It’s a No. 66 ‘red eye’. I haven’t found a serial number but the manual was printed in 1916.
A quick rundown of what I’ve seen so far:
– The machine itself is in incredibly good condition. The action is smooth and frictionless. There is no rust. The decals are in nearly perfect condition. The bobbin race turns, the bobbin comes out, and the bobbin eject mechanism works perfectly. There’s a fair bit of oil varnishing but none of it appears to be impacting function. I’m planning on cleaning that up and oiling it. It looks like it uses a standard bobbin size.
– Hurricane Agnes did a number on the cabinet. It is largely constructed out of plywood and every piece that could delaminate has tried to delaminate. The varnish and stain are rough/cracked. The locks are rusted in place (although I do have the key). The bottoms of all four drawers are separated. The block of wood that holds the lift arm and spring is cracked where the screws are. I can’t get at it right now so I can’t guess if it’s repairable/replaceable. There is however no rot in the wood.
-All of the accessories that were in the drawers have spot rust and are responding well to a de-rust bath.
– The cast iron base/stand is in excellent condition. The little rolly feet all roll. The treadle mechanics are smooth. All I’m planning there is a touch of oil.
– I had to cut the belt to separate the cabinet and the stand to get it into the car. The belt is leather and is in actually very good condition (much better than the ‘spare’ in the cabinet, which looks like it might have been the original and was stuck in the envelope that the replacement came in). I am planning on using the good leather oil on it to supple it up again and then sewing it back together when I know what size it needs to be. The original closure was a staple, so I know what level of workmanship I need to apply here.
At this point I think I need an experienced opinion on whether the cabinet should (could?) be restored or if measurements should be taken and more or less built new. Consider that the lid on it would look really nice in a light/dark stripe pattern, and if it was done with a 1/4 or 1/2 inch spacing, it could also work as a layout guide.
mantissa_ 