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.

Completed Singer Sewing Machine (1935)

Here are a few photos of the Sewing Machine I have been working on completed. for a look at the restoration process follow this link:

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

The first two photos show the case and the last three show the case with the sewing machine displayed.

Singer Sewing Machine with Walnut Case (1935)

One of my current projects is a singer Sewing Machine Model Number 15. Singer has records of when the machines were made so I was able to find out that the machine was built in 1935 in Elizabeth, New Jersey. The case construction was probably contracted out to a woodworking company. Here is a link to a PDF of the Manual for this sewing machine:

http://parts.singerco.com/IPinstManuals/15-91.pdf

The machine itself is in great condition and was protected very well from the elements by its walnut case. The case on the other hand has seen better days. Water damage on the top surface and back has caused a loss of the original finish and has also loosened a lot of the veneer. Luckily, the damage was all reversible. Whoever built the case used some nice veneer for the case which will show off beautifully when restored.

below are some photos of the repairs and preparation for finishing on the sewing machine. I will post some photos of the finished product when it is done!

the first four photos show the machine as it came to me. In the first photo there is some blue tape in the upper right hand corner which is holding on a piece of veneer which had fallen off.
You can also see the water damage to the top surfaces.



Here is a photo of the case deconstructed and with the finish removed.
This photo shows the veneer mentioned earlier next to the place that it goes.
This photo shows some missing veneer which needed to be patched.
Gluing the loose veneer on the top down.The 4 x 4 on the back of the top is to counter balance the weight of all of those clamps!
The back of the case also had some loose veneer which is being glued in place in the photo below.
The last two photos show the parts laid out for finishing. I applied a little stain to even out the color a bit after sanding. It is very light so it will be close to the natural color of the wood.In the last photo you can see the top surface repaired.