ArchaicArcane

OK, for posterity then, since there may already be more info on this thread than anywhere else on the web, here's what I know at this point (if anyone notices anything different, I'm all ears)

Since Gritzner was a manufacturer and the decal appears to be one of the two styles they used, I haven't tried further identification.
Type of drive (Transverse(TS), Vibrating Shuttle(VS), etc) - TS
Type and location of tension - type I'm unsure of, but location is on the faceplate
Slide type - Singer model 13 style, or were you meaning horizonal (ts) vs vertical (vs)?
Type, shape and location of bobbin winder - type being the type of bobbin it winds or otherwise? I've seen two for this machine, the german link I posted shows a gear driven one, the ad from Needlebar shows it's a bobbin tire. Of course that makes me all the more curious.
Importers badge or badge style - no importer's badge. Manufacturer badge. Interestingly, I've seen the badge with and without web behind the spider but it doesn't seem at this point to help determine the age.
Finial style on top of needlebar and presser foot - I'm not sure of the choices at this point as to the finial style. It's what I think of as "crown and sceptre" but I think that probably makes no sense to anyone but me. The foot looks the same as both my Winselmann and the F&R - what I think of as the unhinged German straight stitch foot. It's more curved than the Singer ones.
Casting differences in bed - the main one that stands out is the "shield" or "crest" shape in the middle of the bed rather than the ovals and other shapes I've been finding. The toes look to have more detail than the Winselmann equivalent I've seen photos of and then of course the curlicues and feathers on the rest of the bed.
Rear access panel shape - boomerang technical term
Serial number - currently illegible. I may never know. I think I see a 6 possibly a 2 and a 1 on the left of the thumbscrew and possibly another number right beside the thumbscrew on the right, definietly a 3 and possibly another number beside that - a 1? I've seen several Gritzners online where the numbers are all over the place and some are very lightly stamped - like the 2 I think I see in this one, so I don't even know how many to look for and what's just a casting oops.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]507758[/ATTACH]

I think I discounted the one on Needlebar as being the same because of the "ferris wheel" not the cogged wheel of the saxonia and the much different hand crank. Rookie mistake, eh?

Yeah, I saw that one on fleabay. I wish you had to take a test before you could "improve" on an antique. Of course, I might fail that test too. . The ad is also wrong because Gritzner didn't form until 1872 according to: http://www.sewmuse.co.uk/Gritzner.pdf Which calls into question the 1872 on the German site. lol! Back to the 1870s to 1890s estimate.

I can totally see how the cast base would be faster and less labor intensive. I guess back in 1880ish, my hubby would have been happy when I picked the "low end" choice.

SteveH

The treatment that I used on the Wilson slide plates would work great on that stitch length adjustment plate.

If I could pull the numbers out on THAT, this should be a piece of cake

The tool I used is an abrasive stick I got from Cathy (Mizkaki) it is basically a 3M EXL wheel crossed/mixed with a rubber eraser

Rodney

A razor blade used as a scraper and some oil as a lubricant does wonders for rust removal on machined surfaces like where the stitch length regulator is. I wouldn't be surprised if the serial number was easily visible after cleaning it.
Rodney

ArchaicArcane

So this is the 3m product http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3...4248453&rt=rud

Is this eraser thing exclusively available to Cathy or would someone in Canada have it potentially? I like the look of the 3m one but I can see needing to practice to get a technique or I might do absolute carnage..

This would be useful for several spots on this one, right?

I will see if I have any around. Maybe in the garage. They're one of the first things I throw out with new used machines so I know there aren't any in the studio with me. At least that's something I can try while I figure out where to get the stick Steve's talking about.

Mrs. SewNSew

Oooh this is all so interesting! Steve I would love to learn more about dating machines using the information you mentioned. Now I have to go back and look at the original machine again. I bet you will be able to get a serial number. My new machine's number was also obscured. I didn't even know there was a number in that spot until I celaned and cleaned and a number popped into view