1881 Singer Model 12 - Mother of Pearl #2

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1881 Singer Model 12 Mother of Pearl

     Most of you who have read my blog already know, I own a 1881 Model 12 Mother of  Pearl sewing machine.  Recently I had the opportunity to acquire a 2nd 1881 Model 12 Mother of Pearl machine.  There's no great story behind this machine (that I know of) or how I acquired the machine.  I saw this machine on the popular auction site and ended up being the highest bidder.  Actually, there were only 2 bids!  I was really surprised that no one was bidding on the machine especially considering the price. Below are some of the pics from the auction.

1881 Singer Model 12 Mother of Pearl

1881 Singer Model 12 Mother of Pearl

1881 Singer Model 12 Mother of Pearl

1881 Singer Model 12 Mother of Pearl

1881 Singer Model 12 Mother of Pearl

1881 Singer Model 12 Mother of Pearl

1881 Singer Model 12 Mother of Pearl

1881 Singer Model 12 Mother of Pearl

1881 Singer Model 12 Mother of Pearl

1881 Singer Model 12 Mother of Pearl

     As you can see from the pictures above, the machine was in pretty decent shape when delivered but needed a good cleaning.  Almost all of the hand painted design was present but there were a few parts of the design that were hidden by dried up oil.  It was pretty thick in spots but I was able to clean it up and reveal the beautiful designs underneath.   I used non-pumice Gojo, TR-3, and SMO to clean the the body of the machine.  I also disassembled all most of  metal parts (except for the vertical and horizonal shafts) for cleaning.  The metal parts that were removed were soaked in Krud Kutter to dissolve the old oil and then the parts were buffed lightly with a ultra-fine finishing pad.  The ultra-fine finishing pad cleans the parts while also providing a uniform sheen on the parts that still provides a "older" look that is not overly polished.  

1881 Singer Model 12 Mother of Pearl

      The parts that were not removed from the machine were cleaned while still installed on the machine.  The same products were used to clean the parts except the the Krud Kutter was applied with a q-tip instead of the parts being soaked in the Krud Kutter.  The parts were then final finished with the same ultra-fine finishing pad.  To clean the gears I used a brass scraper, a brass wire brush and Krud Kutter on a toothbrush.  Below are some pics of the results of cleaning the internal parts.

1881 Singer Model 12 Mother of Pearl

1881 Singer Model 12 Mother of Pearl1881 Singer Model 12 Mother of Pearl

1881 Singer Model 12 Mother of Pearl

Overall, I think the machine cleaned up really nice!  My auction win consisted of only the sewing machine head.  For the pictures below and for testing I mounted the machine in my 1873 Singer Model 12 cabinet (with the fold down lid). 

Enjoy the pics!

1881 Singer Model 12 Mother of Pearl

1881 Singer Model 12 Mother of Pearl

1881 Singer Model 12 Mother of Pearl

1881 Singer Model 12 Mother of Pearl

1881 Singer Model 12 Mother of Pearl

1881 Singer Model 12 Mother of Pearl

1881 Singer Model 12 Mother of Pearl

1881 Singer Model 12 Mother of Pearl

1881 Singer Model 12 Mother of Pearl

1881 Singer Model 12 Mother of Pearl

1881 Singer Model 12 Mother of Pearl

1881 Singer Model 12 Mother of Pearl

1881 Singer Model 12 Mother of Pearl

1881 Singer Model 12 Mother of Pearl

1881 Singer Model 12 Mother of Pearl

1881 Singer Model 12 Mother of Pearl

1881 Singer Model 12 Mother of Pearl1881 Singer Model 12 Mother of Pearl

1881 Singer Model 12 Mother of Pearl

1881 Singer Model 12 Mother of Pearl

1881 Singer Model 12 Mother of Pearl

1881 Singer Model 12 Mother of Pearl

1881 Singer Model 12 Mother of Pearl

1881 Singer Model 12 Mother of Pearl1881 Singer Model 12 Mother of Pearl

1881 Singer Model 12 Mother of Pearl

1881 Singer Model 12 Mother of Pearl



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