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Sewing Discussions - A group that is not as it seams.
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Posted by Kate Dicey on November 7, 2006, 5:01 pm
Hehehehehe! I've been having fun!
Last weekend two new to me sewing machines landed here from Freecycle,
via a friend...
The first is a rather nice 1950's style straight stitch Novum Delux Mark
II machine, made in Ireland. It's a Singer 15 type, with some
modifications. It has an external motor. The machine was very clean,
but...
The motor was loose and held in place with an elastic band! GEEP!
The power cable was partly wrenched out of the plug and held on with
SELOTAPE! ARGH! Not even insulating tape! Geep! (Easily 'fixed' by
me with a screwdriver, but... )
When the pedal was pressed, the light dimmed and went out!
The foot pedal was 'sticky' to press
The motor was a bit tired...
The drive belt is perished.
Now, the following process is NOT to be undertaken lightly or by anyone
who doesn't know one end of an electron from the other! I gave the
hubby the motor and foot pedal to play with (remember, this fella has a
degree in physics and electronics and has been fiddling with electric
things for over 40 years, and has the right equipment for testing), and
he took it apart, polished up the coil, and reattached it to the
machine: the only reason it wobbled was because the nut holding it on
needed tightening! I'd sussed that and sorted it before the motor came
off and was fettled... Next the man looked inside and cleaned up the
foot pedal. Dead spiders do not help resit type foot pedals to work!
The machine was now rather happier, but the light still dimmed!
Experimentation with the meter and trying this and that revealed that
the plug had been scrambled! After that was sorted, and I'd done my bit
(removed bobbin case, shuttle, needle plate, and cleaned a wodge of lint
out of the feed dogs, removed the face plate for inspection, turned the
machine upside down, and oiled and greased everything that needed it
(looked like the poor thing had NEVER been greased or oiled!), removed
the hand wheel, greased the drive shaft, and replaced everything, and
cleaned some dust out of the tension mechanism, we tried the machine
again... It goes! It goes damned fast! Oh, and it has a REALLY nice
stitch!
The foot pressure is adjustable with the push-spring type adjuster (not
as good as the screw type, but at least this one works!), and the feed
dogs can be half dropped to a 'silk' setting or fully dropped for
free-motion work. In the case were several bits and feet:
3 bobbins, one rusty. I binned that one! Type 15 bobbins are neither
scarce nor expensive - I have about 50.
a lint brush - never used! :(
a screw-in seam guide
a rolled hem foot
a zip foot
a bias binding attaching foot
a shirring foot
a darning/embroidery foot
There was also a nice big GADGET with the machine - a buttonholer! :)
I've fiddled with it, but I haven't tested it... yet! This one is a
'Vanguard', exactly like this one on Helen Howes site (OK, Helen sells
stuff, and is a good supplier for old parts. I'm not spamming here,
just showing you a picture of my gadget)
http://www.raindropkites.co.uk/sewingmachines/feet.html. Scroll down to
the Vanguard buttonholer on the right.
The other machine is still in bits! Well, *some* of it is in bits!
It's an old treadle, and the head had been taken out of the table for
collection, but to fit it in our car we had to take the treadle
mechanism apart and the table top off...
So there we are, it's 9:30 pm, and Diane the computer wizard and I are
dismembering the table under the horrified gaze of her hubby (mine had
sensibly retreated to the sofa and left us to it!). He says there
nothing on the planet more scary than two middle aged women armed with
screwdrivers! :D
We got it to bits without damaging anything (well, if you don't count
the bruise on my foot from dropping a cast iron treadle table leg on
it!), so that was OK> It now sits in my conservatory waiting a rub over
with a damp cloth and a spare pair of hands to hold it together as I
screw the bolts back in! Then it will need a new belt to get it
treadling again...
The head is a Saxonia type, badged Adria. You can see it and some
details about it on the NeedleBar site, here:
http://www.needlebar.org/cm/thumbnails.php?album=715
I have so far had the face plate off (severe muckectomy needed on the
needle bar!), the belt guard off, the hand wheel off, the back plate
off, and cleaned and greased everything I could reach. The tension
mechanism is a joy of simplicity in metal! But it once was rusty...
Now it isn't! :) The tension disks got a good scrub with wire wool,
but still need a polish with a buffing disk when DH gets home
tomorrow... It did NOT work at all well when I first got it home. Now,
with a few hours of TLC and several dozes of grease and oil, it turns
almost as sweetly as my faithful 99K, the Spinning Jenny. :)
The decals are very pretty, but a bit worn,. Not too big a problem:
most of the external muck was dust, and a dust over and a polish with
some sewing machine oil has cured that. The shellac on top of the
japanned finish is quite stable, with very little crazing, so I shall
leave well alone. Unfortunately the feet and attachments have suffered
from damp and some are VERY rusty. A buffing disk on the modelling
drill should fix that for me, or I have a contact who has offered to do
it for me if DH runs out of time (working half the week in Peterborough
can be a pain, but it's better than no job!).
