My birthday present - a treadle sewing machine!

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10-25-2009, 08:41 PM

#11

sewnsewer2

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Congrats and HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY!!

10-25-2009, 09:21 PM

#12

tuesy

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WOW!! What an awesome birthday present!! Happy Belated Birthday!!!

10-25-2009, 10:50 PM

#13

SulaBug

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Join Date: Oct 2007

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You LUCKY DUCK!! :thumbup:
Happy Birthday & congrat's
on your new find. I love it!!
:D :D :D :D :D

10-26-2009, 12:02 AM

#14

Moonpi

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Location: Central FL

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Happy Birthday - what a great present!

10-26-2009, 04:23 AM

#15

Bevanger

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Location: Port Angeles, WA

Posts: 12,675

Oh my, what a perfect Bday gift. Congrats & Happy Belated Birthday

10-26-2009, 04:27 AM

#16

Ninnie

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Location: Athens Ga

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What a wonderful machine!!

10-26-2009, 04:35 AM

#17

pocoellie

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Location: Alturas, CA

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What a beautiful birthday gift!! Lucky girl!!

10-26-2009, 06:29 AM

#18

Lostn51

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Quote:

Originally Posted by ai731

If Billy or anyone else who has restored a treadle machine has any tips on how best to clean it (it has almost no rust, just a lot of dust and age grime) I'd really appreciate them!

Jan

Hey you do have a nice machine and its not a Singer!! I get so tired of looking at Singers I could puke sometimes. :lol: People do not realize that there were tons of different manufacturers of sewing machines in North America back in the late 1800's and early 1900's.

The best way to clean it up is to go ahead and remove the head from the treadle and go from there. It will make life easier to clean the machine and cabinet separately. Also go ahead and remove the face plate, needle plate, bobbin winder, shuttle plates so you can get to everything and you can polish those out with Mothers Mag Wheel polish or SemiChrome.

Look in the needlebar area behind the face plate and see how much goo and lint there is. If you want to clean the mechanics up (I highly recommend this) use a Kerosene in a little pan or tray and a cheapo 3/4" paint brush and give it a good wash along with the underside of the machine and any other places you can get to the mechanics of the machine. The old oil and crud will melt away and the kerosene will act like a lubricant/penetrant while you are using it. After it dries you can oil the machine now or wait till you finish cleaning the rest of it.

For the machine use a Non Pumice hand cleaner like Go Jo or equivalent. Grab a bag of cotton balls, a box of Q- Tips and a roll of paper towels. Test a small area on the back of the pillar to see if the hand cleaner is compatible with the finish. I have never seen it not be but then there is always a first. Work in small areas with the hand cleaner on a cotton ball going in a circular motion with light to medium pressure. You can wipe off the area before moving to the next and use the Q Tips for the tight areas and more precise work. After it is all cleaned up then you can polish it with a good sewing machine oil or Liquid Gold furniture polish in the pour can. Be sure to test the polish on the back of the pillar to make sure it is compatible with the finish.

All in all after all of this your machine should be good as new and ready to use once again!!

Be sure oil the machine and to oil the treadle with sewing machine oil and hit all the spots that metal rubs metal when moving.

I hope this helps you and if you need any more help with it just let me know and post some after photos so we can see how it came out!!

Billy

10-26-2009, 07:41 AM

#19

ai731

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Thread Starter

Join Date: May 2009

Location: Maxville, Ontario, Canada

Posts: 364

Thanks so much for all the advice, Billy! I see I've got a big job ahead of me to get my new machine properly cleaned up, but I will take it slow and do it right! If I have any other questions or run into problems, I'll be sure to ask you.

Thanks again!
Jan