I hope it's not as flooded :- |
Lots of the older machines have feed dog cover, but yours didn't look that old (1970s?). You should not be put of by slant shanks as far as I know, some of the best machines are. I agree with your though, not all are worth it, plastic parts and filmsy builds,etc, but the 400 numbers, and some in the 500 and 600 numbers are all metal geared and very well behaved. Some find the Touch&Sew machines very bothersome, but it's the fancy bobbin functions and settings, not the slant shank foot. A lot of the slant shanks are standard class 66 bobbin case.