question about a singer 66 red eye?
 

I now a lady who has a beautiful 66 redeye for sale for $60.00. It is in excellent working order except it needs a presser foot. Are they easy to get? She says they are. I am new to quilting and was also wondering if it is a good machine to quilt on? If anyone could give me some feedback that would be great. Thanks.

Krista, it depends! The backclamping attachments can be hard to find, but if the presser bar has been changed out, then yes, any short shank presser foot would work.
Is the machine a treadle, handcrank, or has it been electrified?

It's a treadle. Other than that I have no idea. I am going to look at it on Thurs. since she lives out by my inlaws(1 hour 45 min. away).

If the machine is in good shape and in a cabinet, $60.00 is a good price even without a presser foot. They are not difficult to find. Make sure it does have the presser foot attaching part. If it doesn't, before you buy, check on E-Bay for parts available for the machine. The Singer Red Eye is a good treadle machine. Also make sure the wheel turns easily.

Forgot to mention this site that we use to locate attachments for vintage machines. We have had good luck with the site. http://www.april1930s.com/html/quilt....html#LowShank

Two places for vintage presser feet:
Guy Baker - great to deal with! http://www.sewingmachineparts.net He will gladly talk to you on the phone. Has a lot of hard to find stuff.
The Sew Box - http://www.thesewbox.com This is Charlene Phillip's website - she is the author of "The Sewing Machine Attachment Book". Also willing to talk to you on the phone. I found out by talking to her that she lives on about 15 min. from me!

It doesn't come with the cabinet. She uses the wheel by hand. Thanks.

I just bought the same model, 66 red eye, yesterday at an estate sale for $40. It has the treadle cabinet with it, but both the cabinet & machine need to be cleaned good and there are minor repairs needed. I've spent a little time online looking up the year of mine, which is 1919. Some prices I've found online for this model can be as much as $400, maybe more depends on the condition. If yours doesn't have a treadle it may be difficult to sew with one hand and turn the wheel at the same time with other hand. Just my thinking on it. Let us know what you decide. :)

I have a 201 handcrank and thought it would be difficult to sew on, but was pleasantly surprised! The fabric goes through so straight that you only need one hand to guide it. Have used it to make a quilted purse and loved using the handcrank. The price for the 66 might be a little high, but they are great machines - I have a 66 treadle.

If the machine is in a cabinet that you run the machine with a foot pedal it's a treadle. If you operate the machine with a knob attached to the handwheel, it's a handcrank. (bit of trivia, the only difference between a 66-1 and a 66-3 is that the 66-1 is in a treadle cabinet, the 66-3 is "portable" and is a handcrank.) If the machine is in a cabinet, and she's only selling the machine head, you're going to need a base of some kind.

None of us answered one of your first questions... the 66's are wonderful machines for piecing, whether it's treadle or handcrank. Glenn FMQs with his 66 treadle. I think that to actually quilt with a handcrank would be difficult, I haven't tried it with mine.