Craft Works - Let's Get Creative!
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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!
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@Madame Buttonfly says, do you want a job….?
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That looks truly amazing old chap!
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@Chris who did the re-painting? It's a work of art!
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So cool. You did an excellent job.
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^Agreed with all of the above. The machine looks incredible.
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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.
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@Chris thanks - that's amazing, the result is beautiful - such a clever lad!
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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.
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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…"
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those turned out an awesome color.
great job
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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.
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^^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:
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Intense layering! I still can't believe you get that amount of texture, it's so damn good.
