New And Improved! 1892 Singer Model 27

I don't have any great expertise on checking the providence of machines.  Pretty much what I do is look for sources online.  I don't have access to any secret documentation or anything.  Usually I trust what I read.  Unless it's a place known for egregious mistakes, like Wikipedia or Needlebar.  So from what I've read 1891 was the year that the VS2 transitioned to the Model 27.  This one just misses the cut of being a first year, and comes in as an 1892 machine.

Biggest difference between this on and the VS is the change from fiddle bed to square bed.  The kidney shaped side cover was carried over from the VS to the early 27s.  The screw was missing on mine.  I was going to use the presser foot screw off the 1904 15-30 (the one on this machine it still rust welded in place), but it turns out they are too short.  So I went with a modern presser foot screw that I had laying around.

My VS also has the 'painted' face plate with the needle and presser bars in the plate rather than the head.  Though JohnS on Victorian Sweatshop advises that was not the norm for the VS2s.  Most had the flat, metal face plate like the 27's

The mechanicals are pretty much the same, other than where they are mounted.

For as rusty as this guy is, I was surprise that it is not frozen.  It's stiff to turn for sure, but everything does move and all the screws I've tried so far can be turned without needing a coating of BlasterPB.

I'm having a debate with myself over the easiest machine to maintain.  The VS/27s are very simple to work on, and the kidney side cover makes them a breeze to disassemble, but the IFs have a much larger side cover, so even though they are a bit more complex everything is even easier to access.  Still, I think at this point I will go with the early vibrating shuttle machines, because the clamp stop motion is 'modern' and can be removed in a snap.

There's no debate on what to do with the finish. The bed decals are not only scraped away, but the japanning is gone as well.  So this one will be stripped and repainted.  I've looked at japanning in the past, but the resources involved are kind of a lot.  I don't want to buy a second oven and I'm pretty sure my wife wouldn't be happy with me cooking sewing machines in the house.  So it will just be a few coats of rattle can semi-gloss engine black.

The amount of work this guy needs is going to send it to the back of the line. I already have the 1908 27 mounted and running well in a treadle and I want to get the VS2 running over the next couple of weeks.  I'll probably started working on this one after I get all the treadle irons de-rusted and painted and the original project 66 repainted.  So I don't expect there to be any updates on this guy until next fall.

But still, it's a pretty cool machine if for no other reason than the painted kidney shaped side cover.  I'm happy I found it, rather than another 66.