Bogart: 1942 Singer 99 restored
Here's
our latest sewing machine restoration: meet Bogart, or Bogie for
short.
I
found him in June on a local Facebook listing and went right away to
pick him up. For $50 we figured it could be a parts machine for the
other 99 we are working on. Oh, were we wrong! The nearly perfect
wrinkle finish (Godzilla) and blackened faceplate gave us the first
clue, along with a 1942 serial number. It's a Blackside, manufactured
during WWII when parts were scarce.
1942 Singer 99 Before
The
wiring had all but perished, so no idea if it worked. The Bentwood
case has a hole in it (to be fixed at a later date when we have our
carpentry hats on). Still, it was too unique and complete to use for
parts, so we decided to clean, oil, and restore with the least amount
of interference.
Trial run: it sews!
Jerold
oiled the creaky old guy, cut off the nasty wiring, and hooked it up
temporarily to find the motor runs just fine! Threaded it and it
sews pretty good, better after a bobbin adjustment. He took off the
bobbin winder, bobbin case, hook, and other pieces to clean and oil.
The handwheel was nicked terribly, so he sanded and used satin black
to repaint it. The bobbin plate was missing, so he blackened a spare
Singer one to replace it.
Love this Blackside scrolled faceplate
I
cleaned the dirty finish with Goop and a soft toothbrush. Lots of
nicotine and dirt! There are no decals, just simple paint stamped
Singer lettering. I was careful not to scrub too hard around them.
There were about 6 small nicks in the paint and I used a mix of black
and satin black to dab on so it wouldn't rust. These don't have
shellac, so I polished (using Jerold's suggestion) with Kiwi shoe
polish and buffed with a soft brush. I used the same technique on the
foot control.
Rewired,
all parts cleaned and oiled, wood base cleaned and polished, Bogie is
looking pretty spiffy and running fine at eighty-one. He has some wear, but who wouldn't at that age? I'm so happy I
found him, even though I really wasn't looking. I'll be sewing
something with Bogart soon.
We
had so much fun working together on this! Next up, we finish complete
restoration and paint on the other 99. Then on to a clean/oil/polish on a 1923
Singer 127 with gorgeous Sphinx decals.
