I've heard of people getting their bobbin cases stolen. Before the 301's popularity grew, they were stealing them for Featherweights, which uses the same bobbin case. Which brings me to the only downside I see of the 301. The bobbin capacity is rather small.
One thing to be aware of with the 301 is that the flip-up bed extension to the left of the needle can be either long or short. The short bed can fit into an ordinary Singer cabinet (with the aid of a mounting cradle) and the long bed will only fit into the card table designed for that purpose. So, if you like the bed of your machine level with your work surface, this is a consideration.
The 301 is a gem. It's a full-size machine, yet light enough to use as a portable. There's a handle built into the top. The black continues the gold-stencil of earlier models while introducing a more streamlined design (I call it 50s Deco). Also take a look at the two-tone light beige, oyster-white (LBOW) model. It's quite snazzy - reminds me of a 1950s saddle shoe.
Last edited by Manalto; 06-23-2018 at 01:55 PM.