Singer Lessons

I've had an old Singer sewing machine for a while which I bought mainly because it looks really nice. It was built in 1900 in Clydebank near Glasgow and is the type which you operate using a foot treadle. Dave's parents were visiting today and I mentioned that I was planning to let people have a go during Perthshire Open Studios which is now only a week away and that I needed Dave to fix the bobbin winder which has never worked since I've had it. Much to my surprise Dave's dad said he remembers his mum having the same model when he was young and how he was an expert user. He then set about figuring out why it didn't work. He and Dave spent about an hour mumbling to each other in a language only engineers understand while figuring out how each bit should work, surprisingly without any swearing. Anyway they did fix it and managed to wind thread onto the bobbin, slightly oily thread, but you can't have everything. Then it was my turn and of course I set off backwards and it all went wrong. After a few more attempts I did get the hang of it and wound some more thread on the bobbin this time minus the oil. I don't think Dave's dad was impressed with my technique but I think he has an advantage with his size 12 feet. I'm now trying to persuade him to do the demo's during Open Studios.