Holes, Holes, and More Holes!

Ms. Rusty has moved from my workbench in the garage to my kitchen table.  Partly because I felt guilty for neglecting her for so long, partly because the garage is still full of stuff from the kitchen remodel that is destined for a huge garage sale, but mostly because of comfort.  This time of year it is MUCH warmer in the house than out in the garage!

Ms. Rusty looks happy, don’t you think?

The next step in Ms. Rusty’s make-over is prepping her for bead blasting.  The good thing about bead blasting is that it is a fast way to remove paint and surface rust.  The bad thing is that it removes the paint using an abrasive powder that can get into all the nooks and crannies and it isn’t selective to just paint.  This means you need to protect surfaces that require tight tolerances, like smooth machined surfaces and threaded holes. 

Chrome Powder Coat

I recently tried out my chrome powder coating material.  Here is a picture of the parts that I’d like to refurbish.

I decided to tackle the needle plate first.  The reason for choosing this piece is because a) I can easily find a replacement part if I mess things up too bad, and b) it’s pretty scratched up and could use a facelift. 

The first step was to bead blast it and rough up the surface so the powder coating would adhere better.  Also, I wanted to smooth the plate out as much as possible.  Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of this step.  Blasting this part was not very easy, but I’m not sure if it’s because the blasting media needs to be changed, or if this part is just really tough.  Eventually I was able to scuff up the surface enough to do some powder coating on it.  Here is the after photo -

I can’t say that I’m thrilled with the results.  After thinking things through more, I think the chrome powder coat may work better on the nickel parts better than the polished steel.  I think I’m going to try one of those parts next, like perhaps the bobbin winder lever. 

Now I’m debating with myself what to do with the needle plate.  The way I see it I have three options, live with chrome powder coat as-is, buy a new needle plate, or take off the powder coating and try polishing the surface.  Right now I’m leaning towards the last option, but I need to change out my blast media first so I can cut through the powder coating easier.  I’m also going to get a polishing wheel attachment for my drill so I don’t have to polish the surface with just elbow grease (not my idea of fun!).

I’ll think about this more while I prep Ms. Rusty for her final stripping.

New Kitchen

Well this is my last post of 2011. Can you believe this year is already over? It just flew by! Thank you tagging along on my journey – you’ve helped make this past year more interesting and enjoyable than I could have imagined.

So, before we go on, I want to wish each and every one of you a very Happy New Year!!!!

Now for the warning - This is way off topic, but I’m posting pictures of my new kitchen since several of you are interested.

 

Miss Wilson

I’d like you to meet the latest addition to my sewing machine family.  I’ve named her Miss Wilson.  She is a Wheeler & Wilson model 9 treadle sewing machine.  She was a birthday/Christmas gift from my mother and father in-law who purchased her at a yard sale near Redmond, Oregon. 

  

There were several things that made me fall in love with her at first sight.  One was the very ornate carvings on the cabinet.  You just don’t see wood work like that these days.  There is detail scroll work even on the sides of the cabinet!  This cabinet is a piece of art in my opinion, which is why it is now the first thing you see when you walk through my front door. 

Miss me?

First of all, let me apologize profusely for being away so very, very long.  Hopefully my absence hasn’t sent all of you running off to much more interesting venues, because I am having huge Ms. Rusty and blogging withdrawals that will be alleviated soon and I’d like to think someone is there to share the joy of continuing the process with me!

For those of you who are wondering where in the heck I’ve been, well here is the short version:

Computer Problems:  I’ve had 4 hard drives in 3 different computers crash on me.  It has been no small feat recovering from each failure, but I think we’re finally back in business.

Travel:  Work has sent me all over the word on business trips – including a week in Milan, Italy and a week in Puerto Rico.  I also went to Nebraska to help my Grandma celebrate her 90th birthday.  Grandma is still doing amazing and if I’m even half as spry and witty as her when I reach 90, I’ll be one happy woman!

Kitchen Remodel: There were problems with the remodel, including discovering the week before Thanksgiving that our refrigerator wouldn’t actually fit in the kitchen.  However, we are now FINALY done with the remodel and I am very happy with the results.  I can post pictures if anyone is interested, but it isn’t exactly sewing machine related.

Thanksgiving:  Dinner was at our house in the new kitchen and my mom was kind enough to come out for a long visit to help out. 

New Airplane:  My husband decided to sell his airplane in order to buy a new airplane kit. So, just when I thought I’d be able to get access to Ms. Rusty to start wrenching on her again, the garage is taken over by a huge 4’ x 4’ x 12’ box and a few other equally large boxes full of airplane stuff!  This weekend I’m helping my husband unpack the boxes and do inventory on them so I can finally access my workbench again!!

So, needless to say, the last two months have been very busy and none of it related to Ms. Rusty.  I could have bored you all to death with the gruesome details along the way, but I’m trying real hard to keep this blog focused on sewing machines. 

The good news is that I have absolutely no travel plans for Christmas and should be able to get time to work on Ms. Rusty.  The next post (hopefully in the next week or so) will be focused on masking off Ms. Rusty in preparation for bead blasting.  Don’t give up on me now (ha! ha!)