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    Iron Heart Fall/Winter 2025 Collection Preview - Now Live

    Craft Works - Let's Get Creative!

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    • AnesthetistA
      Anesthetist
      見習いボス
      Joined:

      Here's a little hammered silver cross we made for my Godson for his Baptism at the end of the month. I was going to force a patina but I like it polished.


      After cutting, hammering, and soldering.


      After filing, sanding, and tumbling.

      Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

      IG: bluehandsslim

      last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • ChrisC
        Chris
        Raw and Unwashed
        Joined:

        Not sure if this really qualifies as craft works, but I suppose it's as good a place as any to drop this one…

        I have a couple of old Singer 31-15 sewing machines; they were originally commercial machines and were used for decades (I think they were manufactured from the 1890s to the 1960s, but I'm not sure) by factories, sweatshops and tailors everywhere.  They're cast metal, heavy as sin and virtually indestructible, which is why they're still used by lots of folks who need heavy duty machines.  My two were made in 1904 and 1930, and still work beautifully.  Since they weren't intended for normal consumers, they were plain, and after a few decades of hard use, they look pretty beat.

        Since I have two, I decided to refurbish one back in September.  I disassembled it, cleaned all the parts, replaced a few of them, stripped the original paint, (probably giving myself lead poisoning in the process) then repainted, added sexy new decals and put it all back together.  While I was in the process of doing all this, I lucked into an old cast iron Singer sewing table.  It was covered in rust, dust and cat hair, and the wooden top was a laminated abomination, but it was essentially sound.  So I cleaned and repainted the base and built a new wooden top.  Then, just for the heck of it, I converted it back to treadle power, like the really old pre-electric versions, and dumped the fifties era motor.

        Aside from some tuning adjustments, and a  backordered slide plate, this project is finally finished.  I thought I'd share some pictures, since I'm generally pleased with how it came out.

        The machine looked like this when I started.

        The table looked like this.

        Stripped and ready for painting.

        Painted and decals applied.

        Clear coating.

        Base repainted and reassembled.

        And the complete table and machine.

        Thanks for looking!

        last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • tmgT
          tmg
          Joined:

          Fantastic work Chris! Question now is, what will be its first piece of work?

          last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • S
            sabergirl
            見習いボス
            Joined:

            Beautiful, Chris.

            Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

            last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • GilesG
              Giles
              IHUK Crew
              Joined:

              @Madame Buttonfly says, do you want a job….?

              "OK face up to it - you're useless but generally pretty honest and straightforward . . . it's a rare combination of qualities that I have come to admire in you" - Geo 2011

              last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • CutlasshoundC
                Cutlasshound
                見習いボス
                Joined:

                That looks truly amazing old chap!

                Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

                I ain't got time to bleed.

                last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • Madame ButtonflyM
                  Madame Buttonfly
                  IHUK Crew
                  Joined:

                  @Chris who did the re-painting?  It's a work of art!

                  AKA Mrs G

                  last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • B
                    browniemcghee
                    Joined:

                    So cool.  You did an excellent job.

                    Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

                    last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • BloodnThunderB
                      BloodnThunder
                      Raw and Unwashed
                      Joined:

                      ^Agreed with all of the above.  The machine looks incredible.

                      IG: Shadesofindig0

                      last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • SeulS
                        Seul
                        Joined:

                        Great update!..

                        last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • FinksterF
                          Finkster
                          見習いボス
                          Joined:

                          I've no clue about sewing machines .. but this is a gorgeous piece of work!

                          last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • nizzel55N
                            nizzel55
                            Joined:

                            I'm doing birthday cards. Haha. I suck at it kind of. Have not been drawing since I was a kid. It is a lot of fun.

                            I should not have added the rays of light. Damn ugly. Oh well. No turning back now.

                            Instagram: Nizzel55x
                            187cm (6' 1.6"), 80kg (176lbs)
                            IH-666S (33), IH-666UHR (33), IH-666SII (32)
                            IHSH-76 (L), IHSH-62 (L), IHSH-101 (L), IHSH-109 (L)

                            last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • ChrisC
                              Chris
                              Raw and Unwashed
                              Joined:

                              Thanks, everyone.  There were a lot of tedious parts, but overall, I really enjoyed it.  As with every project, there are several things I'll do differently next time.  That is, if there is a next time; while I have another machine, it sews so perfectly that I'm afraid to mess with it.

                              @tmg- I'm going to be making another pair of cowboy boots, and I'll sew the tops with this one.  I'll post pictures if it doesn't turn out to be a total trainwreck.

                              @Madame Buttonfly- I did all of the work myself, though the sexy gold bits on the sewing machine are water slide decals, like you'd find in a model car kit.  The rest of the painting was just me and a spray can.

                              last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                              • Madame ButtonflyM
                                Madame Buttonfly
                                IHUK Crew
                                Joined:

                                @Chris thanks - that's amazing, the result is beautiful - such a clever lad!

                                AKA Mrs G

                                last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                • FinksterF
                                  Finkster
                                  見習いボス
                                  Joined:

                                  From H's Blog … rad 'coathook'

                                  last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                  • Traser2gT
                                    Traser2g
                                    Haraki san Expert
                                    Joined:

                                    Been wanting to overdye something and I had a pair of cotton pants that I wear to the office that streaked after washing and were a tad too big. @Chris gave me some great step by step instructions and I think it turned out well. After i washed them they do have a similar look as my IH OD stuff. Thanks again Chris.





                                    I didn't use the fixer or whatever because I want to see how these wear. Also they shrank about .5" everywhere which was a bonus.

                                    last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                    • ChrisC
                                      Chris
                                      Raw and Unwashed
                                      Joined:

                                      Nice work on your first project.  I'm glad you're happy with the results.  Now, if you're like me, you'll be looking through your closet thinking, "I wonder what this would look like if I changed the color…"

                                      last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                      • madmondayM
                                        madmonday
                                        Raw and Unwashed
                                        Joined:

                                        those turned out an awesome color.

                                        great job

                                        head high, middle finger higher

                                        last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                        • Traser2gT
                                          Traser2g
                                          Haraki san Expert
                                          Joined:

                                          Thanks guys. I actually threw a few shirts in too.  Some came out dark gray and some lighter. Kinda cool. I'm looking forward to wearing the pants a few times to see what develops.

                                          last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                          • ?
                                            A Former User
                                            Joined:

                                            ^^I'm going to give that a try. Thanks for the inspiration @Traser2g

                                            And its been a while since the last update so here's a few pics of a WIP:

                                            last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
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