fatquarters congratulations on your purchase. i just bought my first vintage singer this week also. mine is a model 128. i have to learn about this machine also. there is a vintage sewing machine thread on this board. the link is
http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-43881-1.htm. i will participate as soon as i take my "josephine" in to have her serviced.
i bought it from a family whose grandmother owned it but had passed on and the mother nor daughter sewed. the seller held her for me as i musta been the first to call her. she said she had received a lot of calls for the machine. it was listed for $40 but she sold it to me for $20. "josey" needs some wires replaced and is missing the knee lever. the manual was in the sewing machine case but the paper being almost 100 years old, it is quite crumbly so i will order a manual online.
here is "josephine".