Bored at work again and cruising eBay I came across another period collectable - a 1927 Singer Model 99 Sewing Machine.  The case was in pretty bad shape and arrived in even worse shape due to poor packing on the seller's part.  The veneer was badly damaged as well.  I decided not to go too crazy with this item as I am really not that "into it" - even though it is a highly complicated mechanical device whose operation still to this day eludes me...

The head unit is well used but complete - she cleaned up pretty nicely with a little elbow grease and WD-40.

The case was another story - badly damaged and falling apart at the joints.  I glued everything back together and filled the missing spaces and holes with Water Putty.

I stripped off all the old finish - managing to save the Singer logo on the top of the cover.  I re-stained and applied a couple coats of Shellac - I don't know why I use shellac as it always comes out looking like crap.  I figure I will buff it out after it's dry with some steel wool and leave the satin finish.

The unit has an electric motor - also manufactured by Singer - which I took apart and stripped of the original paint.  Additionally, there is a foot controller which I also stripped and refinished.

The metal hardware for the case was removed and buffed on the polishing wheel with black rouge to remove the rust.

Now, reassembly can begin.  I start with the foot pedal - here's the ceramic speed control installed.

Here's the pedal that you step on to control the speed.

This is the completed unit with the cover reinstalled.

As for the case, I buffed it with steel wool and applied a coat of wax. Turned out OK.

Next, I reassembled the motor and attached to the machine.  This little motor is pretty cool - there are instructions on the inside of the cover that tell how to wire for AC or DC operation.

These last shots are of the completed project assembled and attached to the base.

Very cool - I really like the construction of the case and the scroll work on the machine - they certainly don't make them like this anymore!  The last thing I need to do is pick up some wire and a plug to make this fully operational.