New Home Model NLR: One Dirty Machine

I just picked up this machine yesterday. It's a round bobbin rotary model.

You can probably already see how dirty it is, but just wait, there's more.

Just look at that chrome on the hand wheel--hardly any silver showing through. It's mostly a dark, sludgy brown. And I'm quite sure that those yellow metal parts should actually be silver.  By now, you may have noticed the greasy appearance of the black finish. The entire machine is positively caked with a greasy substance.What could it be? My first guess would be that it was stored in a smoker's home. There is a very slight odor, but it's not nearly strong enough to justify the gunk all over the machine.

Ironically, the box of rotary attachments that came with this machine are in pristine condition. They're silver, shiny, free moving (not a speck of rust anywhere), and appear unused--not a scratch to be seen on any of them.

Here's a view of the back. I just love the retro look of the light, though (from what I've read) this type of sewing machine light likes to get very hot. That lighter patch on the bed of the machine under the motor is the model number and serial number. It reads NLR117455. I still haven't tracked down a manufacturing date, but this model is very close in appearance to the more known model NLB, which was manufactured from approximately 1941-1953. Again, ISMACS to the rescue with the full manual. This is the first manual I've ever seen that details every piece of the tension assembly, should you ever need to adjust or replace the check spring (scroll down to page 8).

And this is the strangest motor pulley I've every seen. That's because it's covered in masking and electrical tape . . .

. . . I'm not sure why, since the rubber doesn't have any flat spots, and it's not dried out. The motor housing sits very close to the body of the machine. Maybe the tape was added to make more space between machine and motor? I guess I will find out as I clean this machine up and get it running again. In the photo on a right, a bit of electrical tape is still on the pulley, and the set screw is removed. Again--very dirty, and very greasy.

Here's a closeup of the .7 amp motor, and you can see just how close it sits to the body of the machine.

Here's the faceplate. I'll get into threading in a later post. I'll have to remove this to oil some moving parts, but again, the manual is very detailed in this respect, and will guide me through it. Why can't all user manuals be this way?

And here is the famous New Home Light Running greyhound trademark. Overall, this machine is filthy--and I love it, because, under all that filth, the machine looks like it's in remarkably good condition. I can't wait to share before and after photos in another post!