[TheForge] Re: antique machines and thoughts

[Mike Spencer]

> i basically could use any of them and convert to a scroll saw. the
> problem i am having is not wanting to ruin a part of history.
> [....]
> where do others "draw the line" when it deals with taking an old working
> machine and modifying it for a new purpose?

It's not uncommon to find old sewing machines .. um... Let me start
again, because it *is* now uncommon to find old sewing machines.

When you *do* find an old machine, chances are it will have been
stored in a dampish place or used as a plant stand so that the
(walnut?) veneer has delaminated while the oily parts of the machine
are still okay.  Using the legs, treadle and pulley of such a machine
for your saw while passing the machine proper on to a restorer would
be pretty good behavior, I think.  I'd feel the same as you about a
beautifully maintained or restored machine.

I have two, both work, and one of them I found put out for trash day
on Boston's Beacon Hill in 1965.  I trundled it home a couple of
blocks in the dark over Boston's brick sidewalks and cobbles on its
tiny little wheels and found I had a perfectly operable machine in
good condition except for a somewhat beat up finish on the wood.
Still goes fine. (You can't have it, Terry. :-)

- Mike

-- 
Michael Spencer                  Nova Scotia, Canada 
                                 
mspencer@tallships.ca            
http://home.tallships.ca/mspencer/