There is a very nice old Singer machine that is still light weight and I have done all my FMQ on it as well. It is still very affordable and you should be able to find one locally on craigslist. It is the 301 or 301A and it is billed as the bigger sister to the Featherweight. It is light enough to take to classes as well. It is not as sought after as the Featherweight but it is an excellent machine. I have always been able to do all the basic maintenance on it myself and it is a gear driven rather than belt driven machine which means that it will sew through thicker layers than the Featherweight. If you find a machine without the users manual they are available to download online free of charge. I see them regularly for about $50.00 and have picked them up for my kids to have one each. I personally have more machines than I can say grace over but love the old ones. I wouldn't buy any Singer dated after 1965 as the quality went to pieces after that. Ann in TN