About 6 years ago my wife and I went on vacation to upper Michigan. Any time I go someplace, I always look at ads to see what's available in that area. About a week before our trip, I spotted this 1888 Improved Family sewing machine on Craigslist. It was located more in central Michigan and not close to where we would be vacationing. I emailed the owner and made arrangements to stop to see the sewing machine on my way back home (as I didn't want to carry around a treadle sewing machine all during my vacation). On our way home, we did stop and purchase the machine. The machine also came with a puzzle box full of attachments including a Peerless single arm embroidery attachment stamped "IF". BONUS!! Honestly, given it's condition, I was surprised it was still available 2 weeks after I had originally seen the ad. We had driven our diesel Jetta so this machine wouldn't just fit in the trunk. I had to disassemble the cabinet to get it to fit in the trunk and the back seat. Needless to say, the car now looked like we were college kids moving to or from college! Packed to the roof! I was very excited to get this machine. I had just started my sewing machine addiction and this was the nicest machine I owned or had even seen in person.
As you can see from the pictures, the Apple Blossom decals on this machine are in really nice condition. The machine was missing the thread guide near the thread tension assembly and the bobbin winder tension was broken. I ended up making the thread guide and found a tension, As I normally do, I disassembled the mechanical parts of the machine and cleaned everything. I paid particular attention to not over polish the bright parts.
The cabinet top was not in good shape. The rest of the cabinet was salvageable. Although I didn't want to, I made the tough decision to strip the veneer off the top and then re-veneer it. I had never re-veneered anything before so it was a little intimidating but it turned out to be not as hard as I thought. After re-veneering the top I started to experiment trying to match the color of the rest of the cabinet parts. I spent the good part of a month trying different combinations of stain and shellac to get a good machine but just couldn't get it right.......or maybe I was just being too picky. Needless to say I was frustrated so I walked away from it.
For a few years the machine was displayed by itself in my house and the cabinet stayed disassembled in my garage. Since that time I've gotten more experience and confidence working on these cabinets so I decided it was time to finish the job. What you see in the pictures is the result.
The Singer Improved Family machines are one of my favorite models. I own this one and another 1885 Improved Family with "Painted Daisy" decals.....although the decals are no where as nice as the Apple Blossom decals on the 1888.
Enjoy the pictures!!
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