I found mine at a junk shop for $60 with lots of attachments but no case. I cleaned it up and oiled it and put grease in those little tubes and it worked like a charm. I used it for a couple of months before my LQS did a class on featherweight maintenance.
At the maintenance class I found out that it had thread wound all around the spindle thingy behind where the bobbin case goes so I learned how to get that out and how to put the thingy back together. The instructor couldn't believe that mine was still sewing well with all that thread there. Definitely not temperamental.
I have a hand crank that I sometimes put on it for when I want to sew somewhere there's no electrical outlet. Still don't have a case, but I have one of those rolling craft carts that it fits in perfectly, with a couple of pockets that can hold fabric, stabilizers and thread and there's a compartment above where the machine goes that can hold every single accessory--including my buttonholer, zigzag attachment, etc. so I can just roll it along to where ever I want to take it. It's way lighter than any of my other machines. I love it.
Maybe the folks who are having trouble with theirs need to do a tune up, or maybe they're mis-threading.
Rob
Last edited by rryder; 08-05-2016 at 01:47 PM.