The Vinegar Chronicles

"In the beginning there was the rust. And the rust was vile
and disgusting and a pox upon the metal."

Sadie, the Singer 15-91, was the first vintage sewing machine to arrive at my house. She was and is pristine. Not a hint of the evil rust villain was visited upon her flawless form. The second machine, a Singer 99-13 from 1925, was the same. Although somewhat used and worn, she had been well-protected throughout her long life and showed no signs of sloth or neglect. I did not know then how lucky I was. . .

Not too much time passed before I was visited with the plague I had long feared. A White Family Rotary treadle head came into my possession. No gear turned within. No lever moved without. So rusty it was, that I feared to place it alongside any other metal object lest the rust creep from the White to its neighbor.

From that day to this, rust eradication has become my quest. My armor is oil, my shield is WD-40, my weapons are steel wool, wire wheels, washing soda, battery chargers, and vinegar!

My son led the first confrontation. Being experienced with the drill and wire wheel, he donned his safety glasses and plunged into the fray! He grappled with the slide plate. Its patent dates barely legible, he struck with the wheel again and again until at last he emerged victorious! You could now read every letter, every word, every date inscribed into the scoured metal!

I went next into battle with the needle plate. Legends of electrolytic rust removal had spread throughout the land, and I was inspired to take soda and battery charger in hand. Alas, an abject failure was I. After three days of this treatment, no speck of rust had been dislodged. Was it a faulty charger? Had I neglected to speak the proper incantation? Or was my anode simply too rusty to begin with? We may never know . . .

Whispers of a new, yet old, victor were beginning to stir, and word soon reached my ears. Vinegar, yes, common household vinegar was rumored to be strong enough to abolish even the most insidious trace of rust! I looked in my cabinet, and, behold, there was the brave knight right on my kitchen shelf! I took down the bottle to check--yes--it was a 5% solution-the perfect kind! My first foray into the vinegar trials was with the aforementioned needle plate. After a few hours soak, the rust was indeed relenting! A brief scrub with a steel wool pad was all it took! The rust had turned-tail and run! Joy and celebration prevailed throughout the land! To shield the plate from future attacks, I anointed it with chrome polish. It lives happily now, safe and secure.

Many weeks have passed since that first vinegar victory. All of the White's rusty parts have undergone the vinegar transformation. They are not shiny and bright, but they are rust-free and functional.

Like most brave knights, vinegar comes with a hidden flaw. Let me warn you, lest you fall victim to its lure. Do not trust it with your precious pieces! It has a gluttonous appetite for certain platings.

Alas, I learned the hard lesson on my 1928 Singer 99-13's bobbin case. After a few hours soak, the case was black. Thinking it only a discoloration, I attempted to clean it. Imagine my dismay to discover that with the rust had gone all of the nickel plating. There was no hope. Nothing would revive the lost. The best I can do is solemnly warn you . . .

So be fairly warned, fearless knight, vinegar is a two-edged spear!