Originally Posted by
cabbagepatchkid
I've had two different FW shipped to me through eBay. One of them came with a broken bobbin winder and the other one (my white FW
) arrived with the spool pin snapped off!! On a FW, the spool pin is permanently attached to the little piece of metal that hold it so I had to find a replacement for it but could only find one for a black FW.
Both the bobbin winder and the spool pin doo-hicky are removable to prevent damage from shipping but most sellers wouldn't think to take them off.
ETA: Here is some good info on packing a FW....
http://www.sew2go.com/fwpacking.htm
That's how I pack a Featherweight too, I learned how from that website, have shipped 8 machines and never had one damaged in shipping. My customers complain that it takes forever to get into the machine, it took me about 2 hours to pack it. Remember any thing that moves inside the box can cause major damage. Everything has to fit tightly. I put an empty thread spool; either Gutterman or Madiera, one of the long skinny ones.
I've also packed a very heavy Pfaff 260 using this method and it arrived in CT undamaged.
Sharon W.