LOML Yard Sale Find...

Bill Arnold

1974
Staff member
Messages
8,622
Location
Thomasville, GA
...yeah!

I never quite know what to say when my adorable little wife heads for yard sales, taking the neighbor with her. This time.....well, here's what followed her home:

Singer_a1.jpgSinger_a2.jpgSinger_a3.jpg

No, it's not supposed to be yellow! The first step will be stripping the yellow to see what's under it. Bobbie is taking the "Sharon" approach and says she'll do the stripping and clean up, if I'll show her how. Uh-huh...

Too bad those cigarettes didn't ignite the whole thing! :saythat:

The original sewing machine is long gone; it had a old electric model in it. Not sure of the value of all of it, but Bobbie wants to keep it for a different machine.

Now, I've got to give her credit, along with the yard sale acquisition, she did bring a peace offering (to the left of the sewing machine).

If Momma's happy. we all be happy!!!

:rolleyes:


EDIT: She got this fine piece for $25.
 
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The original sewing machine is long gone; it had a old electric model in it. Not sure of the value of all of it, but Bobbie wants to keep it for a different machine.

Well, finding a cabinet with the woodwork in good shape is getting a lot harder to do (this one looks to be in decent shape ignoring the yellow! :crazy:). So many ended up in barns, got wet and all the veneer pealed off. The actual sewing machines - even treadle ones seem to be a lot easier to find.

Watch the veneer on the top pieces when you're stripping it, its usually been worn some and isn't as thick as you might like it to be.
 
Nice. I found one a few years ago and in the end, only the wrought iron legs were salvageable. But that was fine with me. Will be watching the transformation with great interest.
 
Nice find. My BIL was buying the stands for those and simply building new tops with drawers setup for use as a writing desk or simply set a more modern sewing machine on top.
 
Take a tide through WV, Western Pa and Md. Hit the antique sh ops. You'll see these with the machine for an avg. Price of $ 150.00
I like doing away with the cabinet and putting a nice piece of wood on the old iron.
 
After applying some stripper to the narrow center drawer so it could sit for a while, I got the cabinet separated from the base. A loose screw here and there and a couple of missing metal parts but the cabinet is in fair shape. I also separated the movable top pieces from the main top panel. The main top panel is plywood that measures nearly 7/8" thick which I suppose could be 3/4" plywood with applied veneer. Here's what the top of the top panel looks like:

Singer_a4.jpg
The grain looks kinda non-descript so far.


The end panels caught Bobbie's eye but will be a bit of a pain to strip, although the little center drawer with its beading is taking time!

Singer_a5.jpg


One option we might have for the top parts is adding veneer, if they turn out too rough. More on that as it develops.

I'm unsure of what kind of woods were used for different components of the cabinet. The inside faces of the six side drawers look like QSWO; more on that when the yellow goes away.
 
I got one out in the shop just sitting there. I had a former client ask me to re-vaneer for her so I got started on it. I peeled off the old vaneer off the top and was cutting new vaneer when she called me and said she changed her mind (I think her husband found out how much I quoted her). I asked her what she wanted me t do with the machine and she said keep it so now it just sits...:( This one has the original machine in it. All it needs is a belt and it would work.
 
Don , you got to hate that. I will usually tell the customer at that point they owe me for my time if there is time spent. The few times this has happened I've received payment and usually the piece also if there good customers. A few times I let it pass.
 
In our haste to get going on the sewing machine cabinet, I forgot about part two of Bobbie's acquisition. A small bench was included with the cabinet. It appears it was once a piano bench. No real refinishing to do except re-upholstering the seat.

SmBench_a1.jpg SmBench_a2.jpg

We took the day off from the shop today (Wed. 9/10) and drove down to Tallahassee. We found new tapestry type material for the bench. I know what I'll be doing in the next day or so!
 
In our haste to get going on the sewing machine cabinet, I forgot about part two of Bobbie's acquisition. A small bench was included with the cabinet. It appears it was once a piano bench. No real refinishing to do except re-upholstering the seat.

Have always loved the castings on some of these older pieces. When you think about the work that went into doing the patterns for them and all the details around that they really are a tour de force of the craft. I don't claim to fully understand the details on the patterns for these, just enough to know that wow! those guys were good!
 
When I was very young, my mother had this exact same machine (natural wood finish however) and used it for all of her sewing. Somewhere in the 1930's she got one of those new fangled electric machines from Sears.

Dad took the two end/leg parts and made legs for the forge he made. I have no idea how the sewing machine died.

Thanks for the memories.

Enjoy,
JimB
 
I remember a Singer almost exactly like that in the house I grew up in - and it got used a LOT.

Today - it is long gone.

I had opportunity to try - "try" - to find homes for a couple of older model singers.

I finally did get someone to take one away - but - they really didn't want it. I was happy.

I would bet the yard sale people that sold it to your wife are just as happy as I was.

Sorry

But - hey - that I iron really does look cool.
 
LOML has been doing great on the paint removal from the sewing cabinet. She finished most of the work on each end panel, so they're looking a lot better.

Here's a before and after look at an end panel.

Singer_a5.jpgSinger_a6.jpg

She worked on the drawer fronts this morning but needed to take the afternoon off to rest her back. The drawer fronts have a fair amount of detail as do the cabinet frame parts surrounding the drawers. After that, it'll relatively clear sailing.

On a different tack, Bobbie said it looks like there's a fair amount of red in the wood. There's one area under where the fixed panel of the top assembly kept the yellow from getting on it. It has a good amount of original finish on it that I verified as shellac by rubbing it with DA. What came up is very reddish, so I assume it's garnet shellac. No matter since all of it will be gone by the time we're through with the stripping. I was planning to use all waterborne sealer and finish but might have to consider de-waxed shellac as the sealer. What do you think?
 
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