$5 Salvation Army find, SINGER Touch N Sew 630
 

Well, I said yesterday I was wanting a zig zag machine with easier to find parts. That Dressmaker will disappear as soon as I can get it to...


I found this for $5. It appears to work well, the motor sounds a little unloved but it'll be fine to really learn on, also it has a few cams with it and a few attachments. Off to find a manual online.


[ATTACH=CONFIG]525319[/ATTACH](ignore the wrong class of bobbin, from dif machine)

How do these hold up to age? I'm less familiar with plastic bodied machines.

You're gonna find two opposing camps for this machine (or any T&S)- those that love them and those that hate them. I have a 630 that has sat in a corner for 5 years, I've never touched it. Someday I'll get it unburied and play with it. The biggest concern is the gears are now old enough to crumble if they haven't already. There are replacements available though. Fiddly bits are common and always available on all the major sites.(Ebay, Etsy, Shopgoodwill, etc..) Another thing that you should be aware of is the foot controller is specific to this model and the 640 only.

Cari

It came with a foot control. I forgot to mention it. That little fast/slow slider seems a little pointless.

Correction- I like the speed control!

I learned on a machine like this - great workhorse.

My friend has had a T&S for over 30 years - has never oiled it, or even cleaned out the lint, as far as I can tell. It makes absolutely beautiful stitches! It must have depended on what day of the week it was built!

Singerco.com has free manuals you can download. I highly recommend you do. I like Touch & Sews. They're descended from the 400 and 500 series slant needle machines. The only downsides are the plastic gears that were already mentioned and the fact that they're not an intuitive machine. You need the manual to get the most from them.
They use the 2 pc. plastic bobbin with white stripes. I bought some at a Hancock's Fabrics store. You can also get them online. Make sure the bobbins are screwed together correctly. Any looseness and your machine will jam. I learned that one the hard way.
You want the black Singer tophat cams. The white ones are for the 700 series and won't work correctly. The tophat cams are easily available.
I hope this helps,
Rodney

Hey Rodney, yes the cams are going to be much easier to find. I took the lid off and everything looks really clean, gears look solid as well. No ground down or missing teeth. I oiled a few parts and greased the gears with hi temp lithium machine grease. The motor sounds almost tight and clacky, but it seems to be smoother now...perhaps it was more gear noise.

Me too. :D