Revolving Work Stand

[Evo160K]

Working on the Singer 45K25 we're restoring has presented some challenges.  It's heavy and it's difficult to handle.  Turning it around to paint it properly was going to be awkward.

Here are pictures of what we decided to use to make it easier.  That's a Rubbermaid, Brute, 32 gallon trash can with lid, the bottom is recessed to accept a dolly.  Those are children's, glass marbles.

   

 

 

    

 

The round disc is two pieces of 3/4" x 10-1/4" (for this particular can) plywood screwed together.  The rectangle is 3/4" plywood and rests on the disc.  The wire in the last picture holds the disc and marbles in place when the stand is not being used.  The vertical tube keeps the top from revolving when necessary, there are holes in each corner for the plywood top.  The stand is easy to slide with weight on it, because the lid underneath acts as a skid, it's all at a convenient working height.  The whole setup in easy to assemble and not too expensive.  Actually the bottom few inches of the can (the revolving part) could be cut off if someone wanted to use it on a workbench.

The marbles are the heart of it all.  We've used them between two dinner plates placed bottom to bottom as a Lazy Susan to paint small items.  Lots of possibilities

 

Edited September 27, 2016 by Evo160K

[billybopp]

Very clever!  

[dikman]

A chrome-painted sewing machine - very funky .

[Evo160K]

That's bare metal ready for black Japanning.

[bikermutt07]

4 hours ago, Evo160K said:

That's bare metal ready for black Japanning.

That's racist. Lol

4 hours ago, Evo160K said:

That's balooksmetal ready for black Japan ning.

That's racist. Lol

I would clear coat that bad boy. It looks awesome.

[MADMAX22]

seriously Mutt? 

 

Good idea for a painting stand.

[dikman]

Yes, forgot to say - good idea.

[bikermutt07]

No, never, Max.

[GPaudler]

Yes, really clever! I think you could drop a disc of plywood, 1/4" or 3/8", to fill the center of the circular recess so that you'd have a single circle of marbles around the outside.

[Yetibelle]

How did you get that so stripped?  plus how do you plan on "jappaning" it back to black?

I like the idea of the clear-coat.... it does look great "naked" .

[Evo160K]

6 hours ago, Yetibelle said:

How did you get that so stripped?  plus how do you plan on "jappaning" it back to black?

I like the idea of the clear-coat.... it does look great "naked" .

 

Yetibelle,

I'm not sure how to do the japanning yet.  I've been researching it and experimenting with a recipe for it.  If anyone knows for sure how to do it on metal, I would be grateful for your input.

 

On Wednesday, September 28, 2016 at 9:54 PM, GPaudler said:

Yes, really clever! I think you could drop a disc of plywood, 1/4" or 3/8", to fill the center of the circular recess so that you'd have a single circle of marbles around the outside.

GPaudler,

What's your thinking with the single circle of marbles, make it more difficult to revolve?

 

 

Thanks one and all for your comments.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Yetibelle]

Wow that is great.  I have never stripped them down that much.  I'm going to give that a try.  

 

When i re-paint them I mix 60/40 or so paint thinner and thick oil enamel paint.  The paint thiner makes it go on smoother and fill the cracks.  It takes a few costs of painting wet sanding and such but it comes out nice.  Or take it to an auto painter.  Get a real coat on there.  

Nice work

[Evo160K]

Yetibelle,

Thank you for your kind words.  If I can't perfect the japanning, I'll have to use a more modern type of paint.  What type and brand of paint thinner and enamel paint do you use, there are so many?  Do you brush or spray?  Thank you.

[mikesc]

Strictly speaking "Japanning" is multiple coats of transparent varnish charged with black pigment ( was usually finely ground charcoal ) and sanded ( actually the Japanese used pumice, lot of volcanic pumice to hand ) between coats..It was also called "black lacquer", although true lacquer is something else (varnish made from the sap of the lacquer tree )..Japan shipped lots of wooden goods with this "lacquer" finish, and when industrial paints "began" black paint was actually a black varnish, cheap to make ( hence Ford's "you can have any colour you want as long as it is black"* )..People associated a gloss black with Japanese goods, hence the term "Japanned" ..Sewing machines are not Japanned, far too labour intensive sanding down all those coats of black charged varnish.

