I have a Singer 99, a White Family Rotary (currently at the shop cause it was out of timing when i got it), and a Brother Innovis 3500. I cant reasonably use any more than that haha. But the old machines are all so pretty...
My cat gets jealous when i sew so he would disagree

Just as I sit here reading this, there is a 401 in a 42 cabinet up for auction tonight. I've always liked to looks of the 42 cabinet. It's the older one with the door. I have a stool for one, I think.

No one had bid on it yet, which means it could go for $3.00. This is what gets me every time. I have no need for another 401, but they are such neat machines.

Even when I swear I won't, I do.

bkay

I bought it. I wonder what I got, as I didn't go to the preview. I have to pick it up today or tomorrow.

I had a shot at a 401 a few weeks ago and I passed. I went to see it and it was frozen up, so I didn't bid. Then, a few days later, I wished I had. I think it went for $17.00.

bkay

How ironic! I am missing my dogs like crazy and can't find an acceptable dog to adopt, but VSM seem to appear on my doorstep even when I force myself to stop looking! SoCal is a hard place to find a good herding breed dog (Aussies seem to be all the rage), but cheap sewing machines pop up all the time on CL. My sister and my best friend both caught the addiction from me and are major enablers. We found a singer 27/28 handcrank (won't know which until I measure the bed) for $22 that we are picking up this weekend.
My habit now is to wait a week to give someone else a chance before I jump in on a good deal. I also tell myself it must have manual and accessories and be on my don't have list.
Following those rules I still ended up with a two tone green New Home for $23 off CL. I felt like a drug dealer when I met her in a mall parking lot to transfer the goods from her trunk to mine! Can VSMs be classified as drugs? Looking at one increases my heart rate and empties my wallet! And I feel guilty when someone asks how many I have as I try to cover up the extent of my habit ;-)
Oh yes! And to answer the question, I had 15 when I first said no more. Now it's 22.

rotary queen, I too often wait a week to let others have a chance at it. I did that on my latest. And it had the happy event of a price drop. That settled it. It was mine.

bkay, Tell us about your latest 401 and cabinet. please.

Well, I ended up paying about $12.00 for it with the buyers premium. It's really dirty and you couldn't turn the handwheel. First thing, I removed the handwheel. It was really gunky under it, so I cleaned it. It turns easily without the knob. However, the needle won't swing yet. It just needs more cleaning. Also, the knobs won't turn yet. It's full of brown gunky stuff. The finish is generally good (no dings or missing paint), but it's a little bit stained from the dirt. I've cleaned it with gojo and it looks clean, but you can still see spots in the finish (DH couldn't, but I could). I will see if car polish will help it. The foot pressure knob has some little bits of rust, as do the other exterior non-chrome parts that Brasso did not remove.

The cabinet wasn't worth working on. It had been "antiqued" and the veneer was peeling. I retrieved what I thought would be the foot pedal. Since the 401 has that separate, unique plug for the controller, I thought it would be worth it. I ended up taking a crowbar to get to it and it wasn't what I was expecting. I took photos of the way it was in there, and will post in a separate thread. I stripped the cabinet hardware and put it out for bulk trash day.

The DH has been ill, so I've spent lots of time at the Dr., the pharmacy, the miscellaneous testing places and being a caregiver. So, I haven't gotten back to the machine to see what the results are so far with cleaning and oiling. I still have some photos to take of the controller from the 42 cabinet.

bkay

This is what it looked like when I started:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]593133[/ATTACH]

Oh yea, you are gong to be spending so time together before you are happy with it. Glad you have learned on others.

Best wishes for your DH's recovery. Don't wear yourself down. The Singer can wait. It is already feeling better from your kindness.