I was given a Featherweight by my daughter's Spec Ed teacher. It sews beautifully BUT the bobbin was hard to get into and out of the bobbin case. So I took it in to my favorite repairman (family-owned shop for many years, I've bought at least 5 machines from them and take all my machines to them for service so I trust them). He ordered a new bobbin case but it didn't fit into the machine so he told me that somewhere through the years (it's a 1940) somebody replaced the hook mechanism with a non-standard part and it would need to be replaced at about $90 for that part and $65 for the new bobbin case plus labor. He suggested I just take the machine home and keep it for spare parts in case I find another 221. He didn't charge me anything for looking at it and sent back the new bobbin case since it didn't work for me.
My question, is this too much to spend on fixing a Featherweight or does he just not love the little machines like we do? It seems to sew well with the old sticky bobbin case but will I do it damage by using it this way? It seems like more of an annoyance to me than anything but I don't want to cause major damage if that's a possibility.