This morning I nipped in to Cordial and Grace and oiled the shuttle race on Maria's Jones CS machine - the one thing I had forgotten when I cleaned it up. Too much tea and cake must have been distracting me.
To the left of the shuttle there is a little round well stuffed with old felt.
On some machines the felt has disappeared, on others it is so grimy and mucky it needs replacing, in which case you can stuff a tiny wad of cotton wool or fluffy cotton knitting yarn in there in its place. This picture shows one of my Singers where I have used cotton yarn.
At the base of the oil well is a tiny hole through which the oil gradually seeps, keeping the shuttle race lightly lubricated. This prevents friction and wear on the side of the shuttle and eases movement. On this photograph of Maria's machine I have used a long pin to show where the hole is.
The wad of felt needs to be kept soaked with oil. Just let a couple of drops fall onto it, wipe away the excess, and the job is done.
This morning Maria hung up a selection of the dresses that were made at Cordial and Grace yesterday. Here is the jolly little pink and green number I made on the Jones CS.
Next to it is a lovely dress with hand printed butterflies.
Some were decorated with appliqué flowers or butterflies.
It was a fantastic event for such a worthwhile cause. Louise of Sew Scrumptious was there, looking delighted at all the dresses being produced. She is the co-ordinator in this country for Dress a Girl Around the World. It's great to know that somewhere in the world little girls will be thrilled when they receive these dresses.
If you have been following the story about Maria's machine at the sewing café Cordial and Grace, you will remember that after cleaning it, the only needles I had for trying out the stitch were blunt.
Duncan has been following this blog for a while now, and very kindly sent Maria a couple of needles that he had spare, and also a photocopy of a manual for the Jones CS. It was a lovely surprise. Thank you, Duncan!
Anybody who needs replacement needles for a Jones machine can get them from Helen Howes. She has a fantastic website with all sorts of bits and pieces for vintage machines - I have put a link for her website on the sidebar so she is easy to find. Maria was going to get in touch with her, but running a cafe keeps her well occupied, and Duncan sent the needles before Maria had got round to contacting Helen.
The café was a hive of activity today for the first anniversary celebrations. Maria hosted a special event, making dresses for the Dress a Girl charity. All her electric machines were in use throughout the day, and for a couple of hours or so I gave the Jones CS a share of the action too. I took my friend Lily with me, who is nearly 10, and she helped me make a lovely little pink and green flowered dress.
I must nip in tomorrow for tea and cake and get some pictures of the fabulous dresses...
The problem with Jones machines is that they do not take a standard needle. Singer set the standard early on by giving the shank of the needle a flat side and a compatible slot in the needlebar for it to fit into. This meant that the needle was easy to insert and that it would be correctly set. Most manufacturers adopted this system, and the same standard needle is used on modern machines, so that it is easy to replace needles on most vintage machines.
Jones continued to make machines which took a round shanked needle. There were four old needles with Maria's machine, a couple with tiny spots of rust, and all of them blunt. We tested the stitch with the least blunt of the four. The stitch was perfect, as perfect as you can get with a blunt needle that snags on the fabric every few inches.
Maria is going to contact Helen Howes, who has a wonderful website, to get some replacement needles, then we will give the machine a proper run.
Here are the tension discs on Maria's Jones Family CS machine. They look very similar to the tension discs on the Singer 28K that I showed in my post about thumb tabs, but there is one important difference. The Jones has no tension spring, the little wire hook sticking out to the left of the discs on the Singer.
On many old machines the tension spring has been snapped off. At first sight this seems to have happened here. However, this machine had no tension spring in the first place.
So, if you are considering buying an old machine with this type of tension discs, always check the tension spring. If it is a Singer and there is none, then it is missing. If it is not a Singer, find out by trawling through google images whether it was likely to have had one in the first place. Most other makes did have tension springs, but this Jones machine didn't.
This is the shuttle for Maria's machine. It was totally rust free and only needed a wipe to get a bit of greasy oil off.
This photograph shows the tension spring. I did not touch the screw - screws on shuttles should be left well alone when cleaning a machine. Testing the tension comes later.
This photograph shows the capital F stamped on the shuttle. F for Family, so the right shuttle for the machine, not a rogue replacement. Shuttles from other models are not necessarily compatible.
Taking off the bobbin winder meant I could clean the front of the pillar easily, and gave me the opportunity to admire the decals in their full glory.
The decals on the back of the pillar are equally impressive.
A gentle rubbing with sewing machine oil on a dab of cotton wool is all it takes to bring up the shine. Any excess oil can be wiped off with a soft cotton cloth afterwards.
Never use any strong or abrasive substances on the decals - they can be damaged beyond repair by over-enthusiastic cleaning.
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This is the bobbin winder from Maria's Jones Family CS machine before I started attacking it with the metal polish. The easiest way to clean it was to unscrew it from the machine.
On close inspection you can see the black oily grime clinging around the screws. After scraping the worst off with a wooden cocktail stick, I used an interdental toothbrush to get the metal polish into all the awkward little corners.
After a good rubbing with cotton wool buds and a soft cotton cloth, the metal began to shine.
There are a few blemishes on the metal where the chrome has begun to lift, but considering the machine dates from about 1931, it is in very good condition.
To get all the rubbish out of the thread and the teeth which engage when the winder is in motion, I used a tiny bit of metal polish on an old toothbrush and rubbed it off with a cloth afterwards.
To clean the black japanned parts of the winder, I used a tiny drop of sewing machine oil on a dab of cotton wool.
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A well kept machine will be oiled. Gradually the oil will seep down. If the machine is put away with the bobbin still in, the cotton on the bobbin will soak up the oil like a sponge.
This is the bobbin that was in Maria's machine. She has no idea how many years ago her grandmother filled this bobbin, but the machine spent years stored away in a Shropshire farmhouse and had plenty of time to drink up the oil.
So even if you are putting the machine away for ten days or ten years, take the bobbin out. You don't want a smudgy surprise coming up with the bobbin thread next time you start sewing.
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Last Friday my friend Jo and I had tea and cake at Cordial and Grace followed by more tea and chat downstairs in the sewing parlour while we did some serious polishing on Maria's machine. So far the effort has gone on the metalwork, so the machine is beginning to shine.
There is still plenty of work to do. I haven't cleaned underneath yet, and the bobbin winder hasn't been polished. Once that has been done it will be time to oil it and try it out.
A little while ago I strolled into a wonderful tea shop. Tea and cake are always a draw, but when they come with a sewing room attached the pull is irresistible. Especially if there is an interesting machine to look at.
Look at this beauty! A Jones Family CS, which sits in the sewing parlour watching all the modern machines get on with the work. It belongs to Maria, who tells me that it used to be her grandmother's. Maria has never used a hand machine because she learnt to sew on an electric machine.
On my next trip the Cordial and Grace I will have my machine cleaning kit with me. I am looking forward to seeing Maria trying out her grandmother's machine - let's hope all goes according to plan.
If you live too far away to visit Cordial and Grace in real life, at the very least visit the website at www.cordial-and-grace.co.uk
Welcome to Kailacat! It is nice having a follower who goes on walks and comes back with photos of insects. Your dragonfly is fantastic!
