hobbykat1955

I tried on Main site with no results. Can anyone tell me if buying one of these is worth it. I saw one at the Thrift shop for 45.00 in a case. A note on it saying in working order, I cked and bobbin case was there.
I did some research via google and reviews seemed iffy due to inners of this machine. Any comments from this group who has one or knows abt them greatly appreciated.

NJ Quilter

To the best of my knowledge it's not a greatly sought after machine. That price from a thrift shop seems a bit high to me as well. But...if you like the machine and it fits in your budget...go for it!

bkay

I've had some touch and sews from that era. Those plastic gears will break eventually maybe right away or maybe later. For the T&S (if I remember correctly), the gears are about $60.00. The labor would be on top of that. You might check on the price of the gears.

So, no I wouldn't buy that machine unless I loved it and was willing to replace the gears. You can usually find a 401, a 501, a 403 or a 503 for $100. if you keep looking. They have metal gears and you can't kill them. There are also some nice Japanese models from that era that do not have the plastic gear problem.

bk

leonf

I would echo bkays thougths though i haven't used T&Ss.

$20.00 maybe and be prepared to toss it when it breaks.

juliasb

Back in the day we had the Touch & Sew in Junior High School. They were the newest and hottest machines of the day. Even then they were problematic and were out of order very quickly. A couple years ago I picked one up at a garage sale for $5.00. It worked fair but always seemed to want to lock up in the bobbin. I gave it away about a year ago to someone on my Freecycle group as I did not see that is was strong enough for quilting without me constantly having to stop and work on the bobbin frequently. It did well with garment sewing however. It just couldn't handle the sandwiched layers of a quilt.

Dressmaker

So the 457 is a stylist not a touch and sew. The plastic gears are fairly easy to replace (youtube videos) and can be bought for less than $10.00. If I can do it you can do it. So go back to that thrift store and talk then down to $20.00. Have fun.

hobbykat1955

Thanks all. I have several vintage a "Red Eye/or sometimes I guess they call them Red Head, 3-301's which I use and love, American Treadle...I like collecting and using but since I knew nothing abt this machine I didn't jump like I usually do. Glad to get feedbk and won't go back for it and wait for a better find...