Fledrmaus

That's kinda what I was hoping people would say! I hadn't used either of them for a long time, but when I got them out to note down the model numbers and check the attachments and manuals, I couldn't help but notice that the Singer has that well-built "tank" look, and the Kenmore looks a bit... ordinary in comparison.

Maybe it's better off with my hairdresser, anyway, since she has a toddler and would probably use the decorative cams to make fun embellishments on kid's clothes. It's nice that the set is complete, but a bit superfluous for me.

I did look at the underside, but most everything appears to be metal, actually. Perhaps in the head of the machine there may be some plastic gears, but except for a small rod-like thing near the motor, I think the gears are metal.

However, I could not believe what I saw when I unscrewed the cover for the gears that are behind the bobbin case: it looked like someone had taken a quarter cup of green grease and just lobbed it in there, then screwed the case closed again! The gears were not coated, they were *immersed* in this stuff! Surely it's supposed to be oil for these gears, isn't it? I thought grease was for the motor. I would think regularly applying drops of oil to this mess would have made things worse and worse, but I suspect the machine was just put away and not used after it got this "treatment". I can't possibly give a machine to someone in this state; I'll have to clean out all the grease and oil the machine properly.