My older machines are true workhorses. They'll sew anything and everything, with a perfect stitch.

My new Singer (less than two years old) has been in the shop 4 times already for various things that have broken.

Wow! Thanks for the info. I just never thought about using one to do my quilting but mom has a Singer from the 50's and I suppose I should rescue it from the basement. I could never get it to stitch properly and so I bought her a little Kenmore which she never uses now either. Maybe I'll inherit both! Then find out how to fix the Singer. I've been looking on Craigslist around Columbus,Oh and these machines are incredibly expensive.

Nothing sews like a machine with all metal parts! The cost to maintain them is the bottle of oil and a brush to clean out the lint. If I could only have one machine .... it would be my vintage one.... no annual tune-ups , and has never ever let me down.... unlike my new computerized machine that ... I never get to pick the time when it will have an issue ...not that it happens often but it when it does its never a good time.
If you ever get a chance to purchase one in good running condition .... buy it .... with the new machines .. you always need a back -up.

hey, my Singer is 30 plus years old and I don't want one older. i don't use it now that i have a Janome that is several years old, but i wont' get rid of it either.
Featherweights and others are nice because they are old/antique looking and mean memories. my Mother had a treadle Singer years ago and used to sew at all hours of the night in my and my sister's bedroom.

I have a lovely newer Bernina that I love. However even the Bernina (known for lovely stitching) can't compete with my old machines for easy piecing. It is partly the narrow feed dogs and straight stitch foot plate, but the machines make it very easy to do good piecing. The old machines are also made for easy servicing. They do take regular oiling, maybe even every day, but it only takes a couple of minutes. Then they run and run and run - no adjustments needed, no expensive shop visits.

There are wonderful attachments for the vintage machines that duplicate many of the tasks you might think only the newer machines could do. I think the attachments are so much fun to use!

I do use the Bernina for much of my garment sewing since I like the zigzag function then. My piecing is done on a Featherweight mostly. I do have a new to me Singer 99 handcrank that I'm learning to use, and there is a treadle that is getting cleaned up. They just feel good.

Pam

They are just beautiful simple machines.

I bought a treadle over 30 years ago. I actually pieced my first quilt on it (Trip around the World). The only thing I found unusual was that it didn't backstitch. I have always wanted a featherweight but they were always priced out of my budget. NEVER in the right place at the right time. They are so much easier to carry to a class. I have always LOVED anything antique..... :lol:

When you get the Singer and try it out, if it still does not stitch right, go the Vintage Sewing Machine thread. There are a lot of knowledgeable people there to help get it straightened out. It could just be a tension issue. Be sure to clean out any lint and oil it before using. I assume it is electric so check the condition of the wiring.

I got a class 15 Singer in June and haven't sewed with anything else since DH replaced the wiring and oiled it.

I am a Janome lover...have 3...but would not part with my singer featherweight....it can sew through more layers easier...straighter...it is rare...plus I have a brother 1500 for my short-arm plus various old ones...singer...montgomery ward...white...smaller brother..they are my reserve

I think of vintage machines as "real"....like antique furniture is real - real wood, real metal, real artistic, no noveau fabrications as in plastics, aluminum, etc.

I have 2 vintage Berninas and a 1990s rendition of one of them; it too is 'almost' all metal and wonderful to use. I don't even want a 2011 computerized, digitized, embroidery machine!

Jan in VA