The original "gidget"...The "gidget two" is for a bigger machine...It's very sturdy and is working out great.

I got a 301 as a present recently, and I am amazed at how smooth she is. I love the slant needle. I have a wishlist of vintage sewing machines I would love to own (rocketeer, 319W, 201-2, etc.), but the 301 is gonna be my thing. It's like I have 301 mania or something. I want a huge collection of them.;)

Here's a link to the original Singer tables for the 301. http://www.ismacs.net/singer_sewing_..._cabinets.html They are up for sale constantly on my local CL in varying condition. I actually have one in my garage that needs a complete refinishing job and I've sold another that came with one of my 301's. Look at the pics on the link and then watch your CL. Any true vintage Singer table will have a serial #. Good luck.

Thanks for the link. We don't have CL here but I watch in MI. There are a few in Detroit but shipping is an issue! I found a Necchi cabinet today though that the 301 cradle fits in so I am gonna give that a try.

My 301A is on a truck heading my way. I'm hopping up and down with anticipation and can't wait to see how denim seams will go. No case but I'll make/purchase a soft cover for her.

Greenheron that is soooo exciting! I love my 301, she sews like a rocket through just about anything. Where did you buy her from?

Sew glad I found this thread. I have been using my 301 to FM quilt for a couple of days. I read my manual and found no reference as to how to drop the feed dogs. The link posted a couple of pages ago was great, it talked about the feature, can remember the term they used, but again, it did not say how. Can someone enlighten this "light head", how do I drop the feed dogs? TIA Onalee

Lift up the flip up bed and there's a knob to turn right there. Turn it and they should drop. If it doesn't turn easily it's probably stuck. I've had a few that were stuck tight and needed some work to unlock.

large screw Knob next to your bobbin case...

This morning I thought I would do a little cleaning on my 301 before taking it to a work session tomorrow where we will be making cool ties to help an Eagle Scout project.

I removed the throat plate and cleaned out the lint. My first problem was forgetting to position the bobbin assembly finger properly in the throat plate. Had everything put back together, and of course, sewing was a mess. After I remembered about that issue, I got it positioned correctly and then couldn't tighten one of the throat plate screws more than a couple of turns. I tried 2 spare throat plate screws, and still no luck -- they all act the same: will turn a few turns and then stop. If anybody has an answer for my dilemma, please respond.

Meanwhile, the throat plate seems anchored tightly with just one screw, so I will take it tomorrow and be watching to see if it causes a problem.

Sometimes it is better to leave well enough alone. However, the amount of lint around the feed dogs certainly indicated that it was past the time for a cleaning!

Dayle