Wow, reading these replies makes me even more determined to hang on to my 1976 Singer Futura II! It does sew wonderfully, even if I'm having some minor issues with it! I'm taking it in for a once-over, and for some bobbin repair next week.

I've got a Rocketeer and a newer Brother. Love both but my old Singer just can't be beat!

Nostalgia, and they sew such a nice stitch. My mom had one like the one I have, a 401A.

Last year I bought a vintage Singer hand-crank machine to take with me when my significant other tours a car show. Setup a table & chair behind his '62 T-bird, put up an umbrella, and away I go! Amazing how many people will come up to me to ask what I'm doing. So many of them never knew that hand-crank machines exist! They always ask me, "how can you sew with just one hand?" I reply, "Easy! It sews so straight that I barely have to guide the fabric."

p.s., one of the other T-bird owners had a hissy fit because he felt I was taking attention away from his car which was parked next to ours. IMHO, I was drawing in the crowds! :-)

I asked the same question a few mths ago and got so many positive answers I went out and bought 4 Vintage machines in a 4 wk period. My first find a Black 1951 Singer 301 at a tag sale for 30.00...Then a 1910 Singer Redeye on ebay for 55.00, Elan Grasshopper from the 30's 85.00, and finally a two tone 301A 1953 in cabinet 110...All work wonderful and I don't regret it and use all them for sewing and quilting.
They said the sound was wonderful, they purr, they do and you can't beat the straight stitch...they were right...And that's how they convinced me to go looking.
OH and to top it off I have my Grandmothers 1949 3/4 Singer model in cabinet that I never appreciated prior to joining this site and she's being rehabed at this very moment.

They are reliable machines, easy to maintain, and parts are still available. I use my Featherweights for daily piecing and free motion quilting.

I'm the same as hobbykat!
Didn't know anything about vintage machines until I joined the board.
They are fabulous and I now have 7 various old Singers.

This has been a very expensive forum to belong to....:lol: :lol: :lol: :roll: because of all of the vintage machines that I have "collected", since joining this forum of enablers, and I love them all. The new computerized machines are confusing to me but with the vintage machines I can just sit down to sew. I don't need the fancy stitches and if I ever do I can use my Phaff.

I like how the older ones look and I like how they sound (each model has it's own little voice :-D ) as they are chugging along. Good luck when you get your first vintage machine....you KNOW that you want one....hahahaha!

I have the one I acquired from my neighbor's estate auction, and have had it for years...it wasn't until all the posts and threads about the old workhorses that I took it out and looked at it and took pictures. Now I'm in the process of getting it looked at so I can sew on it.

Not sure why I bought it when I did...I guess I just liked the look of it.

I'm so fed up with modern sewing machines that I just bought a 201-2 off ebay a couple of days ago. I think I will also get a 301.