riutzelj

Morning, folks,
I was blessed to find a White treadle head, circa 1903 at the thrift shop for 9.95 last week. It is grimy but the decals are in good shape for the most part. it came with a bag of toys, mostly the quilt binding feet. One or two i can't recognize. Turns smoothly and had the VS shuttle and one bobbin.
Questions:
How difficult is it to find a cabinet for these machines? There was one at a different thrift store the same day but it was 100.00 and was missing a drawer front.
Also i'd like to have more than one bobbin, so where can i find more?
Has anyone used Woolite to wash the grime off? My DH uses that to was the grime off some of the old tools and Internationals he brings home.
The attachments have spots of rust, how does one go about fixing that or does one?
Julia

SteveH

Remember that old tools are not painted and covered with decals. what works for them can destroy decals.

Use sewing machine oil on a soft cloth. that will clean it just fine.

Congrats! (BTW, where did you get the 1903 date? I thought White has dropped the VS by then)

ThayerRags

Congratulations of getting the old White VS!

Footnote for Steve: My Grandmother’s White VSIII is a 1906 model. I’m not positive about that date, but back when Katie Farmer had her WSMCo research on what was originally a free photo-hosting site, she helped me date the machine from its serial number. Her data is no longer available where it was, and I haven’t seen it anywhere else yet, but she had done a ton of research on Whites.

CD in Oklahoma

SteveH

Husquvarna will give you accurate dating.

Macybaby

Please don't use anything water based to clean these. The finish often won't hold up to it. Totally different than old farm equipment that was designed to be sitting out in the rain and elements.

I have a few old parts machines that the housing got put outside until they can be hauled to the scrap yard. It's rather amazing what a few months of sitting outside in the rain has done to what was left of the decals.

Rodney

Congrats on finding an old White! I don't have one yet. It might be useful for you to go thru the sticky on cleaning old sewing machines. The finish on most old machines is black Japanning with a clear coat of shellac to protect it and the decals. Many times the shellac is worn off and it's not very water resistant anyway. It's very easy to destroy or silver your decals if you use the wrong products. Glenn has a very good tutorial on restoring the finish on these old machines too.

You're probably already aware of this. Old Whites turn opposite of Singers and modern machines.

You can try a little steel wool and oil or a good metal polish on your attachments to remove the rust.
Be careful. These old machines can be addicting.
Rodney

riutzelj

it was a guesstimate based on the serial number.

riutzelj

yep, i have a concussion and my friends are saying that since i have bought two vintage machines since i sustained it, something was jarred loose. The old machines are cool. I did pass up another clone in a different store. Beautiful machine, pinkish zigzag model, made in Japan, but they wanted 40.00 and i had already spent 25.00 on the treadle and a quilt.