Unfortunately, not everyone is as honest as we are. Many times on E-Bay, people say it works if the wheel turns. They just don't understand machines. I would try to get an owners manual on line (they are usually not too expensive). Here is one I found on E-Bay http://www.ebay.com/itm/Singer-Sewin...7#ht_26wt_1041 Many times you can figure it out from the manual. Also, if you belong to a guild, many times someone's hubby or brother loves to tinker with machines and will do it cheap. Good luck.

Please tell us the end of the story when you do something with it. good luck !

I recently bought a pink Atlas on CL. Cant get it to sew one kind of stitch. Instead it sews straight and then zigzags....forget the decorative stitches. Haven't really had time to mess with it either.

I am sorry you have this happening to you. BUT did you plug it in before you bought this machine. I bought a yard sale machine and ask to plug it in,$25.00 well worth the money.

Does it have a bobbin with black or white lines on it? I had a Singer Athena purchased from local Singer business, it had a "self winding Bobbin"... I took it back, the Singer man told me those Singers have problems with the Self winding feature. So I steer clear of those now. But it sounds from your description that is like the problem I had with the Athena. Hope your Singer man isn't as expensive as mine was to just look at machines. I don't use him anymore., and depend a lot of this site and the wonderful members for infor, etc.

After buying three sewing machines on EBay and having all of them to be far worse then the sellers said they were, I refuse to buy anything over 10 dollars without trying it out...Hard lesson learned on my part.

Oh how I wish you were in my territory. Have a fellow who works on the older machines (not the new embroidery ones) for only $25.00 plus parts and many times if he has an old machine with the same part, he doesn't even charge for them since the machine was donated to him. They look like and run like new when he is finished with them and if you have any problem he says bring them back and he will fix it n/c. Needless to say I dearly love him and take all my older machines to him for service etc.

Your location is to far away to even consider shipping, but if any of your Missouri gals are anywhere close to Columbia, Mo., privately e-mail me and I will give you the information about him. He takes the older machines that some people don't want (on a donation basis) and fixes them up for mission work in the lesser developed countries. He is just one great guy.

Hope you get the machine working and at not too great of cost. Let us know the outcome of what you decide to do and how it all comes out.

themachinelady

jdeery,maybe you could google the model and any info to find a manual for it. some problems are easy. such as threading wrong or needing a new needle etc. some manuals are free and some cost.I would try the basics first.Good luck. Your avatar is adorable.Mary

I used to have a Futura - different number, but probably similar. It was very persnickety about which way the thread reels off the spool. If I remember right, it had to go over the top from front to back and then under. If that doesn't work, try the other way, but it's the one thing I can think of that could account for both the bobbin loading and sewing problem. Good luck!

The things you describe don't sound too serious to me! The machine not picking up the bobbin thread could be as simple as having the wrong needle or bobbin..(you don't know what previous owner did?)...if the needle is too short for the machine it will never pick up the bobbin thread. I would start with that. Get the manual and make sure you have correct needle and bobbin, and that everything is lint free, clean, and above all threaded properly.
If that doesn't fix it, it may be timing....which is quite easy to do on those machines if you or someone you know know has basic machine sense.
I wouldn't worry too much about the bobbin winder just yet..get it to pick up bobbin thread and see how it sews, then you can take it from there.
Don't panic, just take this step by step and you will most likely get it running. Good Luck! Donna