Originally Posted by
JoeJr
Of course you need one!! I found it interesting how light weight the machine is, relative to the 201 I finished recently for example. Different parts are iron based and others are not. The lid for instance is non iron based. The bobbin is kind of hard to get to. I don't know if you're supposed to tilt back the machine or removed the plate to get to it. I only made it as far as where to position the needle flat in the manual.
You tilt back the machine to change the bobbin.
To remove the plate to swap it for either a straight stitch or zigzag or darning plate, you press the curved part of the plate and lift the square end then slide the whole thing to the left. Make sure to lower the feed dogs and get the needle out of the way.
The 306 is a throwback to Singer's industrial line of machines from the early 20th century, hence the cleated drive belt, the rotary hook and the industrial style mechanisms in the machine including the way one changes the bobbin. Singer's first domestic zigzag was the 206 which came out in 1936. The 306 is an update of the 206.
What they did is model the 206 after their industrial line of machines. Twenty years later when they made the 306 Singer used the same internal mechanisms. So in other words, it's as close to an industrial machine that Singer ever made for the domestic market. When they "upgraded" by introducing the 319 in the late 1950's, they added internal cams, retro typewriter style keys and changed the hook set up but otherwise the 319 is identical to the 306. The idea that in the late 1950's they went with a retro style and styled the 319 using design language from the 1930's is fascinating.
If the hook on your machine has two positioning pegs at the 12 o'clock position, and if your bobbin case has a completely open top, you can swap out the bobbin case for a Singer 20U industrial bobbin case and use standard 15x1 needles. You may well be able to use standard 15x1 needles with your original bobbin case.
This line of machines, the 306, the 319 and the 320 which is a free arm version of the 319 are truly fabulous machines.