A two-winter project

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Winter really sucks here in Ohio so I try to have a winter project to keep me busy inside.
There is only so much of the Speedster project I could do inside my cramped, heated shop.

I’m new at furniture repair and I have an important family heirloom furniture repair project I’ve been working on since last summer. I didn’t want to do all my learning on that important project, so I looked around for something to practice on and landed on this 1929 Singer portable sewing machine that Vicki had lying around.









The machine and the case were both in pretty bad shape.



The case had been dropped and both rear corners of the base were smashed. First step was fixing them.






I pulled the pieces back into place with clamps and used epoxy to fill the spaces and bond them together.



On the corner that needed the most fill I made dams to keep the epoxy in place.



I finished the corners off with bondo



Rather than try to make the bondo look like walnut I just painted this rim around the top on the controller end black.



Once it was all assembled I thought it was an acceptable compromise.

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With the base finished it was time to tackle the top of the case.

I sanded one end and tried an oil finish on it and didn’t like the effect.



I tested this Homer Formby stuff out on the other end. Honestly, I thought it would be like the Engine Rebuild in a Can that J.C. Whitney used to sell. It’s promise was just too good to be true. But Ol' Homer worked like a miracle!





I didn’t get before and after pics of the outside of the case, but these are Before Homer and After Homer pics of the inside. I haven’t even put shellac on it yet.



I started applying the shellac on the outside. The first two coats were straight out of the can, applied with a sponge brush. Then I sanded out the brush marks and started applying the shellac with a cloth rubber. I can thank Zeke's Odd Job Fix videos for showing me how to do this. I used 800 grit paper lubricated with soapy water, which I don't think Zeke recommended, but it worked. Rather than ruin the "Singer" decal and try to find a replacement, I worked around it.



The next 10 or 12 applications were shellac thinned with alcohol applied with a cloth “rubber.”
I started cutting the shellac 50/50 and progressively added alcohol until it was about 20/80 shellac to alcohol.

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Next I started cleaning up the machine. I went all over it with mineral spirits, then took off the chrome parts and polished them. I used Maquires cleaner wax on the paint, being really careful around the decals.




I worked from left to right, cleaning and polishing. I got about as far as the "N" in Singer when a rumor started going around that spring will arrive in Ohio soon. I have a LOT of outdoor work to do, a Speedster to put back together, and of course the project that this is just a practice session for, so I decided to put the project away and finish it next winter.




I still have to finish cleaning and polishing the machine and I have to fix the carry handle, but they will have to wait. It wil sit like this until next winter.

[Rot 911]

All I can say is “wow!“

[Steve F]

Looking good!!

[Zeke]

Yeah, I can't take any credit for that. Excellent. I learned a lot of shellac information from videos by Thomas Johnson Antique Furniture Restoration. And he stays true to the name, furniture only, whereas that is only a part of what I do.

We have a furniture refinishing place in Long Beach that stays plenty busy although I suspect they are a bit slow these days due to the recession the business is experiencing. My dealers are all down by 50% or more. The refinisher strips and sprays lacquer finishes and they look it. Patrick's hand applied, hand rubbed work shows craftsmanship that doesn't come from a spray gun.

Working around the decal is the mark of rejuvenating or repairing a finish as opposed to stripping off all the old finish. WRT to the dealers that send me work, this is what they want. No trace of rework if possible but no faking either.

Well done Patrick.

[911 Rod]

Good Job!
Welcome to my world.





I made the drawer on top.

[herr_oberst]

The burl on the base of the portable is fantastic. Beautiful restoration.

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Originally Posted by 911 Rod

Good Job!
Welcome to my world.

I made the drawer on top.

Very nice work! So, do you do a lot of these?

Vicki saw how the Singer came out and now she wants me to do more. She has somewhere near 20 sewing machines. We were going to rehome this White, but now I guess I'll be working on it next winter. I probably would have said "NO" if it was another Singer - they're everywhere.

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Originally Posted by Zeke

Working around the decal is the mark of rejuvenating or repairing a finish as opposed to stripping off all the old finish. WRT to the dealers that send me work, this is what they want. No trace of rework if possible but no faking either.

Well done Patrick.

Thanks!
I worked around the letters in "Singer" by gluing bits of sandpaper to cuticle sticks. In some places I just scraped the finish off with the pointy ends.



Your Odd Job Fix videos had a lot more to so with the outcome of this project than you know, Zeke.