Last winter I went to visit my Grandmother.  My Aunt and Step Uncle live with her and had taken the liberty of throwing a large pile of my grandmothers old things out beside the house last summer.  They, my grandmother included, do not really value history like I do.  As I was picking through the heap of mostly weather beaten junk I came across an old wooden box with a plastic handle and brass hardware that I recognized from my early childhood.  It was the case to the sewing machine that my grandmother had taught me to sew with.  I picked it up and to my horror realized that the machine was still in it.  Near to tears I loaded it in my car and took it home with me.  When I opened it the inside of the case was almost completely full of some nasty white mold, and all of the unfinished metal parts of the machine where totally covered in rust.  I gave it a quick cleaning and and plugged it in only to be met with a grinding sound and some sparks.  I unplugged it, placed it on my work table and it sat untouched until last Monday when I decided to give it another chance.  The sparking was the first thing that I fixed.  The rubber on the wires connecting the foot peddle to the power source had begun to rot away.  After the shorts where fixed I still had to break down the machine, clean the rust from every part, and oil it back up to make it stop grinding and run at operating speed.  I need to do a little bit of fine tuning yet, but she should be back in working order and building fursuits in no time.
If anyone knows anything in terms of the age or value of the sewing machine I would be really grateful for the information.  There is an oval plate on the base, by the spool post for the bobbin winder, that reads AE313439.  I don't want to sell it because it is sentimental I just would like to know more about it.

Tags: antique, machine, restoration, sewing, singer
Current Location: The basement
Current Mood: cheerful
Current Music: Peace Frog - The Doors