J Miller

Parts, no idea.
Manual can be found here: { http://pages.sewing-machine-manuals....1834166/1.html } it's the 18th down from the top. They have both printed and downloads. Not free, but of excellent quality.

Joe

Suzanne57

Thank you. I bought it for the big cabinet and then found out my other machines won't fit in it. (Hole too big)

miriam

Kenmore machines' cabinets won't fit anything else. They do have some very nice cabinets though.

sweet

Ok, I'll bite. I sew on the Kenmore that my Mom got for me on my 13th birthday. The cabinet is still in great shape. I bought 2 others of the same model so I should not run out of parts. My brother also gave/brought down and bought my Aunt's Kenmore with cabinet. She's a beauty too. My main machine is the 158.1802 . Aunt's machine is ?? opps forgot, but very similar. I do lust over those top of the line machines for embroidery and such, alas it is not my time to have one yet, maybe one day.

miriam

just keep sewing on the Kenmore and if you need something fancy embroidered, well hire it out. Save you headaches in the long run... Those old Kenmores are easy to use and clean.

BarbaraSue

I'll jump in. I don't regret trading away the Kenmore 158's that I did. I wasn't using either of them. They needed lots of TLC and Oil to get to sewing. I did know they were good machines, and they were going to a good home that cared.
Just not the machine for me. I sewed a lot on mine that I bought new in 1972, but I fought it a lot. It didn't purr for me, more like low grumble. Ha! Could have been me, but the next machine I bought purred wonderfully for me, and the Kenmore still growled/grumbled everytime.

miriam

I hear that - I've seen two identical machines side by side and one is good and one isn't - I think they are haunted or something.

J Miller

BarbaraSue,

You should hear it now ... .

It did take a lot of Tri-Flow and cleaning to make all it's controls work. But they were just gummed up from the old oil. As for growling, the motor needed oil, it was pretty dry. The before and after oiling the motor made a world of difference.

I will be doing the test sewing on both Kenmores and the two Singers either today or tomorrow and I'll make some comments about how wonderful they sew. I've decided to keep the T&S and one of the Kenmores. The 457 and the second Kenmore will be adopted out. Along with many more ... I hope.

Joe