tinpanalley

My wife and I have always collected special antiques, nothing too valuable or perfectly maintained but our criteria is simple: it has to be in good shape and it has to be functional to us or at least be very aesthetically pleasing to us. We're not collectors for the sake of collecting. And we also like to USE our antiques if they're machines. So we actually listen to our 78s on our phonograph, and we use our antique teapots and serving dishes. Because they make life wonderful.

We recently came across an old Singer treadle table without machine and thought, what a lovely place to put our contemporary sewing machine which we use often enough to keep it out and on a table. But of course, that led down the rabbit hole of seeing actual machines available near us and a new fascination/obsession began. Now, after seeing what's around us in Quebec City (including a very few of the Singer models that were produced HERE which we didn't know about) we're thinking of spending more and -- why not -- getting a table with a machine and having it to use, clean up over time, and fold away when using our modern Singer. Many of the ones we're finding are in good enough shape, the owners say they still work, in many cases they have just recently bought a new belt.

Why am I writing... we're confused about a bunch of random things that are impeding our decision making on which to buy of the several we have the choice of. So, completely random questions, in no particular order...

1. What are the machines that have holes in the wood for the belt to go in and out of rather than going into the metal base on the right side? Are those a type of machine, or just a specific era of treadle table.
2. I came across a woman trying to sell her late grandmother's table. The grandmother clearly took very good care of her machine because it looks great. It's one of the ones made here going by the serial number I asked for. It has a motor attached. Now, after this long, there are probably all sorts of problems trying to run old motors safely, but what we don't get is, would this machine have COME with the motor? Or would it have been added later, in which case, will the machine work just with the treadle if we don't use the motor at all?
3. Understanding the options aren't exactly unlimited for what you find in the right condition and price point, where can I read about which of the 66, 127, 27, 15, etc -- which are the ones that come up most often -- were the better machines or had particular problems, or always jam up when you do this or that,.. the reason is we're not likely going to buy another one of these in the future and we don't want aficionados to tell us later, "oh, you really shouldn't have bought the Sphinx model 127 from 1929 because those have a part that breaks easily and never is up for sale anywhere for less than $300. You should have gotten the red eye from 1931 instead..." or something like that. Basically what is the modern tech blog "5 best Singers from the early 20th century" version of these machines? Or do they all basically work fine without specific hitches?
4. What can I ask these people who tend to just be selling off family heirlooms and don't know much other than knowing that they work fine, other than serial number to know if a machine runs well? Or something you would know to ask someone that is crucial to know before dropping money on one?
5. Assuming we'll have to go pick it up from wherever we buy it, is there a tried and true way to disassemble a treadle table and separate it from the machine to fit in a car? I assume they weren't purchased 100 years ago in one piece and probably required assembly, which means they can be disassembled, right?

Thank you all for any help!