Originally Posted by irishrose
I was at quilt show today. A vendor selling Singer FWs had a White that looked like my mother's 1956 model for $60. When I asked him if it worked, he said he thought so, but he hadn't spent much time on it. I detected some distain because it wasn't a Singer, but the Singers were out of my price range. Is it worth $60 if it sews well?
The only thing I hesitate about is you can't drop the feed for quilting. That's the only complaint I have with my 1974 Elna Supermatic. I can drop the feed on my old Kenmore, but that machine's tension is a nightmare.
Should I go back and look at the White tomorrow?
I have a White Rotary Electric from 1931 that has a beautiful stitich. Other than my machine, I know nothing about the Whites.
Also, have you checked Hospice, Thrift Stores, estate/yard sales. I just bought a Singer 503A at a barn sale for $10 - had to order the cams on e-bay, another $10 - that I am in love with. I have a machine I paid $7,000 for 6 years ago that I fight with constantly. It is very tempermental about thread, bobbins, and if I have a needle with a tiny shard from hitting a pin -- forget it, it will skip stitches. I got the Rocketeer (503a) out yesterday to finish some machine applique' I was fighting with, with my expensive machine; and I just sat and sewed a beautiful border on all my applique' pieces. No fighting with the machine -- no skipped stitches -- didn't have to adjust tension -- the thing just sewed perfect satin scallop stitches with a cam!
Nancy