Within each team of riders there is one person whose job is to run errands. The idea seems difficult in the middle of a race, but none the less this one team member runs back to the team car if it is required. He gathers up the drinks and disperses them and sometimes the meal/snacks as well. This position on the team is called le domestique. In the realm of the race, it is a very esteemed position. You have to be a very adept cyclist.
I was reminded of this when I made the acquaintance of Edith, a long time Brighton Heights resident.
Edith is, and always will be a model 19 Domestic sewing machine manufactured by the The White Sewing Machine Company of Cleveland, Ohio. She has the interesting serial number of 19x5029. Circumstances far beyond her influence found Edith in a position where she became ignored for a long time.
When she found her way into the garage on Monday night, I hate to say it, but she was last on a long list of things I wanted to get done this week. Le domestique... had become le lantern rouge. With most of everything I had to get done being entirely dependent upon sunny weather... the lantern rouge quite quickly became the maillot jaune as I waited for the skies to clear, the rain to stop, and the ground to dry.
The first step was a simple dusting.
Then a close inspection to determine areas of priority.
Since the hand wheel did indeed turn... a little machine oil was added to the joints.
And.. I had to find another motor wheel.
And empty all the fluff from the feed dogs.
The cabinet wiring was actually really interesting. There are two metal arms that hang down so that a person could wrap up the cord to have it out of the way. It's very much similar to what you might find on some vacuum cleaners. That alone isn't interesting. The part that was is that the cloth insulated wire was fine until the bend, then it was shot... and then fine again until the next bend where it was shot, and this went on all the way to the end.
Fortunately there was a small white insulator/junction and inside it the power cord was united with a second cord and the second sent power throughout the machine. This second cord was nearly perfect and the rest of the wires on the machine seemed flawless. I will need to pull the rheostat and clean it, and I forgot to get a shot of the knee bar. I don't know what else to call it. It's a long straight knee bar that pivots in and out. It has two arms, and is not curved at all.
After replacing the old plug wire, I removed what was left of the old rubber wheel and slipped the required wooden pencil behind the motor and then tested it. The electric motor spun with gusto. I set about giving the machine a few more drops of oil and then sat down to some real cleaning. When I finished up a few hours later... I removed the pencil, which set the borrowed motor wheel onto hand wheel and gave the knee control a little push... and I had to nudge the hand wheel (away from me, because I know better) and away she went.
This never ceases to amaze me.
Edith had been living in a house all by herself for a very long time. A lot of must and dust and no heat and you can sort of tell by the barn-siding tones of the cabinet that it's been a while since Edith has been out. And yet even with all that behind her... push the knee bar and away she goes, ready and willing to do what she was built to do.
If that wasn't enough, the light works as well.
She's an inspiration.
Soon I'll find a needle and thread and see what sort of stitch we get, and then later I'll have to unplug everything and give the cabinet a good oil soap bath. I get the feeling that the wooden parts may take a lot more effort and several weeks... just like the Tour.
For today though, I'd say Edith has won the stage.
*Edith was not used by accident. It's the first name of the woman that first owned the home. =)
Addendum #1
I see a couple of additions coming to this post as the days pass. Edith is doing well, and she is close to sewing. The entire bobbin area needed micro cleaned below the race. There were bits of thread and fluff entangled in the finer metal work. Then a learning lesson on the 1938 lower bobbin tension and how to thread the bobbin, and well, we're getting closer to a good stitch, but just not quite there yet.
I did want to include the missing knee control bar photo:
and a few more glamor shots of those wonderful little details:
I will post the first stitch:
It took a little coaxing, and some learning on my part. The 1938 bobbin and tension is a little different than usual, but I did manage to figure it out! Not a bad stitch at all. I'm just delighted with Edith - and I think maybe she's happy with all of us as well.
I may do another page for the cabinet restoration. Although I do enjoy the work... sometimes I just want the sewing surface to be pretty, perfect, and smooth and the exterior seems to take a backseat. I'm not sure what I want to do here. I can 'see' it all restored as if it were new... and a part of me likes the outside just the way it is.
Since I'm a little torn. I think I'll redo the sewing surface, and let that take me where it will.
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