If you could only keep one - Bernina 930 Record or Pfaff 1475 -
 

Which would it be?

The down side to both of those machines - parts are either impossible to get or hard to get if something goes wrong with them - or expensive if available.

I like Bernina 930, it has a few stretchy stitches, strong motor, and is everything I ask in the basic machine. It runs and stitches nicely. The Pfaff has the built in walking foot that comes down in the back of the walking foot, I guess that's the only advantage I can think of. I don't bother too much with autofunctions like needle threader. Both are good machines.

I know a few who have had their 930 in for repair, and if you find the right repair guy it will most likely be possible, and price within reason. I guess the same for the Pfaff. There's a tad more electronic in the Pfaff than the Bernina in this particular case, but it might not matter much. The 930 is made for the user to clean and maintain to a higher degree than the Pfaff, and it's always a pluss in my point of view.

Have you bonded with them? Do you like sewing on them? Keep them if they are running for right now. I wouldn't want to make a choice like that. LOL.

The other option is to trade-in/sell and put the proceeds towards another machine.

I've bonded with most of my machines - all of mine are what I call "middle aged" - 1950s through 1980s.

I'm even very fond of the 237 Singers. The only real "complaint" I have about them is about how much they weigh - which is not really a negative. And I wish they had one more thread guide/restraint.

Of the machines that have crossed my path, I was not fond of the 401A Singer.

My son has a Singer 404 and he likes it.

Maybe because I grew up with machines that used vertical bobbins, machines that use horitzontal/drop-in bobbins seem weird to me.

The Bernina CB bobbin case comes in and out very easily, and threads very easily too. I don't mind it at all, though the vertical bobbin case in my 201 is nice. I don't know how many fancy fuctions your 237 has, but the vertical bobbin and all metal construction are very much pluss in my book.

I agree some bobbin cases are more cumbersome, but it's usually only the high speed flat beds with rotary hook, some of them needs to be lifted up to access the bobbin case. These are vertical. I guess it's a trade off for the high speed; it needs the sturdier build in a flat bed. I don't mind different builds and models, and happily go from a drop-in bobbin case to a vertical case with out finding it a bother. The Bernina CB case and hook comes off as low noise and smooth compared to others. I think when we spend some time with a machine and get to know their finer points we get used to the differences. Both the vertical and horizontal bobbin cases comes in various versions. With the horizontal ones, you need to remember which way the bobbin case goes in. With the vertical versions it doesn't affect the stitching as much.

I’ve heard the early Bernina machines are really great but I have 2 identical Pfaff 1473 machines and wouldn’t trade them for anything. But I do agree with others that I would keep both if at all possible. The 1473 is just a very small step below the 1475 so I wouldn’t quibble about the difference.

Sandy in Mooresville, NC

Most often it is a question of bonding more than machine ability.

The other issue with vintage machines, they are like used cars, and while one may have been a clear winner if both where NEW - the winner now may be the one that had better care or less use overall.

I have a Viking 990 that I've loved for years, but after 35 it wouldn't quite hold a straight stitch due to wear. So when the choice was between that one and a 20 year old Pfaff - the Pfaff was the winner. However I got lucky on eBay, and snagged an unused (yes, totally unused) 990. My husband liked the Pfaff better than any of his other machines, so now he has that one, and the Singer 201 and 401 went out to the shed.

What does CB bobbin case mean?

More correcly I should have written bobbin case for the CB hook. It's Berninas standard for the vintage machines as well as some of the newer. I guess it's not only the CB standard, but models with this hook and bobbin case sort of tick along smoother than a lot of other machines.

It's hard to choose between the nice Pfaff models and a Bernina Record, but I would sell one of them if I new there were someone out there who needed one and would appreciate it. I'm partial to a stitch length lever with reverse rather than a button, but it's really one of the minor things we adapt to.

I kept my 201 and still I like it a lot. It's a joy to work on, flatbed in a small table makes it ideal for my purpose. I keep a freearm model next to it. Bernina used to have one of the narrowest freearms on the marked, sometimes a big advantage. I don't know how it compares to your Pfaff.

Mickey2 - thank you for the explanation -

There is a lot of good information in this section -

One thing about the lever stitch length regulator as compared to a "setting" - one can adjust it to the nth instead of a presetting.