I just purchased a Singer 301 and before it arrived I purchased a new felt pad for it. They are listed now on ebay, same seller I used, for a couple of dollars plus shipping. I had read somewhere that this smell was a problem and anticipated it would be a problem on mine as well. When mine arrived no smell at all, but installed the new felt pad anyway. It is a very easy thing to do and I feel better that it has a new pad. I also purchased a set of new rubber feet for the machine bottom. I am using my machine as a portable and the rubber feet had become dry and brittle and the entire machine would slid when I sewed on it. The new rubber feet are great and hold the machine in place. They are also available on ebay.