Day 6: $&%^#(*$&#

Today was an initially frustrating and then rewarding day of work on Lorene. It almost seemed like Christmas when I got home from work -- my LED bulb, belt, bed cushions and drip pad all arrived! I didn’t get started until later in the evening because of physical therapy, dinner and an errand. I started by chiseling out the remaining bits of the bed cushions. I wonder what those things were made out of, because they really looked like they had melted. Once I got the bits out, I put on the new cushions. Then I removed the drip pan to do some more cleaning of the grease. After that, I oiled and lubricated. I turned the main shaft (the hand wheel was off) and oiled wherever I saw parts moving against each other. I put the new drip pad onto the pan, found new felt circles, and closed up the underside of the machine. I ended up having to remove the drip pan later, but that’s another part of today’s story.

I moved on to oiling the upper part of the machine. I moved the spool pin plate and lubricated the gears. I put oil wherever it looked necessary. After closing that up, I oiled anywhere I could remember from my workshop last May. I oiled all the moving parts that I could see in the needle-bar and presser-foot assemblies (behind the face plate). I removed more lint that was in there, too. I was happily moving the main shaft and listening and oiling, and getting so excited about getting close to finishing so I could actually try to sew.

And then…

I realized something. Sure, the hook assembly was moving just fine, but the bobbin case base was moving along with it. The little “finger” that sticks up and fits into the slot on the needle plate was moving with the hook. I had oiled behind the base so I thought it would move with a little elbow grease. Wrong. I couldn’t get it to move, and Bill couldn’t get it to move. Fine, I thought. I’ll go ahead and remove the hook assembly like I saw in an April 1930s video last week. Someone obviously already tried that, because the screws are pretty well stripped.

I was starting to think I’d never get this machine working again. I couldn’t get to the hook so I could remove whatever thread was hiding behind the bobbin case base. I was trying and trying to make the base move, to no avail. Finally, Bill mentioned WD-40. A-ha! I had read somewhere that it could dissolve little bits of thread that were jamming the machine. I started spraying WD-40 onto the hook assembly. Jiggle the base. More WD-40. Jiggle the base. Swear at the machine. Try to get Bill to make the case move.

Bill told me to give up for the night, that it was like trying to write the last chapter of a book. It’s hard to leave it for a while, but sometimes that’s the best thing to do. I knew he was right, and that a night of soaking in WD-40 was probably a good idea.

Well, sometimes I don't listen to myself.

I couldn’t let it go without one last try, and around 10 p.m., suddenly the bobbin case base moved. It wasn’t moving smoothly, but it was moving! I kept turning the main shaft and eventually, it started to move freely! Success!

I don’t know what was holding the parts together, but it was certainly strong!

It was a satisfying project, to see how frozen and neglected this machine was, and to make it functional again.

Here’s what was on the docket for the next day:

• Take apart the tension assembly, clean, and reassemble.
• Clean the stop-motion washer and faceplate.
• Put a seam-allowance sticker from Sew Classic onto the needle plate.
• Install the belt.
• Put in the new light bulb.
• Clean and maybe wax.

I didn’t know if all of that would be accomplished the next day, but I hoped to be able to try to sew with Lenore the day after that.

I wondered what I would do when this project was over. Actually sew something?

Day 5: Busy bee

I accomplished a lot of little things today with Lenore:

• I tried to remove the bit of thread that I could see, with tweezers, and managed to just break it off right by the bobbin case base. I could see a little bit of it from above, near the feed dogs, but I couldn’t get to it with tweezers. It was too tight of a fit, so I removed the feed dogs to free up some space. The thread was still jammed in there, so I found my turkey lacer (which doubles as a sewing stiletto), and that was sturdy enough to get the thread loose. There was a tail of about 1 inch, which I was then able to grab with tweezers. When I pulled it free, there was about 6 inches of yellow-brown thread! Where had it been hiding?
• I removed the hand wheel and found all sorts of brown gunk, maybe old grease, in and around the shaft. Who would have put grease there? It took quite a few Q-tips to get that area clean. I will also need to clean the stop-motion gasket, which looks like it caught fire but doesn’t smell like anything other than sewing-machine oil.
• I removed the drip pan and cleaned off quite a bit of brown grease. I gently removed some blobs from the lead tubing, trying not to dislodge any of the oxidation. I think it is fairly clean now, although some kerosene would have helped. I’m going to keep sweeping over the greasy spots with Q-tips.
• I started digging out the melted-looking bed cushions. I removed three of the screws (two had to be unearthed from under the brittle rubber) with my husband’s help on the last one. I just couldn’t get it to budge. I’m still digging out the little bits so that I can put in the new cushions when they get here. In the remnants of one cushion, I could see a piece of wire and I wondered what it was. It was a staple! How did a staple get stuck in that rubber?
• I removed quite a bit of lint from under the feed dogs.
• I ordered new caps for the motor brushes. They were more than $10 apiece on eBay; I got them for $2.50 each from Glenn Williams, who sold me the parts for one of my 301s before I sold it.

So, next steps. I need to finish working on the bed cushions. I’d like to take apart the tension assembly to be sure everything is clean. Then, I need to start oiling and lubricating everything. I’ll put on the new belt, install the new light, and maybe then I can give her a test run! The final step will be to do a quick wipe-down and wax. I might do that before the sewing test. It's so exciting to get close to actual sewing!

Day 4: A New Hope

Hope you caught the Star Wars reference...
I apologize for the long time between posts. Believe it or not, I've been done working on Lenore for almost three months! I'm not the fastest of bloggers, obviously.
On day 4, I started by working on the motor. First I tried to clean out the grease tubes. I used a bent paper clip, since the recommendation on the Yahoo FW group was to use a squared-off toothpick. Well, there was absolutely nothing in there! I thought I’d have to remove some yucky brown grease, but the paper clip just went right to the very dry felt at the bottom. So I pulled out my motor lubricant (bought from Nova Montgomery) and filled up the tubes.
Next, I moved on to the motor itself. Upon the recommendation of Yahoo FW group moderator Graham Forsdyke, I removed the pulley again and put a small drop of oil where the pulley shaft meets the motor housing. I also put a tiny bit of oil (not even a drop) on the other end of the shaft. With a little bit of effort, I got the shaft moving easily!! I was also able to move the shaft in and out a teeny bit, which is how it should be, according to David Werther, who runs a Facebook group called Featherweightology, and runs a quilt shop in Dallas. He offered a lot of help with this project via e-mail.

I started to clean the dust off the motor with some wet Q-tips, and then called it a night. When the new belt arrives, I can try plugging in the machine again.

I still need to:

1) Clean the gunk off the parts on the underside of the machine and put in the new drip pad.

2) I haven’t removed the hand wheel to clean and oil the main shaft, so I’ll do that. 

3) I’ll thoroughly oil everything. 

4) I’ll replace the light bulb, and dig out the melted-looking bed cushions to replace them with new ones.

I’m beginning to believe that Lenore will sew again, and soon!