Bought at a Salvation Thrift store...
 

I bought this Singer Merritt 4538 at a Salvation Thrift store for $30 on Thursday while in Fla. It cleaned up nicely and sews good. It's fairly light weight and has plastic gears when I opened it up. I cleaned and oiled it and it just sucked up the oil. It looks like it has hardly been used. It is very yellowed in some places it seems... I hope it was a good buy...I like it.:)

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If it sews, and you're happy with it, then yes! It was a good buy. :)

I agree with Charlee. It seems to be a nice machine, and you already know it sews well. So I say good work!

keep the lint and thread out of it, keep it oiled and it should be good for a while

quiltjoey,

We have a Singer 4622A that is very similar to yours. Paid all of 3.75 for it at a yard sale, then bought a part and fixed it.

It is a very decent machine for an early to mid 90s machine. When you oil it pay very close attention to the moving parts behind all the sheet metal under the face plate. Ours was very sluggish on the ZZ and patterns until I got the Tri-Flow in the right place. Since then it's been sewing very nicely. We don't use it much, but it does work and gives us no trouble.

The yellowing is from light exposure. Many of the machines made in the 80s 90s era have badly yellowed plastic parts from sitting in the sun or under lights. It won't hurt anything, it's just not pretty.

As the others have said, if you're happy with it, it was a good buy.

Joe

Thanks, everyone, for the encouragement. I know it's not a great machine but thought it would be good for a while to take to classes. I think I have 13-14 machines now. I love the FW but haven't decided to take it to class as I haven't learned how to use the ZZ attachment yet. A lady in the area has a FW with attachments, manual, tools, case for $175 but I haven't decided to but it just to have another FW. I am learning that with each machine I buy, they all have their own "personalities" and each need different types of TLC! However, I am enjoying the journey with these old machines. When I brought the Singer Merritt home last week, my DH said, "You just couldn't say no to it, could you"? It is a strange addiction but I guess all addictions are strange. Never really had trouble saying no before...

I have dragged home stranger machines just to see what is inside....... yup it is a sick addiction... only thing that hurts is the wallet and the poor living room floor