You have bare metal now..

Most important thing to get paint to "stick" ( so it doesn't chip off later ) is to neutralise whatever strippers you have used,( cast iron has "pores", you stripper will have gone into them and traces of it will be "lurking" in them ) and to degrease the bare metal.

So..clean the stripped metal with a "metal prep" ( you can get it from an industrial paint supplier, or from a car body repair shop )..or you can carefully wipe it all down with acetone, which will degrease and neutralise in one go..use lint free rags or synthetic "paint wipes" to wipe over carefully the machine.

Now plug any holes and especially threaded holes..and bearings if there are any left in place.

Next..spray with either two part "high build" polyurethane spray filler, or two part epoxy spray filler..

Sand with , by hand ( in this order ) 120 dry sand paper ( body shop type , not woodworking type ), then 240 grade of same, them 400 grade of same..

Pay special attention to the "hard to get to" areas..sloppy prep will show up when the top coats of paint go on..paint does not hide imperfections.

Then spray lightly with two pack PU top coat black ( or whatever colour you choose )..the kind used on truck chassis will do fine..unless you want to go wild and use "flip flop" of "prismatic paint" :) if you use the latter two, or any custom paints , you'll have to use special "base coats"..

Sand your first coat of top coat with 800 or 1200 dry paper ( real body shops do not use "wet and dry" unless they are working "bondo" or sanding high build top coats of varnish ( either traditional of two part iso-acrylates )..the spray another coat..

( if you spray matt paint , or metallics you can spray a final coat of two part iso-acrylate clear coat to get a really deep gloss effect )

let it all cure for a couple of weeks..and then polish with custom painters clear coat polish..

or..

Take it to a body shop, ask them to do the spray filler /paint/ clear coat spray steps, you collect it in between coats and you do the prep/sanding/polishing parts.

or ..

Spray the degreased ( but don't use filler ) metal machine with two light coats of hammer finish paint ( 30 minutes interval between coats ) ,and then one heavier coat to finish and get the "hammer paint" effect..practise on a vertical surface ( old tin or similar a few times, hammer paint "sags" when it is too thick , and doesn't make the hammer effect when it is too thin ) ..wear a "solvent proof" face mask mask, with fresh throw away cartridges ( especially with iso-acrylates, they can kill you hours after you breath them and think that you are OK )..don't smoke near any of it..and keep kids and animals away..

Brands ? ( you are in the USA, we don't have the same brands ) ..ask at a body repair shop..ask the spray guy..or ask at a custom spray shop, you may get some sewing work out of them too :)

Until we moved from St Tropez area, I owned the largest custom paint and 3D polyester sculpture business : trompe l'oeil / carnival rides and circus trucks paint and design workshop in the south of France for over 15 years..The leather stuff and the rest ( design, computers, websites, trading ) is / are a side businesses, my real business is still artwork, sculpture, design etc.

* if you "brush", you'll be able to see some of your brush stokes, no matter how careful you go, even with multiple coats and sanding in between them, real "coach work painting" ( like on vintage Rolls Royces etc, pre WWII ) shows the "brush strokes" through the many layers of paint used to build up to the coachwork finish, all the "strokes" follow the lines of the panels and the fact that you can see them ( if you know what to look for ) gives that kind of paintwork that " hand finished" caché, but it is very labour intensive, hence the prices ..modern Rollers are sprayed , only the coach lining is "hand applied", using brushes called "liners" or "swords and daggers"..( like in pinstriping ) and then there is hand applied gold leafing, and all the other artistic and craftsmen's touches and finishes.

You can also degrease with a mixture of pumice powder and dilute ammonia ( be careful of ammonia, it can blind you ) rubbed in and cleaned off with lint free rags , it is how one degreases etching plates prior to applying the "resist" layer before marking the image and subsequently passing through acid baths to "etch" them, before printing from them.

