Singer 648 worth keeping?
 

I went to a new thrift store looking for a an extra sewing machine to keep around the house. They had a Singer 648. The women there had no clue about machines so they told me to just take it home and if it worked and I wanted to keep it, I could go back and give them a donation for it.

Here are some photos of it:
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It didn't come with a cabinet. It is pretty dirty on the outside. I really want it to be a back up to my current machine. Is it worth keeping it? I'd love to learn to clean and work on machines. Could I do it on this one? Or take it back and keep looking?

ETA: I did plug it in and it does work. Haven't tried threading it and sewing on it, though.
Thanks!ScheduleSchedule

If it works, it's worth keeping until it dies. It's not worth fixing unless you can repair it yourself and you particularly like the machine. It has plastic gears that crumble eventually. You can buy the gears for about $60.00, but that's just for the parts.

The first thing that goes is generally the gears under the bobbin winder. If it will wind a bobbin, and you feel generous, donate $5.00 or $10.00 for it.

I actually like to sew on the Touch and Sews. I have one working one left. I've had it since it was new and I might try to repair it when it dies.

bkay

I love Touch n Sew machines---use one daily and it is a workhorse. It has no plastic parts except for cams and bobbins. DH can take to his workshop to oil and clean. With all the accessories, manual, cams, etc, I would think who ever owned it, took good care of it. Think you might try to clean this one up and see if it is one of the better ones. good Luck !

If it runs and you accept the donation amount with out hesitating it's worth keeping. Personally I have all metal machines on top of my list, but I have to add my favorite zigzag models have a few plastic gears, a vintage Bernina Record for the perect zigzag and well behaved manner, and an Elna Supermatic for it's double layer cam and nice freearm. If you are looking for stretchy stitches, there is hardly a single all metal model out there, the exception being a few 1950s Necchi and Adler models.

I would replace a cracked gear on a nice model, and spend a bit of time and effort on it. I have been interested in the fancy bobbin functions of the Touch & Sew machines. You need to spend a bit of time with these features before you get accustomed to your new machine. I think it should be worth it. A nice condition machine like yours, complete with all accessories, straight stitch and chain stitch plates is not that common. It's actually quite a find!

The stretch stitches on the T&S didn't start until the 700 series. They are achieved using the T&S white cams.

There are some T&S machines that have metal gears. They include the 600, 601 and 603. There are a few models between the 600 and the 626, but are not common. As I understand it, they have metal gears. Some have the "auto-reel" bobbin mechanism that is pretty "fluky". Some of the auto-reels work and some don't.

I've heard that there are some 626 machines that have metal gears. I've not seen one. However, most have plastic gears. Everything after the 626, including the 648 have plastic gears.

Like I said earlier, I've trashed 6 T&S machines that I bought at auction or people gave me. All had broken gears. You can tell, as when you turn the handwheel, the bobbin doesn't turn.

The one that I've had since it was new still works.

bkay

When I said, "if it works", I mean will it sew and wind a bobbin? The motor will still work, even if the gears are shot.

bkay

It has the rods and gear sets under the base, they tend to run nicer than the belt driven. It looks like there's both metal and plastic gear replacement available at least for one of the gear sets. I know Berninas tend to run for decades after a gear replacement. It can be worth it. Nothing compares to hardened steel, but the nylon gear replacement we get these are good quality.

I should add my machine is Singer Model 600----great machine !

That's a good question! I'm cleaning it up today; after I'm finished, I'll try and sew some stitches and see what happens.

Schedule

They told me I could name the donation amount if I wanted to keep it. If I try it after cleaning and it sews, what would you recommend for a fair donation amount?Schedule