The domed top has a little damage to one corner, but otherwise looks
good, except that some rat has snaffled the handle! Bums! Still Helen
may have one for me... The table also has some small damage, with a bit
of the veneer missing. If I decide I don't have the time or skills for
that, I'll save me pennies and get the bloke who restored my dining
table to sort it for me. :)
Once I have this little darling in full working order, I shall decide if
it needs to stay here or if it should go elsewhere.
All this sewing machine fettling is hard on the hands, especially if,
like me, you hate having grubby, sticky, oily paws! So they get washed
a lot... and they dry out! And they get rough and the rough bits catch
on the customer's satin frock! Grr! Argh! Luckily, no damage done!
My cure? A sugar scrub!
Take a wide mouth jar. Half fill it with soft dark brown sugar - the
Muscovado type. Pour in some grape seed oil, to about 1/4" above the
sugar level. Add a few drops of tea tree oil and some vanilla or
chocolate essence... Mix thoroughly. When your hands get horribly
rough, take a heaped teaspoonful and rub into your hands fairly
vigorously. Scrub really well! Then wash your hands with a mild soap
to get rid of the excess oil, and dry well, patting with a soft towel.
Your hands will be as smooth and sweet smelling as the most expensive
chocolate! :)
The frock is coming on well and will be completed tomorrow. I have the
concealed zip to put in, a couple of bits to tack down, and the straps
to sew to the bra... The hem is measured and just needs trimming and
sewing. Not too much for pick-up tomorrow at four! I shall keep well
away from the sewing machine hospital until the frock id done! :)
There will be pix of the finished frock, and, especially for Pora, pix
of the way we fitted the bra inside it! :)
--
Kate XXXXXX R.C.T.Q Madame Chef des Trolls
Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons
http://www.katedicey.co.uk
Click on Kate's Pages and explore!
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Posted by cea on November 7, 2006, 8:04 pm
Kate Dicey wrote:
> Hehehehehe! I've been having fun!
> <Waaaaaay big snip>
---
MY God, Kate! It's a novel--it will take me a week to digest your
post!
I did like the sugar scrub recipe, though.
Cea
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Posted by Kate Dicey on November 8, 2006, 2:59 am
cea wrote:
> Kate Dicey wrote:
>
>>Hehehehehe! I've been having fun!
>><Waaaaaay big snip>
>
> ---
> MY God, Kate! It's a novel--it will take me a week to digest your
> post!
> I did like the sugar scrub recipe, though.
> Cea
>
It's also great for shifting gardening dirt and the oil from motor
engines... And you can use it on any rough areas: scrub into knees and
elbows before having a nice soak in the bath! :)
I'm about to experiment with an almond one...
Guess what I'm making for Christmas!
--
Kate XXXXXX R.C.T.Q Madame Chef des Trolls
Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons
http://www.katedicey.co.uk
Click on Kate's Pages and explore!
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Posted by jacqui on November 9, 2006, 9:21 am
> It's also great for shifting gardening dirt and the
> oil from motor engines... And you can use it on
> any rough areas: scrub into knees and elbows
> before having a nice soak in the bath! :)
>
> I'm about to experiment with an almond one...
>
> Guess what I'm making for Christmas!
I can't wait to try making something like this. :)
I wonder, though, for dry skin, is tea tree oil the best choice? If it's
there for its antiseptic qualities, perhaps something more beneficial for
dry skin -- palma rosa, lavender, chamomile German, (that old, interminable
stand-by) lavender or sandalwood, for example -- which also has antiseptic
qualities would be better?
Or do you just like the way it smells (which is as valid a reason as any for
choosing an essential oil :))?
-j
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Posted by Kate Dicey on November 9, 2006, 1:15 pm
jacqui wrote:
>
>
>>It's also great for shifting gardening dirt and the
>>oil from motor engines... And you can use it on
>>any rough areas: scrub into knees and elbows
>>before having a nice soak in the bath! :)
>>
>>I'm about to experiment with an almond one...
>>
>>Guess what I'm making for Christmas!
>
>
> I can't wait to try making something like this. :)
>
> I wonder, though, for dry skin, is tea tree oil the best choice? If it's
> there for its antiseptic qualities, perhaps something more beneficial for
> dry skin -- palma rosa, lavender, chamomile German, (that old, interminable
> stand-by) lavender or sandalwood, for example -- which also has antiseptic
> qualities would be better?
>
> Or do you just like the way it smells (which is as valid a reason as any for
> choosing an essential oil :))?
> -j
The tea tree isn't too drying when you have all the other stuff in
there, and when dealing with rusty old things a little something that
has antiseptic properties is a good move! :) I tend to pick the
antiseptic as much for the smell blending with the other things in it,
as anything. Sandalwood is a good one when you are doing a spicy
Christmas scented one. :)
--
Kate XXXXXX R.C.T.Q Madame Chef des Trolls
Lady Catherine, Wardrobe Mistress of the Chocolate Buttons
http://www.katedicey.co.uk
Click on Kate's Pages and explore!
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