Wow, that looks like one of my mother's machines. Exactly, except the
housing was black. I would love to have that. Congratulations on a great
find!

My mom's machines didn't actually need oiling every *day*. My machine
manual says the same thing. (Mine is a basic cast iron and steel model
that is just the same as your/my mother's machine for all purposes). You'll
quickly notice if you're over-oiling. "Every day" actually means every four
to six hours of sewing, for my Necchi.

My machine maintenance is as follows: I clean the bobbin case and race with
a soft, oily brush every time I change the bobbin. I oil the machine
thoroughly whenever I start sewing after a long haitus (months) or after a
big project. In addition to this periodic full oiling and cleaning, I oil
whenever -- and as soon as -- I feel the machine dragging or hesitating, or
if I have to reach up and turn the wheel to start it stitching. It's
usually pretty easy to see which moving parts are well-oiled and where parts
look a bit dry when you open up the machine and turn the wheel back and
forth. I just oil what looks like needs oiling and turn the wheel back and
forth with the machine open until I feel the oil has worked its way in and
the motion is slick.

My machine demands frequent oiling (by stalling or dragging) when I do FMQ;
not so much for routine sewing. Piecing patchwork really builds up the
fabric dust in the feed dogs and bobbin area very quickly, so I keep a soft,
small children's toothbrush in a plastic bag to clean that area regularly.

These machines are like the olf Volkswagen Beetles -- infinitely repairable.
There are quirks to any given machine, but these are real workhorses. I
envy your find!

ep

"Sunny" wrote in message
...
I went to my fav junk store today looking for old postcards and came
home short $27 but carrying a Kenmore 117.812 (circa 1948) in its
original carrying case. http://www.pbase.com/kuby/vintage_sewing_machines
Obviously this isn't my photo, but it's the same model and gives you
an idea of how it looks. Original manual in the case, all the feet
any person could possibly dream up, four bobbins, a couple needles. I
cleaned it up and gave it an oiling and she runs like a dream. It's
light enough to carry to classes and I may keep it and sell one of my
other 'extra' sewing machines. I looked on ebay and the price for this
machine is either $50 or $165. Take your pick.

I'm not a collector. I have never had a collection of anything (except
that in the pst 6 months I've been gifted by a number of people with
no connections with the beginnings of a little glass pig collection --
go figure) and I really don't like collecting because it means you
have things around that are of no use. Okay, so I have mountains
(really more like little hills) of fabric, but I could use any piece
of it at any moment that the spirit so moves me. but now I have an
embarrassing number of sewing machines, all of which work really
well.

This new puppy has a really pretty straight stitch, forward or
backward, and the feed dogs can be lowered. It's sturdy as heck. Needs
a lot, lot, lot more oiling before any real sewing. I'm headed out
tomorrow to buy a new can and a tube of machine grease for the gears.
The manual calls for daily oiling.

I know I'm not the only one with this sickness that commands one to
bring home stray sewing machines. Does anybody have more than ..... 6?
I have six SMs. I have space to use 2 of them. Four of them are
redundant. Groan.

Sunny
(buying sewing machines to avoid chewing my fingers off from stress)