Years ago, when all of the grand-children were going thru my grandmother's things, my cousins unanimously voted that I should have her treddle sewing machine.
Over the years, I have moved this with me and now it sits in my basement here in Missouri.
Wondering if any of you have ever taken on renovating or restoring one of these?
I would appreciate any advance thoughts on this prior to the undertaking.
You might take a look at:
There's a whole lotta folk about to help you with that! Join Treadle On and join the fun!
And have a look at one of my restoration projects, an 1890's Adria Saxonia: >
The first thing is to make sure that your treadle isn't in a damp place. I'd suggest getting it out of the basement and into a living area at a very first step. I'd then give it a good eyeballing, give it a good oiling (sewing machine oil only) and gently turning the wheel to see if it turns easily and that the needle bar moves up and down. If all of that goes OK, I'd then thread it up and try to (gently) use the treadle.
My advice is to always do as little as you can to get it going and as little as you can to make it look OK. I think there is nothing more offensive than over-restored and over-renovated machines, but such a machine may be exaclty what you have in your minds eye and exactly what you desire.
Yes, I've restored several treadles, one just last weekend :)
First, do reading here, especially the first site, dedicated to people powered sewing machines. There are entire sections on refirbishing the head, the irons, the woodwork, etc:
-Irene
as little as >>you can to make it look OK. I think >>there is nothing more offensive than >>over-restored and over-renovated >>machines, but such a machine may be >>exaclty what you have in your minds >>eye and exactly what you desire.
You're right about "over-restoring". i did that to a "Jenny-Lind" trunk, so I know I don't want to do that to the sewing machine. One of the things I know I will need, if i decide it should be at least operable is... the belt that goes from the machine to the the treadle.
As well as the 2 great websites already recommended, there are several yahoo groups that might be useful. Wefixit is a group of "shade tree mechanics", Vintagesingers, Vintage_treadlesewingmachines, Singer, and Singermachines are self explanatory. There are lots of others, depending on the make and model of your machine. These groups are made up of enthusiasts, tinkerers and some sewing machine mechanics. Lots of experience, readily shared.
chris :-)
As many of us have already noticed, the old sewing machines are all metal, designed to last forever. Most of sewing consists of straight stitches anyway, but even the early zigzag machines are still going strong. Many of them can be treadled, too. I love my new machines with all their bells and whistles, but the truth is, while I'm setting up one of these wonder machines, I could have been finished using an old one. Plus the plastic and electronic parts are not going to last. I'm hanging onto my new machines, and I'll enjoy them. But I'm not going to part with my favorite oldies. I need to part with a few -- 30-some is a bit much. I'll be delighted if I can pare it down to 10 or 12. ;-)
If you live in the US, there is a regular poster here who can probably help you with the belt. If you live in Australia, I can give you a name for a supplier.
InspirePoint website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.