Originally Posted by
MFord
I have a black 301 short bed that came in a cabinet. Seems that the short bed was the cabinet machine and the long bed was the portable machine....
This is not true. All 301's are portables, even the ones in cabinets. They all have the handle built into the top of the arm, and the ones in cabinets can pop out and become portables with the press of a lever. This was a great selling feature of the machine.
The 301s were the first 'slant o matics', and they are strong, gear driven machines. Can't go wrong with a 301. You'll never want to sew on a Featherweight again!