stillclock

hi-

i have been trying to get a better sense of what my expectations should be for using older machines.

i currently have a singer 401 that until recently was working okay...it was somewhat unreliable when it came to fancy stitches but the straight stitch was gorgeous and the zigzag worked like a charm.

for no reason i can discern it stopped picking up the thread and now has to go to the shop. i have done all the recommended at home problem solving things and it needs skills i don't have.

properly tuned and adjusted, it should easily make all of the stitches it was engineered to make, including the ones the cams could produce, not break thread for no real reason, not need to go to the shop every three months and tick along sewing happily for years right?

or am i being unreasonable? i don't want to put another couple hundred dollars into it if it's not actually going to work as well as it did in the first 5 years of its life.

i also have a basic workhouse bernina, with a zigzag stitch. ummmm....can't remember the model number but a reputable basic machine. i figure it will cost about $300 to get it back in business because it needs a bobbin case and a foot pedal.

if you had a limited amount of money to put these machines back to work, which one would you invest it? i need a good dressmaking machine. but i am so FRUSTRATED by the 401 right now i don't know whether to crap or go blind.

please...just tell me like it is.

aileen