see the difference in quality.

The case hardware is likewise not the quality I am used to from Singer.  It appears to Presto hardware or an even cheaper copy. Presto's 511 key will actually work on the 221 cases if you are in need.  They are usually under guitar case parts on Ebay.  Just make sure you get real Presto 511 version with the raised ridge towards the spine of the key and not one of the knock offs with the ridge in the center.  I see a bunch of those are being sold as "Featherweight keys".  I'm dubious if they would actually go into the case.

After spending a few minutes bemoaning the drop in quality of 'modern' Singers I went about seeing what I could do to get the case looking better.  For instructions I used 'The Featherweight Shop' case cleaning guide presented by Ruth Henry here.  (Quick aside:  My wife and I agree that Ruth reminds us of Lyanna Mormont.  My wife said, "I'll follow her into battle.")

I had to run to Target to load up on the required supplies that I didn't already have.

The whole process took about 5 hours.  Since my hasps and hinges were pretty rust spotted I skipped the Nevrdull and went with the Dremel to buff and polish them.  The preceding pictures were taken after that step.

Like Ruth, I covered the entire case in Sharpie to give it a uniform appearance.  The Sharpie dries fairly quickly but still there were several breaks to keep from smearing ink over everything and to get fresh air.  The Magnum Sharpie Ruth recommends is pretty much a necessity if you want to get through this part in a timely manner.  And yes painting the entire case with a Sharpie stinks to high heaven, but does make a difference in the final quality.

The scuff removing polish step took the longest.  It does not dry as quick as the Sharpie so I ended up doing a side and letting it dry for 15-20 minutes before moving on to the next side.  Also there is a built in delay while waiting for the paste polish to dry to a haze before buffing it out.

The results were worth the effort though.

I will swap out the Gorilla glue for the 1948 case.  The Gorilla is just too thick and gloppy.  It's hard to work with in tight spaces like the inside of the case. In the guitar case restoration forums I've read the recommendation is to use rubber cement so that you can remove and rework areas easily.  Not sure how that goes, I'll need to research more before trying.

I haven't finished the interior of the case, other than re-gluing the fabric and vacuuming it out.  There's not much to really do other than de-funk it and repaint the accessory tray.  It's supposed to be warm here tomorrow so after I get my drill press put back together I may go ahead and do that along with the drip pans for both 221s.

For paint I picked up Duplicolor engine semi-gloss black. I don't really need to color match that closely but I've read that the engine semi-gloss works well to match japanning.

So that's it.  I'm pretty darn happy with the results.  A ton of thanks goes to The Featherweight Shop for their tutorial, they have a lot of them.  And to Ruth Henry particularly.  If you are into 221s and have never checked them out you should.  Their website is here.

While I'm a little sketchy about anyone who touts 221s as anything more that cheapie entry level machines, I do give them props for putting out some good information.

As for the machine itself.  Here's how it sits at he moment.

So far I've taken apart the motor and cleaned the commutator, touched up its paint and polished it.  I've also touched up the paint on the chassis, extension and balance wheel and polished them as well.  I'm waiting on some pieces on order before going too much further.  I'm definitely not going to have it back together in the next couple of days.  There's a few things that need to be replaced (drip pan felt and drive belt to start with) before I put it back together and up for sale.  I think I'll be into it for about $240, plus about 25 hours work.  I'm thinking around $325 is going to be my price on it.  I'm not starting a sales shop so it's not like I have to move it.  I'll keep it at that price until I get a buyer.