Would Appreciate Your Advise On Restoring This Singer 45K25

[jimi]

Evo this is the machine that was fully restored, the pfaff not the frobana. thanks again to folker for being able to aquire the tension unit.

The frobana is for sewing soles on shoes or sandals etc..

[Constabulary]

Jimi - I´m starting to hate you because of your machines - just like Singermania - I don´t like both of you ***just kidding***

Are you making shoes?

[jimi]

We are going to make some sandals first. we made sandals about 20yrs ago by hand but now its the machines turn to do the stitching lol. first i need to know a little the machine, then shoes?? who knows?

[Constabulary]

It´s nice to these these vintage machines alive! Your 335 REALLY tuned out nice - congratulations.

[jimi]

Thanks, youll hate me even more if i told you i got that original pfaff light on ebay for 14€

[Colt W Knight]

Constabulary - Those old decals are generally cellulose based film, and get very brittle with age. Vintage model folks use some solutions to restore the old decals to apply them to new old stock models.

[jimi]

This was the first machine we bought 20yrs ago for 12€ treadle included from a retired cobbler.

the only machine i have repainted is the pfaff because the paint was quite bad all-round and the old 45k1 has a touch up on the flatbed part because there was no paint left. then i used shellack again to revive the dull paint. and i left the original decals on(what was left of them).

Sorry Evo no more machines for those "old cast iron lovers"

For your machine Evo i would do the same as constabulary, repaint and decal as it looks like someone has repainted this already because there are no decals present.first i would get it to sew, then take off all the possible parts for cleaning, this machine does not have a lot of complicated parts on it as you will see. i personally would not take off any main axles etc. take pictures or draw parts and positions to be sure you know where they will go afterwards. i put the parts in groups in small bags, that way the screws dont get mixed up or lost. i think i have seen a badge like the one you have somewhere else before. i think this was just a numbering system used in a big factory on their machines to keep an inventory of them etc.. there was one on internet a few months back with a similar badge. you were lucky to find the roller wheel present on your machine, they came in three sizes i think. that is the only difference between the 45k21 and the 45k25, one came with a presser foot and the other came with a roller foot. and if you are going to look for a treadle for this remember they are bigger and more sturdier than the normal domestic ones, also they have a small arm underneath to support the weight of the machine due to the cutaway in the table.

[Evo160K]

Jimi, Constabulary, Colt W Knight,

Thank you for your valuable information and advise. You fine people are making it possible for me to move forward with this small project. Without your guidance, an attempt at restoring this machine would be almost impossible for a novice like me, for sure it could be far more costly.

Colt, your custom decal tutorial is terrific.....great detail. Thank you. Do you think it's practical to lay gold leaf between the machine and the decal to get the factory effect? Did they use gold leaf? If not, it might be a rich touch.

Constabulary, thank you for helping me along, you've been very encouraging. My Claes is turning out quite well, thanks in large part to you.

Jimi, seeing your wonderful restorations has been a treat as well as an inspiration. For sure I'll be incorporating your advice

into my project. Thank you.

[Constabulary]

If you can't find a new plate I´d try to heat the bend / cracked era with a blow torch (or similar) and hammer it back and hard solder the crack (not with a soldering iron). If you have no blow torch ask a plumber or black smith in your era.

I have seen this on some flat bed Adler 4 needle plates, they even had replaced the broken off piece entirely with silver solder and drilled a new needle hole. So it is not impossible!

[Evo160K]

Thanks Constabulary. I will have our local machine shop add material to the plate, so I can reform the hole for the needle. Speaking of solder, I think silver solder was used on the feed dog, because when I went to clean up the teeth, the metal came off much to easily for steel. The toe of the foot also looks like a blob of something, I'll need to see how hard it is.