Originally Posted by Katia
So, are there certain machines to stay away from and others to look for?
Are some machines basically boat anchors and some worth saving no matter what they look like now? What about parts? Are parts impossible to find for some machines, making them good for display only? I would love to know what to look for.
I think there are certain Singers to stay away from but I think it also depends on what is important to you. The best person to find out about the Singer models is an older Singer sewing machine repairman. They can tell you which ones are good and which ones are not good.
I like each of my machines to be useable and to cause as little of problems as they can. I once bought a 127 handcrank for the novelty of having a handcrank. Later on, I realized that I would never use it because it used a shuttle type bobbin instead of a round one. That meant that I would have to handcrank the thread being wound on the shuttle instead of using one of my other bobbins (round ones) that were already wound from one of my electric machines. Sewing with a handcrank might be fun but I couldn't see anything fun about sitting there and handwinding thread on a bobbin so that I can sew. (A lot of people don't handwinding the shuttle.)
So, now my criteria is for the machine to use either a class 66 bobbin or a class 15 bobbin since I already have those bobbins for my other machines.
I've searched around on the internet and found that there seems to be some vintage machines that are very easy to work on or fix. Some of those are models 15-, 66, 99, 201, 301, 404 and of course the featherweight 221. (The above models are all straight stitch machines..some of them have the ability to do reverse stitching.) I wanted to add that the above list is not all inclusive. I'm sure that there are some other Singer machines that are great to have and to work with. The ones above are the ones that I've heard a lot of good things about.
I also love the Singer 401 and 403 models because you can position the needle both to the right and to the left side of the center. (That is a nice feature for the 1/4 inch seam.)
I love all of the above machines because they are all made out of metal gears, connecting rods and cams.
Singer, around the late 60's and early 70s started making machines with plastic gears. The "Touch and Sew" was known to many sewing machine repair guys as the "Touch and Swear" machines. That is because the gears were made of plastic and they could easily break.
Because of Singer going to plastic, I've stayed away from the machines that were made after the late 60's and 70s.
I also only buy sewing machines that use the regular 15x1 needles that you can buy in JoAnns and other sewing stores. I know that some people have bought vintage machines where you need to order special needles and some of those needles are not being manufactured today.
A couple of days ago, I bought a Singer Spartan for $22. at an auction. I have been looking for a Singer 99 to make into a handcrank. The 99 is a smaller version of the 66. (I wanted something that wasn't too big.)
In the last 2 years, the prices on Singer machines have gone up a lot. Where I paid $40. for a 99 three years ago, I would have to pay around $90-150 for the same machine today. The Spartan is suppose to be the 99 model but without the light. Since I want to take the motor off to make it into a handcrank, the light feature wouldn't work for me anyway. So, I will pick up the Spartan tomorrow at the auction center and later on, convert it to a handcrank.
I hope this helps you when you are looking for a vintage machine. A good website to learn more about these machines is at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vintagesingers/