Lavender Project: Kenmore Model 51 Part 2

How about a little update today?
A couple weeks ago I picked up this lavender and cream Kenmore sewing machine at Goodwill. You can find all the before pictures here.
It was covered in a good layer of dust about an 1/8 inch thick in some places. It had masking tape stuck to the needle plate and the bed of the machine. It also had a v belt that was so poorly I just cut the thing off the machine. It's now free of dust. I spent a long time getting the masking tape off. Masking tape is the devil's tape when it comes to sewing machines. It tends to harden and become difficult to remove. If you need to tape a seam guide on your machine please use a low tack painters tape and remove it when you don't need it. I took a v belt from another machine to use temporarily while I worked on it. I got the machine cleaned and oiled inside. This motor needed a drop of oil per the instructions on the motor housing. It runs and stitches well. Although there is a squeak which is driving me batty as I try to track it down.

The cabinet was my other hurdle to work on. It wasn't shabby due to water damage. It looked poorly due to sun damage. Some of the finish was gone. I liked the Danish Modern style which sort of dictates a wood finish not painted. I had thought of painting it. if someone else wants to paint it in the future that's on them. I ended up using Howard Restore-A-Finish in mahogany. Some parts of the very top had to be stained because the sun had also caused the original stain to fade. It's not 100% perfect but it looks nice.

During this time I also found a set of B cams for it and an original manual.

The Lavender Project: Kenmore Model 51

These days I often wander into Goodwill to see what they have. After weeks of finding nothing but Singer Touch and Sews, I found this Kenmore. What first drew my attention was the machine which looks like it was pretending to be a Necchi with it's two two pastel color scheme. This machine, under all the dust, is a lavender and cream color combo. It can do zig zags and even has a spot for cams but sadly no cams or other accessories with this machine. It does move but needs a new motor belt. Best of all it's mid-century style cabinet has a lift assist. I can't wait to get started. I promise to do better with taking pictures during the process.

Review: Still Stitching documentary

A couple months ago I heard about this documentary on antique and vintage sewing machines. Heard about actually means I saw a clip on facebook about it and it looked cool. You can either rent it for online streaming or buy it on dvd. If you really like vintage machines then you will probably want to buy it.
It starts off a bit slow with some of the earliest machines. It quickly picks up and starts covering the more modern machines that most of us may know.
I loved hearing the stories from the participants such as the woman who worked on a machine and ended up getting it stuck in reverse. I actually had that happen with a Viking sewing machine that I was once given but it turns out it had a major issues going on and couldn't go forward. I enjoyed the story about the man who bought 50 dismantled sewing machines from another person and he spent a year putting them back together.
There was plenty of sewing machine eye candy such as those 1950's Japanese imports that looks like they belong to a 1950's car. Of course, I now have a desire to own a Necchi Supernova.
All in all it was a great program for someone who likes vintage sewing machines. There is actually a coupon code for a discount on the dvd if you want the entire Necchi clip.
You can watch more clips here http://stillstitching.com/video-clips/ and you can also order the dvd or find out more about online streaming.

Isn't it Majestic?

I recently saw an advertisement for this Majestic sewing machine in a cabinet. I had never heard of Majestic but branded/badged machines were quite common back in the day. Majestic machines were made by the White Sewing Machine Company who also made several brands of "badged" machines.
I went to see this machine and cabinet. The machine moved freely by hand. I didn't know if the motor worked because I was not going to plug it in to find out. It's cord was scary; it looked like someone had joined an old plug to a newer cord and wrapped it with electrical tape. The cabinet top was in a sorry condition and there were scratches all over but it looked pretty solid. The machine was missing the special t-shirt cover plate which I knew would be a bit of a hunt to find a replacement.
However, on the positives this machine had it's bobbin case which was important because the bobbin cases for these are not exactly plentiful. That fact was my make or break point; since it had it's bobbin case I could get this machine and take it home; if it turned out to be a dud I could sell the bobbin case on ebay and make my money back. Despite all the dust and oily grime it appeared to have a fair finish with nice decals.
This is what I brought home.

majestic sewing machine before picture

My first goal, as with any machine, is to sort out the machine head. I always like to work on these first. I did a general cleaning and oiling. I learned that it's motor pulley had a significant flat spot on it which is what happens when these rotary sewing machines sit unused for long periods of time. A flat pulley causes the machine to sound like the helicopter taking off when you try to run it. Luckily, motor pulleys are still available for White/Kenmore and the replacement one fit perfectly. Once, I got it cleaned and sorted I felt that this was a solid machine worth bringing back to life.
The next goal was to sort out the electrical issues. I carefully went over all the electrical wiring and surprisingly all the original cloth covered wiring at the motor and to the light was perfect. The big mess was all the wiring in the cabinet. It was crumbling and exposed copper. Just a mess and a hazard. It got all new wiring in the cabinet and a new plug thanks to the work of my dad. Then came that moment of hooking the new wires to the motor and turning it on. It ran like a champ. Full variation of speed.... just what every vintage sewing machine enthusiast wants to hear.
Now came the third project on this; the cabinet. The top section was in need of refinishing. The rest of it looked okay but worn due to the scratches. Some online research lead me to Howard Restor-A-Finish. I found some at the local hardware store and I selected a walnut color. I applied it as directed and then went over it with three coats of wax. That was the day I got over 10,000 "steps" on my misfit in an afternoon because I forgot to take it off before applying and removing the wax. The movement of my arm counted as steps. That took care of all the little dings and scratches. The top section was removed from the cabinet and scraped down. It was hand varnished with several coats of varnish and then I applied several coats of wax. Once again my dad gave me a hand in this as he is well versed in woodworking. It's not a perfect match but it sure looks much better and over time it may darken and look more fitting with the rest of the cabinet.

Majestic After

I brought it into the house. As I didn't have a manual I found it easiest to just watch a couple youtube videos on how to wind a bobbin and how to thread the machine. I had never sewn on a rotary machine before. I just set the thread tensions where I thought they might go and tried it out. Perfect tension right from the start. Great stitches and so quiet. As you can see I even found that T-shirt cover plate on ebay. It took daily searching to finally find one for a reasonable price that was in good condition.