Lamp becomes sewing machine, again.

Remember the frankenmachine?  This is what it looked like when it arrived.Much worse than I had thought.  Looking it over, I think it was a kid's shop project.  There was a tag on the bottom with someone's initials on it.  The case is also not like others I have seen.  There's no place for a cover to attach, and the cut outs for the hinges are a little rough. The lamp bit is made on a lathe and then shaped to fit, with the wiring being pulled through the pillar. The spool pin hole was enlarged to secure the lamp harp. I'm guessing the machine was dragged in from the barn, the dump, or the yard to be used for this lamp project. Poor machine.

This is with it somewhat disassembled.  I started out by cleaning it with liquid wrench, which I understand to be made mostly of kerosene, but I quickly went through a little bottle,  I went back to the hardware ( who am I kidding- I love going to the hardware store, and go every chance I get) and found that they sell kerosene by the pint, in the paint section. I put the machine in a foil baking pan and poured kerosene over it, through it, and let the working bits in the bottom of the machine soak.  I also scrubbed with a toothbrush.  Sorry, dear. (Kidding!)

Here it is after it's bath.  I wiped it down with denatured alcohol before painting, to get it clean. Then, taped, primed three coats with sanding in between each coat, and then three coats of paint, sanded and steel wooled in between.

Not perfect but much, much better. It's moving fairly free, but the shuttle carrier bumps at the end of the arc. (Shown in the last picture.) The gold medallion was just painted.  The serial number is completely unreadable, except for the first letter, a "G".  I'll oil it gain after I put the decals and the clear coat on.  Right now, I don't want to get it greasy.

The plating was completely gone, so after I soaked the crud off the decorative cover plates I cleaned them with the dremel tool and the polishing bit.  I then used a technique I learned from a jewelry class.  I painted India ink over the plates, allowed it to dry, and then buffed the high points.  This gave it a little more contrast, since there was no shine. It needs to be either waxed or clear coated, as the ink is water soluble.  This shot also shows the missing tension assembly. I need to remove the paint from the presser foot lever, too. Taking a picture is a great way to see detail I might miss in person, even if I'm not going to blog it.  Below is the point where the shuttle carrier bumps.  I'm hoping that this improves, and that it doesn't turn out to be a fatal flaw.