By all means send it back and file claims as Elaine mentioned. The shipper is responsible for this mess. I just repaired a bentwood case for my daughter. All the dowels were broken and the bottom of the case was damaged. The spool pin had gone through the top of the bent portion. My favorite repairman says they should be wrapped in plastic and placed in a cardboard box, then liquid foam poured into the box. He says it is good. My favorite way was a rounded corner foam cooler and styrofoam wedges inserted around the machine. It arrived in great shape. There is no reason the shipper should have been so remiss. According to previous posts here, a lot of machins come damaged by transportation. It is time to do something about this.

Sorry for your dilemma but it sounds like you've received alot of good advice already but I do find it interesting he feels so bad & that it was his Mother's; if it was that special why was he getting rid of it in the first place.

I would certainly return it. Not only do you have a problem with it being in pieces, but even if you got it together, you'd have tension problems most likely. Billy (lostn51) once told me to be prepared to have a shipped machine dropped at least once from a height of 3 feet and he was right. I had that happen with a machine from Goodwill and they graciously took it back and refunded my money. It was the only one of 6 that I bought from them that got dropped so i guess I was lucky.