I have a vintage Singer Slant-O-Matic that I got off of letgo.com for $20. Threading it is a bit of a challenge, otherwise, it's a great machine, very smooth-running and simple to operate. My 8 year-old had his first sewing lesson on it recently and after a quick "This is the pedal, this is how you reverse, this is how you raise and lower" he had no trouble at all operating it.