bkay

I do not want to become a machine collector. I'd like to have a few special ones, but not more than 6 to 8, and I already have 14 or 15. I still don't have a 15-91, a featherweight, a pink 15 clone, etc.

My two Kenmores are those German ones. One is missing a needle plate, controller and cord. A guy on Ebay wanted $35.00 for a controller. I think I paid $20.00 or so for the machine. Maybe one of those Kenmores is one of those special machines, but I don't need two of them.

I'm retiring in the not too distant future, so maybe I should wait before I get into that bulk group I bought at auction. I do want to get rid of that 66. I want to put one of my keeper machines into that cabinet. The 66 is supposed to work, but it's mega ugly. Maybe I should post it on CL. But who's to say if I sell it cheap, someone else won't just buy it and part it out? It's ugly, but it has a great faceplate.

bk

Mickey2

I have four machines, two 201s and I might give up one of them. I use two of my machines all the time. At times my 99 is set up with a buttonholer and stays up ready to be used for weeks. Model 66 is a very good machine, but when you have loads of old cast iron models I guess it doesn't stand out as much. It has a large harp space. Does yours have a crickle finish? I can't quite make it out from the picture, but it's definitely not the basic shiny shellac. It looks rather good really. Some insist on red eye decals, but I'm not one of those. When it's cleaned it looks nice, but don't polish it with any car polish, find a resin type with out the white gritty stuff, the ones with out are usually transparent. I'm looking for a treadle, maybe something like a model 15 or a Wheeler & Wilson derived model. If you don't strip them of everything; bases, cabinets any accessories, there are usually new owners who will take them as a fix up.

Cari-in-Oly

Once you sell or give away a machine, you have to let it go and not worry about what the new owner does with it. I had a WWII refurbished 66 at one time and believe me it was way uglier than yours is. I'm in the minority in that I don't care for 66s at all, I too kept the cabinet, gave the machine away and my only thought was good riddance. If you're only trying to make money because you've spent money on the machines, in this hobby it seldom happens that way. Only the rare, or special machines, or ones that have had a lot of work done(which you apparently aren't willing to do) to be brought back to life will make you any money, and even then not always. Most vintage machine collectors' lives go something like this:
You pay $25 for a dirty old machine, spend $30 on parts and 10-30 hours getting it all nice and pretty and working properly in order to sell it for $40. Such is our life.

Cari

Mickey2

I have to say I care for the machine I have, and the ones I pass on to others. I have sold some with profit, but I spend a lot of time cleaning and sorting out issues, more than spending money on replacement parts. When you have worked a couple of machines, you sort of have most of what you need to take on another, the expence is less and you do it quicker and easier. When I fix up and old machine, my hope is it will live on for at least equally as long as the age it was when it came to me.

I rather let someone who cares about an old machine have it for free than to someone who would let it go on the heap when he/she lost interest. These days any of the old cast irioin models are worth caring for, at least in reasonbly acceptable condition. I keep seing nice machines parted up, sold, thrown out, or saved in the nick of time regularly, and even if they are in plenty; they are not in increasing numbers, they are steadily thinning out. There are more people around then ever, and these are way nicer to work on than many brand new machines.

bkay

Someone identified that 66 as a refurb probably from WW11. They suggested that it started it's life as a treadle. When new sewing machines were scarce during the war, companies bought the treadles, electrified them and sold them. Apparently they had to cover up every reference to Singer. Hence, you have any ugly 66.

If anyone wants it. They can pick it up in DFW.

bk

Cari-in-Oly

It may or may not have started life as a treadle but it's definitely a refurb. Singer never did the crinkle finish on the belt guards.

Cari

miriam

I have quite a few parts machines. I have bought machines in bulk. Some times there are parts missing or incredible amounts of rust or other damage or some level of dysfunctional. I keep most parts machines in tact so I can find the parts when I need them to keep another machine going. At least I know where my parts are coming from. Most often slide plates are missing. I do ship parts some times. That 66 you have looks pretty good. I have found I don't like the old refurbished machines where they have been painted over and motorized. I do not like the replacement hand wheels and bobbin winders. They do not exchange back to treadle unless you change out the bobbin winder, too. The ugly 66's and 99's can be very sweet running machines once everything has been freed up. I have one VERY ugly 99 I converted to HC and run a button hole maker on it. Very nice and very handy to keep around. You could keep an extra machine around set up to use a little heavier thread. You have to set the tensions for it. In other words you can set a machine up for a task and if you use it a lot it is very time saving.

Mickey2

It will look a lot nicer when cleaned, and crinkle finish in general is not bad at all. When cleaned and nice it has a shine to it, and the effect of the textured surface is not bad at all. You might change your mind. At first I thought it was the most impractical surface, collecting dirt and dust, a lot of work to clean up, but after the initial cleaning and polishing it has held up very well. I'm sure someone will be intersted.

miriam

Honestly there really isn't any thing pretty about the repaint. If you look close you can see decals through the paint. The ugliest machine I have is like that but the repaint is coming off. Needless to say when I had a very attractive Redeye needing parts you can guess which one was culled.