Moral of the story: Any machine that has not been used for a while should be thoroughly cleaned before using. I just bought a Singer 15 and even though it sews beautifully and we did rewire it, I still feel I need to take it apart and clean it. It had been sitting in a junk shop for several years. I got a 457 for free that had been in her garage and it was full of bugs and old gummy grease.