I just saw this post while looking to find a replacement manual for my machine. Don't know what you decided as the post is 3 years old but here how I feel about the 306. I have been using my 306W since I learned to sew 42 years ago, my mother bought it new on time payments from the Dept. Store before I was born. I use Schmetz needles in mine, she is okay with them, but since all sewing machines have their own personality, other machines may not like them. I once took a tailoring class with someone that had a 306W that absolutely would not work unless she bought the singer needles only. I have sewed everything from tissue thin silk to heavy coating wool and garment leather on this machine and I would not trade her for the most expensive, top of the line computerized sewing machines of today. Yes they are noisier, because their parts are metal and not the plastic junk "modern" machines are made of. These babies were built to last! In the eighties i was doing a lot of costuming and purchased a simple basic Kenmore because it had a free-arm which is easier for doing sleeves than the flat bed of my workhorse 306W and I had to take it in for service 3 times in the first year because the parts were plastic and kept "wearing out". I much prefer the older workhorses than the new machines, the new ones are built to be replaced every few years even though the top models are horrendously expensive.