Tossing some old sewing machines
 

I have 5 touch and sews in various states of disrepair. Repairing them makes no sense at all. You could spend 2 days + parts on one to get it going and it's still only worth $25.00. I checked ebay sold and not many parts have sold other than bobbins. I have a 503 and hope to buy a 301, so some of the feet are worth keeping for my own use. I'll keep the foot controls/cords. I have some of the cams, and I think those are worth salvaging. I have four of the working plastic carrying cases as well, but clips are rusty. Is anything else worth saving for parts?

bkay

Wow, I should go check the three I have in my garage!

Some of those cams will most likely work in your 503. Note that the feet will not work on a 301a, as it is a slant shank machine.

I will I'll look at my machines tomorrow and let you know if I need anything for them. Possibly a new home? No, just thinking out loud there...the 600 and 601 have metal gears and are worth keeping, but I don't know about the later models.

Margaret, the feet on the T&S are slant feet. I bought a 700 series with a free arm T&S just for the feet and disks to go on a 401. Then the machine works kinda - the thread breaks. It needs a home it is sitting on valuable real estate - I wasted a bunch of time trying to figure out the thread breaking.... The motor and its parts might be good. Rubber feed dogs are hard to come by. Some times I've been able to steal a screw, needle clamp or a spring once or twice I needed a tension post or some other little part. Light bulb? Throat plate? The 600 and 603 are nice machines. I would use them. If you have a working T&S they can be nice machines once you figure them out. I just hate having to look in the manual every time I want to wind a bobbin. Besides an Elna makes better duckies.

Thanks Miriam. I haven't seen the Elna duckies. I had a T&S that I bought new. It still has all it's cams (along with the duckies), accessories and manual. It was never a star. Even after two trips to the OSMG, the tension never was right. It still works, though. I donated it to my sister's 5th grade TAG class. They have to make a quilt.

I know what you mean about the real estate. That's why I want to get rid of these. In my store room, I have about 7 interesting machines to play with. I have a 319, 2 of those Gritzner Kenmores and a matching White, a supernova and a couple of more oddball machines.

I just wondered if there was anything that should be saved on these T&S's. They were advertised as working, but apparently that meant the motor worked. Fortunately, I don't have much $$ in them.

bk

Miriam, the rubber feed dogs and just about anything else for T&S, and other slants can be found here - http://tandtrepair.com/SingerFeedDogs.html
Terry is the Singer Slant go-to guy.

Cari

I am on the look for a T&S. They have a bad reputation but when quite a few out there describe them as their favorite machine and it's the one they use the most, there has to be something to them. If it's mainly getting to know the machine I'm willing to spend some time with them. The fancy bobbin functions are intersting. I guess it's as Miriam mentions, best to do some investigation on the model we spend time and money on. The plastic gear replacements we get these days are good quality, but of course never quite the same as forged steel.

I bought a 758 in a cabinet when I decided I wanted to make a quilt. I didn't want to use my 778, as it was so heavy and also a "portable", so I would have to take it off the dining room table every day. I figured I'd never get a quilt made if I had to do that. It had been so long since I sewed anything, I had forgotten about the tension problems on the 778. The 758 had them as well. I would not recommend them to anyone unless they were in good working order and under $25.00. Of course, some people will put out the bucks to fix the gears. They like them that much. I don't get it, but to each his own.

bkay

Miriam, thank you for pointing out that the T &S feet are slant type! I'm pretty sure I have at least a few out there. Someday I hope to recover from this cold and start sewing again! I need two quilts finished for Christmas- well, at least the tops, and one is king-size!

>They have a bad reputation <

They do, but I have one I've sewed on for over 30 years -- made tons of clothes, everything I wore and much of what others wore, including many square dance dresses and matching vests and even the net petticoats -- a complete baby layette....and I now piece on it and even quilt some things using a walking foot. I love mine and it's been repaired only once, and then only within the last 3 years.

And I love the way the bobbin fills. No taking it out or unthreading the machine! I wish the new computerized Brother I have worked the same way.