Originally Posted by
cashs_mom
I have to agree with Joe. You can never have just one vintage machine. A few years ago I got my mom's 301 out and decided to sew on it. She always complained about that machine, but I love it. My first featherweight (Centennial) followed soon after, then a 503, a white FW and now another black one that I'm hopefully going to get painted. As far as what you want, the 503 would probably do most of it. I have one with all the cams, but have never used them. The only thing I use is straight stitch and occasionally zigzag. I have a 90's Bernina I use for my decorative stuff. I've never used a 401, but it might do what you want and will probably be cheaper than a 500 series. Rocketeers are always popular and sell for a fair amount of money. That being said, I saw one at an estate sale that I'm still kicking myself for not buying. It was $65 in a case. No idea is if was running or not.
Thanks again for answering Joe Jr and cash_mom:
All vintage metal gear machines can sew thick fabrics, but sometimes it is difficult with thin fabrics.Today I confirmed that the singer 401a and the pfaff sew both thin and thick fabrics, all 3 machines have decorative stitches, also the 3 machines deactivate the feed dogs for free motion and I heard that the singer 401 is a bit quiet. At this point I have almost completely covered all my needs in a single machine. Why would I need to buy so many machines for basic things that every vtg machine includes? I know that many vtg machine do not have decorative stitches, but the machines that I chose use cam, so that is a plus. Besides, I don't have space, I have overlock, coverstitch, and a straight machine. Does the singer 500 rocketeer lift the presser foot high enough??? that is all that is needed for quilting. If so, that means the 401a does it too (that would be the winning machine) Thanks I appreciate all your comments.