Singer sewing table

Wanted to make some tool rolls which of course led to me buying an old piece of machinery or two.

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Bought the second one to salvage a couple of parts but when I saw how solid the table was I decided to give it a tidy up. Out came the scraper plane, sandpaper and a lot of patience. The veneers were in surprisingly good shape, a couple of small edge blowouts but largely on the back panel hidden under the top.

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Have the frame all back together now, looking for suggestions on finish. I was going to go with a wipe on poly that I have but now that I see how pretty the wood is I'm tempted to just wax it. Thoughts?

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That is coming up nice.

If you're choosing which machine to keep/restore/use, the 201 (second picture) is the better machine - it can sew thicker fabrics like canvas if that's what you're using for your tool rolls.

You can check the serial numbers to find out the year of manufacture and factory. Mine was made in Penrith in 1958 (when we used to make things in Australia)

Singer 201, 201K, 201P Sewing Machines for semi-industrial use


http://ismacs.net/singer_sewing_machine_company/singer-class-201-sewing-machines.html

Thanks mate they're both 201Ks. First one is from 1953 and made from cast iron, one of the last before they switched to the new body shape and aluminium.

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Originally Posted by bueller

Have the frame all back together now, looking for suggestions on finish. I was going to go with a wipe on poly that I have but now that I see how pretty the wood is I'm tempted to just wax it. Thoughts?

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Just thin wax on raw wood doesn't look much imho.

Done the old way looks good . Original waxed English furniture from the
( Edit . 17th c ) does show up where it has only ever been waxed . Heavily waxed and built up then buffed . It looks like a waxed polish job or varnish until you scratch it with a finger nail . Its the same as scratching the side of a candle ! Solid wax down to the timber. A wax shine is a lovely shine . The best you see really . That's why cars and furniture is waxed . You can feel the quality of it as well . Beautifully smooth. But those thick antique wax finishes easily mark and take a bit of maintaining to keep them looking good .

Id be sealing with the wipe on poly then waxing . Not sure how it'l look , Ive never used wipe on poly . Does it set with a shine or is it satin or flat ?

I have used Poly U sanding sealer then shellac on top finished with wax. Or just straight shellac all though. And recently Ive been playing with Osmo . A can of Osmo satin. Its fantastic stuff .

+1 for the Osmo. Great stuff.

Brian

The one I have seems to have been finished in shellac as metho is removing it. Older than yours 7 draw style.
The 201k geared version is the best domestic machine Singer ever made they are hard to find these days.

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Originally Posted by China

The one I have seems to have been finished in shellac as metho is removing it.

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The original finish seems to be a Spirit Varnish type of mix China . Yeah metho removes it . You dont want to be getting the finish on a singer mixed up with proper shellac or French polish work because the difference is chalk and cheese . Yours could be a later 100% FP job though ?

Basically, proper FP work is high quality . Reason . Its 100 % shellac.

Spirit Varnish was a mix of shellac and resins / Rosin probably, the mix of these things was kept secret . The only reason to mix and apply this stuff is to give a faster cheaper shine to something . Perfect for a lot of stuff around that time , and its good at that . But it losses its good quality's that a more labour intense shellac job gives.

You want to see a 1840 to 1880 FP job that hasnt been abused or coated over to make it darker . Brilliant stuff !!!

The finish on a singer or anything gone over with a spirit varnish comes nowhere near it .

Thanks all! I had a look around for Osmo but the stockists were out so went with the wipe on poly that I already had. Been keen to try it out for ages so now is as good a time as any. It's Feast Watson Satin Wipe On Poly.

First coat just went down on the bottom leaf and the hinged cutout that the machine rests on.

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Figured if it's a total disaster these are usually hidden so I can get away with some small mistakes. Happy with the wipe on poly so far but time will tell if I have any fuzzies, I had to use microfiber cloths as I couldn't find lint free ones. Couldn't even find coffee filters [emoji853]

Will have to wait till tomorrow to really tell how it's dried, bit wet over here in Perth today.

Coming up a treat Dan looks nice.