Kenmore Model 117 Sewing Machine (ca. 1948

I recently finished restoring a Kenmore sewing machine cabinet. The sewing machine is a Kenmore Model 117 made by Sears and Roebuck. the earliest year these were in production was in 1948, but perhaps with a little research into the serial number an exact manufacture date could be found.

The cabinet was very similar to a 1930's Singer sewing machine I restored a few months ago. Here are the links to the posts on that machine:

http://johnmarkpower.blogspot.com/2010/07/singer-sewing-machine-with-walnut-case.html

http://johnmarkpower.blogspot.com/2010/07/completed-singer-sewing-machine-1935.html

The cabinet for this sewing machine was made with oak veneers. The door on the front of the cabinet had four book matched pieces. I believe that originally this cabinet was painted white, similar to a pickled finish. this paint was than top coated with a lacquer. The lacquer had yellowed over time resulting in a milky yellow finish. Here are some photos of the sewing machine cabinet after I had taken the hardware off:

This photo shows the condition of the top. Most of the finish was gone and there was plenty of water damage.
Here is the door from the front of the cabinet. The book matched veneers were totally obscured.
Here is the cabinet after the finish had been removed.
The joinery on the legs had loosened, so I dismantled the joinery, cleaned, and glued the stretchers back in.
Here is a hinge from the cabinet. I cleaned the one on the left. All of the hardware was cleaned in a similar fashion.

This photo shows all of the arts laid out for finishing. I lightly stained the cabinet to give it a nice color.
The photos below are of the sewing machine completed. Some show the cabinet closed and others with the sewing machine out. You can really see how the book matched veneers came out once a new finish was applied.