I really should re-wire the light

I have re-wired one of these lights before.  I am glad I did.  But the "keeper" rings on the light fixture are a bear to get off and on.  I would prefer not to do it.  So I cheated and for now, until I can decide to delve into that frustration again, or just buy a new light from SEW CLASSICS, I did a patch job.

First I clipped the ring off and then stripped the insulation back.

Then I made a new ring from some AWG 16 G SPT2 stranded wire.  I have some 18 AWG SPT 1 but it seems thinner than what was there.  So I went with the thicker stuff. 

Then I soldered that.  Now this may have been a less than stellar idea, but it worked.

Then I braided the old and the new.  I like the way this looks. You can really see the braid.  Please note the piece of yellow tape.  That signifies that this once had a yellow tab on it from the factory.  What isn't seen in this picture is the hump near the proximal (closer to the body) end of the joint.  That will show up later.

Two things here:  The hemostat holding the white wire out of the way.  This way I don't have to worry about accidentally heating it up, too. The other thing, when i was soldering the bradied joint, I worried that my ring might de-solder.  It didn't.  But I think I may have to re-think this method

I moved the heat shrink down and hit it with the hairdryer and that was when ......

....the bump appeared.  It sort of looks like an undigested mouse in a snake, yes?

Still there are no bare wires and until I become more skilled, this will have to do.  I see that the white wire is aging and I am resigned to trying to find a decent tool to try to get those rings off of that light.

Or maybe I will just order one and spend the time working on the boat anchor.  Maybe I will name that White Popeye.

The cheater's way to refinish a cabinet

I had a Kenmore cabinet that came with a vintage Kenmore 158.  This one, too , came from Vermont via Steven.  This one was 16.02 from the Re-Store in BurlingtonVermont.

I promised Alice that I would take a photo.  So here it is:

Tidy workspace and wiring the 15-91

I must confess, the photo in the last post was "dressed up for the camera."  I tend to be messy and the truth is my workshop looks like this:

As you can see it is quite messy.  That is the White VS on her side on the bench.

I recommend a tidy work space.  It helps.  Today I took a break from the boat anchor and went back to fixing the 15-91.  I have her all ready to reassemble.  I just need to repair some wiring.

So I practiced soldering.  And practiced and practiced until now I feel pretty good about my ability to truly get the wire hot enough to melt the solder and make a nice tidy (there's that word again) joint.

Since I feel so confident, I ventured into the innards of a potted motor of the 15-91.  I got as far as removing the coil and stopped.  The wires looked ok and those soldered joints to the ends of the brush covers looked too fragile for me to be tugging on the coil.  So I cleaned out the gunk and put her back together.

 

One thing that I did not see in the adjuster's manual.  When you are replacing the spiral gear on the shaft of the motor, it is hard to align it.  I took off a cap screw ,stuck a small screw driver through the opening and, voila, alignment!

Of course before I put the armature back into the housing, I cleaned it all off as directed in the adjuster's manual.  Since the copper would not come clean with a soft, dry cloth, I used a common rubber eraser. 

Can this sewing machine be saved?

About a year ago , I acquired Sewing Machine Acquisition Disorder

Since then I have acquired (not collected, there is a difference) many sewing machines.  This past spring,as Steven was returning from Vermont trip, he stopped in at a Junque dealer.  The dealer showed him a couple of nice machines, but at 100 bucks each, Steven told him they were a bit high.  "I am pretty sure she wouldn't want to spend more than $25. "  The dealer showed him one more.  Steven said"let me guess, $25?"  So This white Vibrating shuttle came home, complete with a treadle cabinet in rough shape.

At first I thought it was missing the shuttle and bobbin.  I found those in a drawer.  Which is a good thing.  This unique shuttle has a post in the center.  They are not easy to find.

OK.  So I am determined to try to clean up this machine and get her stitching since my sweet man thought of me and brought her home.  I don't want to discourage his enabling activity.

Speaking of enabling, Steven has a very nice shop.  He got tired of the smell of liquid wrench in the living room so he partitioned off part of his very nice shop for me.  Here is my lovely workbench.  He also was tired of the way I stored my tools.  The toolbox you see is a present from him.  I am a lucky woman.  He tolerates my sewing machines and the three dogs.