The Tea & Iron Singer 66

When my sister returned she had all sorts of sewing related things to do but one of them involved yet another machine.  A friend asked her to come and get an old Singer if she wanted it. So we went and got it. At this point I gave up wondering why and went along for the ride.

It was a new-to-me cabinet (model 41) and a crinkle finish 66. This was the first machine I’d ever tested by hand where the balance wheel wanted to spin. The mechanics were a joy. It had been well maintained and ran and sewed flawlessly.  I have no idea why anyone would want to take leave of it, but there it was, in the garage with the very same cabinet issue as the 42: water rings from potted plants. The top was a disaster. "Ode to Saturn" came to mind.

When I set it off to the side I began wondering if it might be easier to darken the light bits to match the watermarks instead of the other way around… which started an evening searching out alternative methods of staining. If perhaps there was some kind of translucent black? Except there just isn’t exactly such a thing, so I found the next closest: tea & and steel wool in vinegar (the iron).

The recipes are simple. The application is an experience. To begin with, take several black tea bags (I used 5) and make a nearly a quart jar of tea. Let them steep. I placed a lid on the jar with the bags in the water and sat it aside for about a week. The second half of the stain was vinegar and steel wool. Some say to do the same, put a quadruple ought wad of steel wool in a glass jar, nearly fill that with vinegar, and let that steep for a week. Others suggest heating the mix to a boil in the glass jar, with the jar in a pot of water.  I think I sort of did both because I still needed to sand down the cabinet. I've since lost track of how many youtube videos there are describing this staining method; quite a few.

The 41 was not the best choice. If I had it all to do over again I probably wouldn’t have chosen that cabinet. It had turned legs (always fun to sand) and unbeknownst to me… four or five different colors of wood, but I’d gone this far, so why not try a little here or there? References suggested that re-applying the vinegar-wool mix can darken the stain, soooo… maybe I could even it all out in the end? Or maybe it will be a mess and I'll have to sand it again?

Not being entirely certain which of the different woods had how much natural tannin and which didn’t have as much, I hoped that the tea coatings might equalize the disparity.  I went over the entire cabinet several times with just the tea, and then let it all rest.

Two days later I began with the vinegar and steel wool. I did one coat and waited.  The change was both drastic and amazing. The areas that didn’t get ‘as dark’ got another light coat and slowly over the course of a week the cabinet told me when and where to apply another light coat.

 

I never did –quite- get the black ring marks out of the top… and I went a little light on the sewing surface, but wow – what a change!  After a second week of allowing all the surfaces to dry completely, two coats of clear poly went across everything.

Again, it might not be for everyone. I’m sure that if I tried it again my results would probably vary, as would anyone else attempting it, and perhaps (?) that’s a part of the appeal. It really was a blast. I really didn’t have a lot of control over what was going to happen.