Oh yeah, and if you are spraying your machine yourself, ( best do it in a spray booth , with proper air extraction ) but if you do it outside, whether it is your filler coats, your paint coats, or your top coats or clear coats, add one or two drops of "lemon oil" ( the kind that you buy to rub on your skin to keep the mosquitoes away ) to a half pint ( or 250 ccs ) of what is in your spray gun, it will also keep the bugs and flies from landing on your fresh paint ( won't keep the real determined kamikaze bugs away, but the casual "oh crap its a bug on my paint" will stay away )..doesn't work for moths, don't spray at night, you won't see any runs, and the moths an night bugs will come anyway, and land on wet paint, and leave tracks and traces and bodies.

Nice spray stand :) , ball bearings will last longer, but probably cost more..

Edited October 8, 2016 by mikesc

[Evo160K]

Mikesc,

That's an impressive reply.  Thank you, thank you very much.  It's more than obvious you put a great deal of time, thought and effort into it......I appreciate it, and your background with custom painting certainly reinforces ones confidence in your words.

Since I'm totally unfamiliar with serious paint and painting, I'm going to have to take the time to digest and understand your words.  Fancy and unusual paints and colors are not in my plan.  I have some authentic, original, Singer decals, so I would like to paint the machine with the most accurate and durable black available, preferably the original Singer type paint if available.  In Singer's fascinating, documentary film "BIRTH OF A SEWING MACHINE" ( http://movingimage.nls.uk/film/1592 )   at 15:08 you can see the heads being dipped, they refer to it as japanning and mention some parts are sprayed.

If you haven't seen the film, it's well worth watching.  It starts a bit slow, but stay with it....you'll enjoy it.

Thanks again Mike.....

[mikesc]

Most durable* ( that you'll be able to get easily ) will be the kind used on Truck chassis..a two part polyurethane or two part epoxy..it is glossy, but not really shiny..use 3 coats, two light ( 10 minute intervals between them ), and one last one to "even out"..prep as in my post above...won't need a clear coat to finish..

*Most durable is aeronautic paint..live near an airport where they do repairs ? see if anyone does painting on helicopters**, the paint used is solvent and oil proof after it is dried / cured..half a pint ( mixed ) will be plenty to do a sewing machine..

It may well be that in the USA you can now get water based industrial paints cheap ( they used to be very expensive ) again chassis paint will be the hardest wearing that you can get..( you don't want the rubbery "anti chip" stuff ) the underside of vehicles is a more hostile environment for paint than the topside..aircraft and boats are subject to even more hostile conditions..so paint designed for them is very long life..some of the hammer paint manufacturers also make smooth versions of their paints..in which case you are looking for smooth finish alkyd resin paint ( black is easy to find )..3 coats as per chassis paint..some of them can be painted directly onto bare metal, ask your supplier, they will dry very similar to original Singer paint finish, leave them to dry / cure for around 10 days before applying your decals ( I presume your decals are "water float" type ? ) ..a little dishwashing liquid ( not dishwasher liquid ) in the water used to "float" them will aid in allowing them to "slip" and make them easier to position, and to get any bubbles out .

HTH :)

** Painting planes requires larger buildings than painting helicopters and boats, so it can be easier to find someone who paints helicopters and or boats ( and who might sell you a small quantity of aeronautic paint ) than someone who paints planes.

Edited October 9, 2016 by mikesc

[Evo160K]

Good information, thanks, Mike.

I believe the decals are the float type, but at this point I'm not sure, they may be the type like in the Singer film where the decal is placed on the surface and the paper peeled away.  I need to experiment with one.

The chassis paint sounds like it's the way to go, but, I'll also run by the airport and try to talk with people who paint helicopters and planes.

Thanks so much for your help, Mike.

Al

[GPaudler]

"GPaudler, What's your thinking with the single circle of marbles, make it more difficult to revolve?"

It's unimportant, you're probably operating at relatively few RPY (revolutions per year), I was just thinking that all those marbles in the middle are just grinding against each other and not contributing much support if the polyethylene disc is easily deflected. But what you have there is perfectly simple and effective.