I agree it's fun. Miriam, what do you think of the presser food/feed dog alignment? Does it look off to you?
Sheila

I would buy it!

I wiggled the hinge pin back into place while I was there and it didn't look rusty underneath. The area from which I found this machine can get very hot in the summer (it was 115 recently) - do you think that would cause some of the crazing if stored in a place without temp control?

I'm not a collector, so I'd likely be wanting to use this for quilting and some other basic home decor projects. Fixing this up myself does sound like a really cool project. I have always loved tinkering and figuring things out.

I'll double check the presser foot when I go back today to haggle.

Heat would definitely be a potential cause of that kind of crazing.

The good news is members here have posted detailed instructions on how you can fix that yourself and in some cases bring them back to almost new looking. Good luck!

If you like tinkering and figuring things out, then you will love it. There are lots of resources to help you, on this board and elsewhere. If you didn't like tinkering, it might be cost prohibitive to have it serviced in a shop. And I've heard that SM shops sometimes mess up old machines.

I don't know about heat and the crazing. I don't have enough experience to know, but the machine has been protected for decades in that case, and it's possible that the clear coat is gone in places and the decals might wear off as you use it. I'm just talking out of my hat on that. The decals might last a lifetime. You could use this machine with a hand crank and a motor. If your power goes out, you can take off the motor and put on the hand crank and sew. It just takes a screwdriver and a couple of minutes. You can take it camping or sew outside on nice day. It is more challenging to sew with one hand while cranking with the other, though. Good luck! --Sheila

The only two thing I am on different ground on are these.

The handcrank and the motor bracket can almost always be mounted at the same time, so you only need to pop off the belt.

Most everyone who has tried the handcranks at our "Victorian Sweatshop" shows go into it believing it will be harder and then find out that after a couple minutes of practice it really is just as easy. In fact, my DD prefers the handcrank now for more control.

my .02

Buy it! You'll have more than $50 worth of fun and pride in the machine when done. If nothing else, leave it out on display and hide your Brother to impress people like me.

I would buy it in a heartbeat.

The feet are just a little off but it can be turned. Joe has posted some about turning them. The foot will not have the 'give' the newer spring loaded feet will have.

I love sewing with my 1916 Singer 66 red eye. My machine works nicely in my Singer/Elgin treadle. It is what I've heard termed a Frankentreadle, has a Singer top and Elgin treadle irons.
Sharon