[QUOTE=manicmike;6312239]You've done really well Lew. That walking foot machine machine would be incredibly useful. I have to "make do" with a 201 + walking foot attachment for upholstery work. Industrials are just too large for my tiny house (so I bought 20 domestics instead - yes, makes plenty of sense!)
Well..it started with the Kenmores but then I went on the hunt for a walker to work leather. Not wanting to spend a lot I went to the other place where America Shops for Value...Craigslist. When I'm on an acquisition mission I tend to start playing CL like a slot machine. Checking every 5 minutes - or so it seems.
You start looking in that direction so of course you hit the net for information. You come across sites and threads that contain these beautiful machines. The Japanese Machine thread here - for example. Simple machines that are totally taken for granted yet are some of the most complex devices in one's house. Machines that don't require an acre of storage space!
First the Artisan popped up. Seller bought it from an Uncle in new Mexico who's in the upholstery business. He'd bought two of them and hadn't much used this one so he sold it to his nephew from whom I bought it. The timing had wandered off and he didn't want to deal with taking it in for service.
I was lucky caller #1 and bought it for $250. Another $250 for professional repair and a Servo Motor plus the leather dog and feet from Artisan and it's good to go. Not the machine for three layers of 10 oz but perfectly capable for my needs. The servo motor slows it down to a crawl which is in keeping with my skill level.
Once a big honkin' Craigslist habit kicks in the whole thing takes on a life of its own.
First the Atlas - then the Dressmaker - now the Universal which is in stunning condition.
But - the sellers of all of them had them on CL for weeks before I came along. Shows you that
A: I'm a sucker for a pretty machine
and
B: There isn't a whole lot of demand.
As for acquiring technical ability - I'm up for that! I could use a good later life skill set that incorporates what I've already been able to glean along the way working on things mechanical :-)