Yeah - I would agree with that one. Sit yourself down and take some time to decide if it is a good one or not. I love it when someone does that. Then I know they are going to be happy. What scares me is people who come, hand me the money and leave. Yikes what are they doing?

I make sure that all moving parts work. Make sure the handwheel will turn and the needle goes up and down. I actually prefer the treadles if the cabinet is in decent shape. I think about whether I have that model and what is it that makes it unique. Sometimes I just see one that screams at me and off we go--home! I just think I know when I see one if I love it and it wants to come home with me.

I can have two identical machines side by side and one I like and one I don't - go figure.

The 221 isn't a good candidate to be hand cranked. The others are great as they can be fitted with a hand crank and a spoked handwheel. I have the 201k and 99k-13 hand cranks and they are lovely for that. I have taught kids to sew with them.

I've seen hand crank kits for the 221 on eBay a couple of times. Apparently some guy with a sewing machine repair shop makes them from scratch. Just took a look and he has one up now:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/FEATHERWEIGH...item2574d9564e

Cathy busted the guy with the FW HCs - try a window opener and a drilled out stop motion knob

What does that mean- "busted" the guy?

Do the hand cranks not function as advertised, or what? Thanks! :)

Posting in another thread, I realized that there's something I now look for in a vintage machine- the paint job!

You can clean, fix and refurbish just about anything on an old machine, but if the paint is chipped or flaking, you've probably got trouble.

For a rare or collectible machine, maybe you won't mind. Or maybe you find a great old 15 in a beautiful cabinet - stripping and repainting it would be fun for you.

It's hard to see in auctions and the first time I bought a machine on eBay, the seller nailed me on paint condition. She hid the damage to the paint by careful photography and strategic placement of the items she was sewing and the items that came with the machine. The areas to look at carefully are the edges of the bed and the handwheel.

Most sellers are up front about this damage because it's so common.

I took a look at the picture. what does he think he's trying to pull? geez louise, it that is what we wanted we could do it ourselves with less money!!!!!!!!!!

She busted him - he is just using window cranks.