Atlas Precision Sewing Machine - a disaster thus far!

You might be wondering what else I've been working on. Or not. But I found that with everyone home sick all break, I really enjoyed having a few side projects.  In the process of stocking my shop, I came across a sewing machine. Well, a few of them, really.  I've been working on all of them and they are all heading to my shop eventually.  Here's the newest addition:

For each machine, I clean it up, inside and out, and oil all the moving parts. If any parts are missing, I try to find originals to replace them, but I'll use new parts if I need to.  I sew with them for awhile and learn their strengths and weaknesses, get their tensions settled, and give them a place in my home for a bit. About 4 machines in, I came across a machine I couldn't fix.

It's at Atlas Precision Sewing Machine. And it's pink.

I had high hopes for this sweetie. She's pink, she's gorgeous....and she's absolutely shot.

This is how she came to me:

She was packed in a box.

A used box. And with NO PADDING.

With gaping holes from the machine bouncing around.

I opened it up, and saw this:

She's dirty. Grimy. Missing the front right foot. Probably broke off in transit and fell out the hole in the box. GRRRRR.  No machine needs this much mistreatment.  And beyond that, if you look carefully, you can see a tiny square of bubble wrap. Seriously, that's all that was in here. And the foot pedal was wrapped in that. 

Yes, it came with a foot pedal, motor, cords, and a light. No, none of them were connected. So, add to the broken foot and cleaning job ahead of me, total rewiring. So I wasn't happy at this point.  But maybe the machine turns freely?

Yeah, no.

The machine was COMPLETELY seized.  nothing turned.  First issue:  The bobbin hook and case are rusted INTO the machine. I removed those and soaked them in Coke, my all purpose solvent.

I took the machine apart, cleaned it out, doused it in WD-40 first to loosen it up, and nothing. Tried for days.  Re oiled it, tried again, nothing.

At this point I am just mad. I wrote a lovely tirade to the person I purchased this from, which I just don't do. But I was unhappy, and much of this could have been prevented. Even just knowing what I was walking into would have helped.

Oh well. It is what it is.  So I went and bought every product Liquid Wrench made, and doused the innards with the solvent.  I kept trying and trying, and finally, realized it was a losing battle.  I threw it in the garage and stewed about it for the break.

You can see where this is going. I brought it in to warm up and to give it another shot. You can't really test a machine out cold - the oil can't really do anything.  Set it inside, casually walked by half an hour later, and turned the wheel. Hold up, TURNED the wheel? The grumpy Liquid Wrench soaking for a week worked??? Sweet!

So since then, I've got it turning freely - it spins like a dream now.  I replaced the missing slide plate (same slide plate as the Singer class 15s, can find new ones everywhere).  I ordered replacement bobbin hook and case, only to learn it's not the standard Singer class 15 setup - it's more like a Brother setup. See?

Old bobbin hook on left, Singer 15 one on right. They are inverse of each other - the hook is on the top of the old one, and the bottom of the new one. And the rest of the bobbin hook follows. It definitely doesn't fit this machine.

Second example? Bobbin case. Same issue. Inverse of each other. Angle of parts, the flip up part, etc, all backwards.

Sorry the pics are poorly lit - it was night.

So here's where Atlas stands today - a few paint nicks, but all in all, a very pretty machine.

Front of the machine - she cleans up nicely, doesn't she?

 And here's the back. 

I still need to find and order the correct bobbin hook and bobbin case.  I have the old ones in there, but they are too rusted to work smoothly and just hamper the movement.

The machine is still missing a foot - I use the motor support to hold the machine up while I'm working on it.  

Speaking of motors, I still need to rewire it and put the motor back on.  

Not the soundest business venture...but at least I don't have a parts machine anymore!

I bought this machine to sell it, but at this rate, I'm not sure it'll ever be there. I may build it a wooden base eventually to compensate for the broken foot, but even then, it's not really the quality of product I want in my shop. :( 

Though, if you do have an interest in it, let me know, and I will sell it to you for shipping and the cost to this point of the machine.

Moral of the story: Wow, there's so many...

You get what you pay for.

Good things come to those who wait.

In for a penny, in for a pound.

And last but not least - PACK YOUR MACHINES WELL WHEN YOU SHIP. I will eventually post a packaging tutorial on here.  Clearly the world needs one. :)

I'm done grumping about this machine now. One day she'll be up and running again, and I'll proudly show her off.

Jess