Update....the engine is running!!! My son and I had faced a setback earlier in the week when one of the head bolts sheared after the second round of torquing to 36 ft-lbs. That was a bummer, but a couple days later we got the bolt out with an easyout. We put all the parts of the rider back together (with a new needle/beam torque wrench) and fired it up with some carb cleaner, and it started up fairly quickly!!! As expected, we did have the smoking of burning off of oil, but after 20 minutes or so, that seem to diminish to nothing. Seem to have a little bit of burning oil smell still, but I am hoping that is just some residual oil burning off the frame or muffler shields - those parts around the muffler seem to get very hot. Only remaining issue was a backfire after turning it off. It happened half the time after shutting it down, even when I would let it idle for 15 seconds before turning it off. But I can probably live with the backfiring. I would welcome any input on this problem, but I can do some research on the internet about this seemingly separate issue. Thanks so much for walking my son and I through our first fix of this magnitude....usually we only fix fuel problems. It was a really satisfying experience, and I am really grateful for your advice along the way....I was truly amazed. Again, thanks so much.

Yep, raehelen, that's exactly what we do ... that was the only "misstep" in the whole process; both we and the contractor thought that door would open more than it does (though not completely) because we didn't calculate the sink size correctly. However, I take comfort in the fact that it's no worse than it was before, when the whole right side of the formica cabinet that was there before was inaccessible. And with the left door open and the right open as far as it goes, I can actually see what's in there. So it's my storage for the "things-I-never-use" and the big packs of stuff I can easily reach from the centerline. But it's going to annoy the next owner of the house, no question! And the contractor did ask if I knew it wasn't going to open all the way beforehand (answer was yes) but we still wanted the look of the two doors. Might have done better with a false drawer front and then lower cabinet doors but even those wouldn't have opened all the way (though they would have cleared the sink itself) and every houseguest would be trying to open the drawer... so we just live with it. It's a guest bath that gets very little use. I think if it were a primary bath getting everyday use, it might bug me more. Might someday go with a smaller profile pedestal sink, or a wall hung one, but for now, we just deal. :)

Ayerg, I had a similar experience getting a very high quote from a KD for manufactured cabinets (his quote was twice what I had told him our budget was). A friend recommended her cabinet maker, and she completely sold me when she told me this story... About five years after he installed her cabinets, she had some concerns about the finish on the top of the doors on the sink cab. She said she and her husband had not been as careful as they should have, and there had been frequent splashing and dripping at the sink that left water sitting on the tops of the doors. They would wipe down the door front, but they would not always wipe off the water that accumulated on the top of the door. The finish there was puckering a bit and she called the cabinet maker to ask what she might be able to do about it. She was expecting a recommendation for a particular grit of sandpaper and a brand of varnish to buy for them to fix it themselves (she certainly didn't think he was responsible for the problem!). Instead, he said he wanted to come out to her house to see the problem himself. When he got there and saw it, he said he wasn't happy with how the finish had held up, despite her insistence that the problem was her fault for not cleaning up spills better. He said he wanted to refinish those doors, but because she had light maple cabinets, the natural slight yellowing of the finish over five years would mean that the refinished doors wouldn't match. He decided that he needed to remove all her cabinet doors and drawer fronts and refinish them all! He insisted and would not let her pay for it. Clearly, this story sold me! He has no explicit warranty, but he was a true craftsman who stood behind his work. Of course I chose him to make my cabinets. I could not have been happier with the quality of my own cabinets, and he cost me HALF what the manufactured cabinets would have. I loved being able to be very precise with measurements I wanted and not have to worry about fitting everything into the three-inch increments a manufacturer uses. This means I have no fillers and no wasted space. Everything is exactly what I wanted, with no compromises. AND I feel confident that I would get better help with problems than what any warranty from a manufacturer might have covered. You have to realize that independent cabinet makers rely on word of mouth, so they have a very good reason to (a) do a high quality job and (b) stand behind their work. At least five other people have since used this same cabinet maker after having seen my cabinets. I recommend him any chance I get (Gene Quimby at Interlachen Cabinets for anyone in north Florida!). If your cabinets from a local custom cabinet maker aren't of high quality, word will get out and affect his future potential customer base. If your cabinets don't turn out great from a manufacturer, someone in some other city will likely never know about it, so unless they have consistently crappy quality, they will still make money. Of course, anyone considering a custom cabinet maker should ensure that they one they pick knows what he's doing. Craftsmanship can vary dramatically from one to the next. The fact that your GC highly recommends this guy and the fact that the work you saw was of high quality is really all you need to know.

Congratulations! There are two really good oils for vintage machines like this (or any mechanical machine really), Triflow oil with teflon, and Finish Line Ceramic Wet Lube, they make them run very smooth, a notch or two better than the original Singer oil. This is expert advice from those who service these old things. The feed dogs drop on most 15 models, I think all who have the reverse stitch control lever do. What ever vintage oil can you find, clean it out and refill with fresh stuff. Oil often, a drop or two (literally) on all marked off points every day for a few days. It takes a bit of effort to get a machine smooth again after being stored away for years. Be careful not to overoil near the motor. Best of luck ;-) Here's the user manual