I want to say first of all that I am partial to mechanical old Singer sewing machines. So my opinion is already tainted.
:lol:
I have a Singer treadle machine; a Singer handcrank that uses the shuttle; a Singer 66; a Singer 401 (my favorite); a Singer 403; and two featherweights.
All of them work.
I love the mechanical machines because many times, you can work on them yourself. Many of the machines manufactured before 1970 were made with metal gears so you don't have the gears breaking up into pieces. Many of my vintage machines will probably outlast my children. (There are some vintage machines Singers that I would not buy ...those are the ones like Touch and Sew that have the plastic gears).
I've never had a Spartan machine. I'm also on a forum that discusses the vintage machines. Many of the collectors of vintage machines do use their vintage machines for sewing. Several others on the forum are retired sewing machine shop owners.
The questions I would ask the forum is whether the machine makes a pretty stitch; is it easy to buy parts for it or to get it serviced; and what are the things I should check before buying it. I'm sure that some of them have the Spartan model.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vintagesingers/