Well, I'm sorry to say that when I fired it up yesterday to try it out, there was clearly a problem. It hesitates-- like it's gummed up. I've never experienced a gummed up machine before, but when I step on the pedal I need to spin the handwheel to get her going, then she'll go along for 3-5 stitches and need a little push on the handwheel again to overcome the resistance. I cleaned and oiled her generously. The motor is running great, and increases correspondingly with the pedal, so I assume it's in the gears and not the motor. The neighbor who gave it to me is fastidious with his machines (ie: when he takes a tractor out for the day, he gives it an oil change the next day!). My guess is this machine was oiled generously without being used generously. This afternoon I fired it up again, and it does run better, but it's not smooth yet. I'm guessing my oiling job helped dissolve some of the old oil left in there. I'll do some more research on the board about handling a gummed up machine, but if anyone has any tricks, I'd love to hear them! Thanks all-- very happy with it anyway, I'm sure it will be a gem once it's running smoothly!