Chapter 1 – INTRODUCTIONS - AND FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Hello, sewing machine people, and welcome to the Needlebar pages on the subject of restoration. I’m hoping that this will gradually develop into a reference document that will be of assistance to those wishing to improve the condition of the sewing machines in their collections.
INTRODUCTION -
When writing articles that are to be perused by others, one immediately leaves oneself open to criticism, or as a boss of mine many years ago said, “if you make yourself visible, you’re going to get shot at”, so the first thing I’ll need is a nom de plume to hide behind. I’m a creature of the countryside (and therefore probably subject of a preservation order). A very dear “townie” friend from the big city of Manchester always calls me “Fenman”, so that’s who I’ll be from now on.
I was born in the late ‘40s and live with Linda, my dear wife of 35 years, in a somewhat rambling mid-Victorian house in 1½ acres of garden, on the edge of the Lincolnshire fens. Linda is a professional in the field of patchwork and quilting – primarily as a teacher. My own occupation is far too complex to describe (and not relevant to this subject) so let’s just say that I have a background and qualifications in several aspects of engineering – mechanical; electrical; electro-mechanical; electronic and computer – and have a passion for all aspects of woodworking, with a particular interest in producing reproductions of 18th century English furniture. We have a collection of antique and vintage sewing machines that is growing to the point where the size of our house is becoming an important factor!
TERMS OF REFERENCE –
Whilst I can claim to have quite a range of knowledge and experience, I’m not an “expert” in anything. These articles should therefore be viewed as humble suggestions and observations, offered by one who’s done quite a bit of restoration, rather than as any sort of definitive treatise on the subject.
Most techniques that I use are
not my own invention: they are the creations of professionals ancient and
modern from the worlds of woodworking and antique restoration. When I suggest
using a particular method, it will normally mean that I have used it and found
it to be a good way to do the job.
EXPERTS -
There are only two types of expert: -
EXPERT TYPE 1 – These are people who “live” their subject and really do have a depth of knowledge and a total understanding of their chosen subject that cannot be matched by us mere mortals. Type 1 experts are rare creatures: I could count on my fingers the number that I have known (in all subjects) in my lifetime. One thing that they all seemed to have in common was a modesty and restraint born of the peace of mind that comes from knowing that they had nothing to prove. With all of these people, one could be fooled into thinking that they knew very little about their subject, because they had so little to say. It was only after working with them for a long time that their total mastery became apparent. Experts type 1 are humbling creatures, worthy of the highest respect from us all.
EXPERT TYPE 2 – These are the self-appointed “gurus” of a subject. Usually (to be fair) reasonably knowledgeable, these creatures have a desperate need to be seen by us “lesser” mortals as the fount of all knowledge. This need is born of personal insecurity and usually manifests itself as an inability to be disagreed with – any challenge to their statements being seen as a personal attack, usually responded to by the challenger being “struck-off” and hated and publicly vilified for ever more. Experts type 2 are, and have a need to be, instantly recognisable. They should be pitied rather than despised, for the insecure, humourless, unhappy and desperate souls that they are.
I am definitely not an expert type 1 and hope I will never degenerate into being a type 2. There are no other types.
RULES OF ENGAGEMENT -
Any statements or suggestions that I make are there to be questioned or constructively challenged – this is healthy and might make me think more deeply about the subjects I profess to know a bit about. An approach of “I’m not sure that I agree with what you say”, from a person who’s sole objective is to ascertain the true facts, will be welcomed, and should lead to a mutually beneficial discussion and debate. Any type 2 expert who wants to make a show of staging a full-blown confrontation as part of their re-election campaign can clear off and find some like-minded, sad person to hate or dominate.
It is not my intention that these pages should be “The Thoughts of Chairman Fenman” on the subject of restoration (self-gratifying though that would be), but rather that they should be a compilation of the best knowledge and experience from within the Needlebar group, shared for the benefit of us all. I hope the pattern will be that I will write about a subject and that this will then lead to questions and contributions from other people, thus expanding the subject and making us all more aware of the issues and pitfalls that abound in the field of restoration.
In the next article, I will begin the discussion on the definitions and implications of restoration.
Fenman.
Feb 2004