After having read today about one treadle which was deemed not to be worthy saving as such, I decided it was time to talk about the Detroit. This is what it looked like when I got it:
Pretty rough. One of the drawers were broken, almost all the finish was gone, and there wasn't a speck of paint left on the irons under the rust. The grandson of the owner gave it to me. It isn't a "rare" treadle. It's a National, and while there were many of them made, I haven't seen very many National-badged Detroit show up. In fact, I only know of two at the moment, and mine is one of them.
Well, a little elbow grease, oil, maybe $20 worth of cleaners (I haven't had to go out and buy anything for so long I can't tell you how much that really costs), and some shellac, and this is what it looks like:
Used, but in nice shape for the age. Based on the cabinet patent I found, it dates to ca. 1901.
I'm working on a new treadle now, a Germania, which is also a badged National. That one had all it's drawers removed, and some other stuff done to it, but the machine is lovely, so I decided it was worth a little work.
