Edith Cabinet Finished

Sometimes it's easy to sand down a surface or two and then rub things down with steel wool and a couple of poly coats later the piece looks great... this was not one of those times.

The Domestic cabinet was very much like an old singer type 41 that I redid a year and a half ago. The top surface had a veneer which was darker than anything else on the cabinet. I sanded it down, decided to try and save it even with the occasional scar, and then I clear coated it twice. That's it. I didn't need to get any darker because it literally set the tone for the rest of the cabinet. All the other pieces would have to become that color.

The sewing surface woods were different from left half to right half. The left had a very similar veneer as the top which matched the outside side panels and the front. These all got the very light colorless treatment.

The right side, or machine side however, was not a veneer, nor were the edges, corner upright pieces, or spindles. Each set of these were a different wood, and a different color.

To darken the machine side of the sewing surface I started out with a light Walnut coat, then steel wool, and then a light red mahogany. After that dried and was scrubbed with the wool, the color was almost close enough, and it finally came together with two coats of gloss poly.

The crack under the one hinge took very well to the wood glue and although it may not hold forever, using the door as the leaf prop the way it is designed should save the piece from further damage.  The door itself had many other issues. Since it's supposed to be open when using the machine, I had to address each one. The trays and the spool holder had begun to rust and they were removed and sanded down. I had to tape off each spindle, but the results were worth the effort.

Even with the wood finished, and the trays redone, it threw one more obstacle. The door was not closing properly. The small ball-bearing like bead in the frame of the door is supposed to pop into a little metal cup. It was a half inch off.  Upon close inspection I realized the top hinge was not set properly and it was removed and taken to the bench vice to flatten out the cupping. I've never seen a hinge do that before! With the plate flat and set flush, the door closed and the bead hit the cup. It's still a quarter of an inch from perfect, but I'm delighted with the results.

The square like cabinet edges got a very similar treatment as the sewing surface except they took two coats of the walnut, then the mahogany, and then the clear. The spindles were one coat each before the poly coats. It was a challenge with the brush when it came to applying each coat. One surface would just need a light wash, while another wood would need a thicker layer of color.

To be honest, I'm amazed at all of the results: the machine, the cabinet, everything. I never would have thought that lying just under all those very weathered surfaces was such a magnificent machine and cabinet. I'm gathering up the attachments, box, oil can, bobbins and perhaps some old wooden thread spools and a pair of scissors. I think that no matter how much sewing Edith does in the future, she's going to present really well for years to come.

I've had this thought... that perhaps I should return her now. Take her back to the house she came from. The home is being refurbished from the ground up and the gentleman doing the work is trying to incorporate every little original piece he can use. Perhaps Edith would be welcome - a visual reminder of what he wants to accomplish on a much grander scale. =)

My next post may be a week or two out. There's this opportunity I have to visit with a person who has "hundreds" of older sewing machines and parts on top of parts. Sure, there may be something else I could do before that happens, but it may be worth the wait.

Be well until then!