Vintage Singer 404

Here she is: Elizabeth, a Singer model 404! I bought her online back in December, from Goodwill. The photos looked good and the price was right at $50. She was manufactured around May 1960 at the Elizabethport, New Jersey factory.

When she arrived, we were amazed. She has a couple of chips on the handwheel, but no scratches on the rest of the paint to speak of, and not a spot of rust. Even the bobbin tire and brown spool felts were in good shape and look original. She was a cabinet model, still had hinges attached and there was no drip pan or foot controller. We don't believe she was used much.

Jerold gave her a good clean and oil, replaced the top motor bearing, and ordered new spool pins (bent), a foot controller/cord, and some rubber feet. We polished and waxed her to a gleaming shine before I started sewing. No paint job needed for this two-tone cream and beige girl.

She stitches like a dream and is pretty quiet. I've already pieced a quilt with her. Elizabeth is a nice straight stitch machine to add to our collection. I'm on the lookout for a drip pan, or maybe I can get my resident handyman to build a wooden base.

More updates later on our ongoing vintage sewing machine addiction. I love sharing a hobby with my guy and thoroughly enjoy working with him to restore these machines.

 

Dodge It or Ram It

Last week, I worked hard in the sewing room garage. If you know me, you know that I'm not afraid of getting dirty, and that I learned about cars at my daddy's side as a wee child.

We've had more than our share of brake issues with our '96 Dodge Ram 2500. I think that's what they had in mind when they named it.

...either Dodge it or Ram it, 'cause you ain't gonna stop. 

The brakes have never been anything to brag about, although we've changed nearly everything in the system several times. Well, not any more. Now that we found the perfect combination of parts and components, this beast will stop on a dime.

By the way, brake fluid is slippery stuff, and it will strip the polish right off your fingernails. I'll be giving myself a manicure this week.

“Every girl should have a basic knowledge 

of cars and home maintenance.” ~katiescarlett

Handy People

We fix things around this house. My husband is the most talented guy when it comes to repairing stuff, and I'm not too shabby myself. We both like the challenge of troubleshooting and figuring out what's wrong and how things work.

This weekend it was our ten year old dishwasher. It's been a little stinky, so the other day I ran it with vinegar, cleaned out the filters, and scrubbed the seals, but nothing worked. Sunday morning it leaked on the floor. Uh-oh.

We found two places that may have caused the leak and a whole lot of yukky gray and black gunk built up under a plastic flange.  How could you possibly keep that clean?  We had to remove and get inside the door panel to access it!   A new part is on order, and the air vent is cleaned and reinstalled.

I guess I'm lucky...we saved whatever service companies might have charged for a 2-3 hour repair visit. But if we weren't so darn handy I might have a brand new stainless steel dishwasher right now. Hmmm.

“He taught me that there is no shame in breaking something, only in not being able to fix it.” ~Hope Jahren

“She believed in getting as much use as possible from everything, and thought that as long as machinery, or anything else, could be cajoled into operation, it should be kept; to do otherwise, she thought, was wasteful.”  ~Alexander McCall Smith