1938 Singer 1200-1

 

     A few weeks ago, I purchased a 1938 Singer 1200-1.  Serial number AF000191.  The Singer 1200-1 is known as the Dressmaker and was marketed for tailors and dressmakers.  The machine is basically a 201-2 with a built in presser foot knee lift.  The machine came in a larger, no frills, industrial sytle table.  The table was equiped with one large drawer, a "Half Yard" ruler embedded in the table finish, knee lift lever, and a treadle style foot pedal to control the speed of the machine.  Even though the 1200-1 designation doesn't show up in the ISMACS serial database until 1951, they were being manufactured at least as early as 1935 but were included in the 201-2 serial numbers.    

     I purchased the machine in Scottdale PA which is about a 45 minute drive from my house.  When I purchased the machine it was not in very good shape and it appeared that it had been stored in a damp area for a long time.  Below are some pictures from the advertisement.

 

     The body of the machine wasn't in bad shape but almost every moving part was locked up with rust.  The machine was very hard to disassemble.  The needle bar and needle bar guide had to be removed as one piece and then the needle bar had to be pressed out of the guide. Also, the knee lift pivot bolt was rusted into the knee lift arm and had to be heated and pressed out.  The tensioner was completely rusted and had to be replaced.  Once the parts were removed from the machine they were then derusted and thoroughly cleaned.  The bed of the machine was completely stripped of shellac, reshellaced, and then french polished.  Chips in the finish of the machine were touched up, reshellaced, and french polished.  

     The table was completely disassembled.  The table top was completely stripped and sanded down to bare wood.  Normally I don't sand my cabinets but someone had already refinished this table and didn't do a very good job, so I decided to sand it down. They had also patched the veneer in a couple places.  I didn't remove these patches but I did try to color them to match the rest of the finished (trying to make them disappear).   The base was bead blasted and repainted since it was rusted and the finish was missing in several areas.  The knee lift was cleaned and I was surprised to find out that the bars and the set screws were copper plated!  It didn't appear that there had been nickel plating over top of the copper.....the copper was just tarnished (green in spots).  The controller was rewired and the bakelite housing was polished.  Below are some in process pics of the table.

     My table didn't come with a ruler decal and I assume it was removed when the table was previously refinished.  No one currently reproduces the decal (that I know of).  So, I decided to recreate it myself.  There were at least two different fonts used on the decals throughout the years.  I am unable to find the correct font for the earlier decals (mine) but I was able to find the font for the later decal.  The end goal is to create a waterslide decal that I can then apply clear finish over, but until I find the correct font I decided to create a normal vinyl decal with the newer font.  Below is the result. 

     Below are the final results of my labor.  This was a fun project and the machine sews great! Enjoy the pictures!