I too have a newer featherweight, bought in the early 1980's. It's a good little machine, however it does have some plastic parts inside. Learned that when I went to a quilting retreat-after three days of sewing it no longer would work. No matter what we tried it just wouldn't sew correctly. I had to resort to sewing by hand, or using a borrowed machine when another retreater wasn't using hers. It taught me an expensive lesson (five day retreat with hundreds of quilters-expensive to go to)
I now own an OLD black featherweight that sews for days on end without refusing to work.
Kat