Bam-bam and Waiting for Zane

I thought that I might get a little break as I waited for that much anticipated phone call. I feel like one of those TV Picker guys. Every time I try to imagine 'hundreds of sewing machines'  my excitement level goes up, my pulse quickens, and patience seems a tad scarce. This is the hard part, the waiting.

To take my mind off things, I went back down into the garage and began a simple re-poly on the Lady Kenmore cabinet. The original finish was just rolling off. I could rub the old finish away with my fingernail - that's how brittle it was.  Fortunately the entire cabinet is very close to the same color and many panels seem perfectly fine, so the fix here isn't going to be a major re-do. A little bit of sanding, a rub down with the 4-ought steel wool and then a tack cloth and a couple of poly coats until the amber matches.

I made the mistake of looking at CL and found another Lady K that was not running. I couldn't help myself. The price was crazy reasonable for a non-functioning machine. So now I have a spare. I like this. Sewing with a fifty plus year old machine is a lot of fun, but having to find parts isn't. Having one in reserve is perfect.

When I brought it home the hand wheel refused to do a full turn in either direction. The strange thing is that when the wheel began to bind, it didn't feel hard. The bind, whatever it was, had some give to it. My first thought was that perhaps somewhere along the line some thread had made it to where it shouldn't be and that never mixes well with the usual German tolerances.

Everything was fine in the front and the feed dogs were clear. The bobbin case had a bobbin half full of thread and the other half was wound all over the insides. It took a few minutes to dislodge every trace of blue thread. Once I finished, I lowered the machine without a bobbin or carrier and wouldn't you know the wheel did a full rotation. It was time for some oil drops and a check of the wiring, and then power, and away she went. Within the hour it was back up and running and sewing. The only difference between this model 89 and the other one came down to the date of manufacture. This one is a 1958 model while the first is a '59. Other than that, they're identical.
 


Then came a visit to The Sewing Machine Lady. I needed a few new parts (which she always has) and she handed me some old Kenmore stuff she didn't have any use for. Had the opportunity to see an ancient Howe treadle and a Wilcox & Gibbs, both of which still work and could be museum pieces!

I wish I knew how the magic works, I swear, sometimes it's just plan weird. Among the Kenmore things was a manual for a model 52 and a box of the double sided orange cams. Little did any of us know that I might need them the very next day.

A request came in wondering if I might have an older, solid, durable, steel machine for a very energetic teen learning to sew. The young man is sewing hockey jerseys and apparently he's been a little too rough on Mom's machine.

A quick glance through the stack of available machine heads and wouldn't you know...  I just so happened to have a Kenmore 158.525 sitting in the garage without a pedal. It's solid steel through and through and it runs and sews wonderfully. I added the owner's manual and cam set that Kathy gave me... and cleaned up a fantastic solid-wood table with matching chair.  It also has a Kenmore ID plate, but I've never seen one like this:

How perfect is this? An all-steel machine with straight stitch, zigzag, back tack, decorative cams, double needle and free sewing capable... with a built in 4-step button hole option in a heavy duty chuck of solid wood cabinet? No plastic, no veneer! And I have the owner's manual and the attachment box with 7 cams. Wouldn't you think this is about as teenager proof as it gets!

It made me work. It's been serviced and oiled, and oiled again. I've scoured the bobbin area for every speck of dust. I didn't like the wear spots on the power cord, so those have been replaced. The motor sparked a tad too much, so I tore it down, cleaned out all the carbon dust and put a shine to the armature. I went through all the cams to make sure the mechs worked the way they should and I cleaned and polished everything twice. The noise level has dropped, the machine runs crazy smooth, and I think I've done everything I can to give a young sewer a good learning experience.

I think it's great to learn to sew on a machine like this, Everything is out in the open, visible, no computer programing needed and you have to care for it. A powerful lesson on all accounts. If the table and chair were to be here another day, I would have had them sanded down and re-finished. There's a few glaring blemishes. But all-in-all the whole thing makes me smile. I've nick-named it Bam-bam. It must be the bone-like wood trim?

The only question I have is... How on earth do all of these things know to come together this way? A machine from McKee's Rocks, a cabinet from Irwin, and a manual and cam set from Zelie! Or is this just one of those things that I shouldn't question. I feel like some cosmic conduit. The needed thing over here must be moved to over there... and I'm just the clueless delivery guy.

However it works, I'm happy to have it. We'll make the best of it.

The other machine to be on the bench soon is thanks again to Greg and I never saw this coming. Where does he find these things? Or maybe I should be asking how do these things find Greg? It's just amazing. This machine is an Adler. That's right, the same company that builds those high-end commercial machines. Apparently they offered a scant few models for home use. This is the harder to find model 453.

It appears to be all there with attachments and owner's manual. I'm guessing from the look of it that it desperately needs a good cleaning and servicing. A domestic-use Adler machine... omg. How fantastic is this? This could be a show piece. It's probably a work horse, probably as durable as they come - because that's what Adler makes. This could make a sewing room super special. I'm going to have to be very careful and pull out all the stops. It needs to be a show-stopper.

So yes, I have things to do and they're important and special and fun... but it's still there in the back of my mind.

I'm waiting for the man to call and say he's found the time to show us all those machines and parts from a dealership that began in 1951.  It's a daydream come true and the wait is just driving me crazy.