Want to refinish antique Singer Treadle Sewing Machine

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Topic: Want to refinish antique Singer Treadle Sewing Machine

normajones

Wed, 08/06/2008 - 10:54am

Want to refinish antique Singer Treadle Sewing Machine

I have my great-grandmother's antique Singer treadle sewing machine. It's a beautiful piece of furniture, over 100 years old! The top/cover of the wood cabinet is stained with various colours of paint, what appear to be burn marks, and much more. It's in dreadful condition. While the four drawers and the sides of the wood cabinet are perfect. It's only the top of the wood cabinet which needs refinishing. I've never refinished anything before. Is there anyone who can advise me what I need to get started? Do I use an electric sander to sand it first?

Antique Singer Treadle Sewing Machine

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refinishing antique Singer sewing machine

ajmac writes:

Thu, 08/14/2008 - 4:11pm

I just started refinishing my grandmother's antique Singer cabinet yesterday. It is in nearly the same condition as yours by the way you describe it. I used "Antique Furniture Refinisher" product that I have used in the past. It is made by the Minwax Company. I had a great pamphlet that they publish which I picked up at a local hardware store. (Free) or you might find it on minwax.com. "Project Guide #3: How to Refinish Antiques" The product is not as harsh as a stripper. I'm not an expert but just thought since we are doing the same thing we could share our info. My cabinet top had veneer lifting and so I had to fix that first (more online help from some Google searching) so perhaps your cabinet is in better shape than mine. My next dilemma is whether to try to match the stain or just finish it with a clear finish. Both are options. One of the reasons I went online was to see if I could find suggestions for staining products or colours since matching is difficult. Like yours the drawers are fine so I would prefer not to do anything but perhaps add a product to spruce them up a little, just the usual wood "polishing". Anyway that means I need to try to match them up. If you have any info for me also I'd be grateful. Hope my info helped you. AJ

Singer Sewing Machine Update

normajones writes:

Tue, 08/19/2008 - 6:35pm

Hi Thank you SO MUCH for taking the time to respond to my posting. I started sanding the top portion which is really the only part of my machine which needs refinishing. But I need a rougher sandpaper and I plan to look into a sponge-type-sander, not too harsh. Also I will purchase sand paper which fits into a wood holder that I think I still have......somewhere in all my 'stuff'!!! I am going to talk to one of the expert guys at Rona as they can be very helpful. I don't wish to use an electric sander, much too rough, I believe. I've been waiting for this darn rain to stop and hoping for a few nice days so I can put the sewing machine on my balcony and do the work there. Hopefully I'll be able to do that within the week. I'm a novice when it comes to re-finishing furniture. this is my first project. Wish I could offer you some wisdom or advice. Unfortunately I can't right now. Once I really start working on my machine I may have more ideas which I'd be happy to share. Thanks again for your help! Regards, Norma

Antique Singer Sewing machine restoration.

Zmaj writes:

Wed, 08/27/2008 - 9:50pm

Norma, How are you? I've been trying to restore my antique sewing machine the last month. I uploaded a photo of the table top with all of the veneer off. I've taken every piece apart, sanded it, stain most pieces, will polyurethane it and then put it all back together with a new piece of veneer I got from Rona. I painted the base part with flat back rust paint considering it's more than over 100 years old. Please e-mail me, if you want so that we can chat about sewing machine restorations... lol. Would love to compare notes. Ciao, Mon

base

wood veneer

cass county writes:

Sat, 09/06/2008 - 12:52pm

I've read your post and wonder where you were able to get wood veneer to match? My grandmothers singer cabinet needs veneer replacement but I'm not sure what kind of veneer is on the cabinet. Any ideas would be appreciated.

Antique Singer Sewing Machine restoration

srgist writes:

Mon, 12/08/2008 - 5:45pm

HELP! I inherited a Singer Sewing Machine Model 127/128 from my grandmother. I need instructions on how to remove the flip-up, 5-drawer sewing machine and cabinet from the treadle base so my husband and I can clean and paint the base. We've already restored the cabinet, but are afraid to tamper w/ the base without instruction from someone who's done it before. THANKS!!!