Originally Posted by purplefiend
There is no such thing as a 501a, its a 500a. I used to have one and I never did like it; my family said it made me cranky. I eventually sold it to someone who loved it. I was too used to the more modern zig zag machines that don't have cams. I do love my featherweights and treadle machines.
I just googled Singer 501A and I did get a few hits. There is a picture of the 501A and pictures of the 500A. They look the same to me. I wish I had bought that machine. It was so cute but must take cams and there were no attachments with the machine. The 501A that came up when I googled was touted as the 'best machine Singer made" and the 500's are called the "rocketeers."
The machine I looked at Saturday did say 501a on the front under the Singer Badge.
Nancy