Originally Posted by hobbykat1955
I just came down from sewing on my 1951 301 black shortbed and LOVE IT...I also have a two tone 301A in a cabinet and also LOVE IT....don't pass it up for that price or you'll regret it.
I have a vintage Singer repair man I go to and he highly recommends the 301's over the featherweights because they are gear driven not belt driven...and says..."don't yell at me ladies who own featherweights" They are better made and a better machine then the featherweights...
301 weight is 15-16lbs...has a carry handle and very light to transport.
I may be wrong, but I don't believe it's the outside belt they're talking about. It's what's driving the machine inside. When I took mine in to the local repair guy, he opened up the hole where the thread goes to show me that the older ones had a belt and were not gear driven inside. The black ones don't have that belt. I'm thinking it may be some kind of a metal belt, but not one that's replaced regularly like the outside one.
The older Featherweights are gear driven too. It was the newer ones that were belt-driven; like my white one.