1894 Frister Rossmann hand crank purchased on Ebay from the UK the end of August. Darn! Wish there was a happy ending to this story. The machine was packaged poorly by the seller.
I'm going (to try) to repair the bed crack with JB Weld. It is my first rodeo with a repair this extensive. I contacted my sewing machine mentor Skipper. He is guiding me through the process.
Skipper has just finished a cracked bed repair on his Frister Rossmann antique hand crank and is also sharing with me the steps for restoring the black surface (japanning).
You can read about his techniques
and
Here are some of supplies to make the bed crack repair. I am waiting on the black aniline dye powder. Also waiting for Jon's wood working clamps, and his extra hands to help me dry-fit and prepared for the JB Weld repair.
And of course, it gets a little more complicated than first glance . . .
Lower right hand side--see the metal ruler I placed on the wood base
Detail - just left of the metal ruler is a chunk of cast iron missing.
Trying some Kroil oil to loosen the hand crank bracket upper screw. Probably hasn't been loosened in 100 years! Its on there tight. After 8 hours, I still can't loosen the screw. I'll try again later--might have to add some hair dryer heat. I did some light tapping on the screw--can't do much of that because of the cracked bed.
Detail of hand crank bracket screw upper that is locked down tight. It is an odd angle at best to access the screw slot.
Can this machine be saved? I'll try best. I will share photos later.
Hello Linda, How disappointing to receive a badly packed and broken machine! However, I am sure that if anyone can do a beautiful job of restoring this machine, it is you.
ReplyDeleteI have terrible problems with receiving damaged goods from Ebay, especially with old photographs, because their cardboard mounts are so brittle. They really need to be sent in boxes, especially the larger ones, or damage is almost certain.
Best of luck with your repairs.
--Jim
Thank you Jim for stopping by and offering your encouragement.
DeleteI have a cast iron planter I repaired with JB Weld. One thing I did on the inside of the leg, was to add a splint of heavy wire embedded in the epoxy to give some extra support. It's lasted for about 10 years now.
ReplyDeletePerhaps something similar should be considered on the bottom side of the machine? Then again, my planter legs might be a bit more in danger of being banged about than your machine is.
Hi Gail. Great idea you have about using wire with epoxy on your cast iron plant stand. I started following your blog today.
DeleteOh NO. I have a Wertheim that is broken in almost *exactly* the same place. I ramble a bit about 'fixing' it here:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.instagram.com/p/B-4LDsdBHfD/
I hope you managed to fix yours!
Hi yesterday I received my defiance 3 sewing machine & it was cracked in same place, not the sellers fault as it was packed well even had fragile on box, it has to be the delivery firms show no respect at times.
ReplyDelete