Originally Posted by
Caroline S
That is a very interesting foot controller. Is that sewing machine common in AU? I don't think I have seen one here.
Yes Caroline, Pinnock were a brand that sold machines until 1966. They made their own machines in a factory in Adelaide from 1957 until 1966 (before that they just put together machines manufactured elsewhere. After 1966 Craftamatic bought the brand name and started importing and re-badging Taiwanese machines. These were what you saw in the ad. There's no way the owner sold that for $500 - chances are someone told him how common they are and what they sell for (about $25-$30)
The Taiwanese ones are actually pretty good machines (gears are solid steel). The foot controllers were made by Wertheim in Sydney, as were the motors.