I have one and it works fine. When my granddaughter was about 8 she had a great time winding bobbins for me one summer. She kept Walmart out of empty bobbins. I let her wind as many as she wanted. I ended up with a a large tin full of them. I smile everytime I use one for hand sewing or to use as top thread for piecing. She felt useful and learned a lot about thread and tension. She and DH modified it. Took the bottom off and put in a heavy weight so it wouldn't tip over. DH let her disassemble and reassemble. You could feel that kid's self confidence! So yes the Sidewinder was worth every penny.