Originally Posted by
swizzy
[ What does one do with an old sewing machine, in a cabinet, 1952 Domestic? My Kids are not interested in sewing.
At one time I talked to a dealer and he said there was no value, people want modern machines, but he would service it and donate to a women's shelter.
Would you say that it is worthless?
Not worthless but not worth a lot monetarily either. The sad reality is there are literally millions of old sewing machines out there and the demand doesn't match the availability in most cases. People just don't sew as much as they used to given you can buy ready made "anything" cheaper than you can make it yourself these days. People are also convinced things must be new and shiny to be any good and that they need a warrantee. The worth is in how well it sews. Even if it's been sitting for years chances are it doesn't need much more than fresh oil and a good cleaning to start sewing again.
It may not have all the modern amenities like automatic thread cutting and programmed stitches but it was built before planned obsolescence existed and will, with a little care, still be sewing 60 years from now. When it was made engineers weren't counting cycles of use before failure and downgrading parts so they would fail right after the warrantee expired. They just designed things to last.
If you have no use for it you can get a little bit of money on Craig's List for it (don't believe the high priced ads, many of those machines sit for months if not years without selling) or you can give it to someone who does sew or go ahead and donate it to a worthy cause like the women's shelter.
I see you're fairly local. We're having a get together March 14th in Tumwater (Olympia area) if you want to come up.
I stand corrected. "Stepper" not "servo" motor.
Rodney