What a wonderful problem to have! Like Joe, I would buy both and put the 66 in the better cabinet. The 66 will handle heavier fabrics than the 127. (I have both.) The 66 is more of a workhorse. Plus, I'm not fond of that shuttle bobbin even though I did learn to sew on a 127 treadle. Decals on the 127 are excellent, as is the cabinet, and that's worth more. It's also reasonably rare. Decals on the Red Eye (66) aren't bad. Parts are easily available for both.

I brought my current 127 back from the dead, where it had been for 40 years. Even though I often work on machines, this 107-year-old machine still doesn't give the best stitch, although it now runs reasonably well. What I will probably do, since I'm not in love with the 127 but am in love with the cabinet, is to buy the following Janome zig zag treadle head, put it in the cabinet, and be able do do some real sewing during power outages.

http://www.allbrands.com/categories/...ttonhole-dropi

I think the 66 would be easier to learn on because the 127 has a shuttle bobbin. Other than that, they are about even in the learning category.

I've had the same experiences with my 127 and 66s as cricket_iscute mentioned. The 66s will handle thicker and heavier materials that stall the 127. My 127 will be relegated to light duty sewing when I find a cabinet for it.

Joe

I have a 27 and a 66. Treadling is the same on either. I like the 27 for piecing, since I can fill several bobbins at once, and am less likely to run out. The bobbin in the 66 is round and holds more thread than the long shuttle bobbin. Both sew beautiful seams. I think I'd get both and swap the heads out until you get the urge to work on the "bad" cabinet. Good luck and happy treadling!

I resisted temptation yesterday due to higher priorities on the home front. I had had an issue with my longarm that had required my pulling the mother and daughter circuit boards out and shipping them for repair. We also discovered that my mag collar needed to be replaced. So this was the weekend, I put it all back together again.

This was the first time I had to disect my longarm and it scared the pants off of me. Once I got past that, it was actually fun and I learned a lot. I must be more mechanically inclined than I thought. Cussing and swearing was involved but I got it all back together, running, without any missing parts or extras either.

I want to call on both and see what I can do. I like the idea of putting the 66 in the cabinet for the 27 and then working on 27 and the damaged cabinet when I have time. For $75 each, I can easily afford to do fund my new collection. I am thankful for a great job with disposable income for sewing toys, collections and notions.

Thank you to all for the great idea of biting the bullet and purchasing both. I am sure you will be hearing a lot more questions from me as I work through this process.

I keep telling myself that I don't need a treadle but kept looking on Craig's List anyway. I just contacted the seller on this one. Waiting to hear back. For $30 how can I go wrong?

http://detroit.craigslist.org/wyn/atq/3620395385.html

QuiltFaerie,

That's a good useable machine and cabinet. You can learn, use and enjoy that one.

I should know, I have two of those, a Franklin, and two Singer 9W-7s. :D


Joe

Thanks Joe. The other two I found were $75. The one cabinet was a mess but the machine looked good. The other one, the cabinet looked good but the machine was missing parts. This one seems like the best of both worlds and is less than half the other two.

Heck, if it doesn't work out, I could always relist it on CL for more.

I am still waiting for the seller to contact me. It might be a few days.

Gail

Is the shuttle bobbin the long one .? I am trying to learn more about these machines as well which bobbin is harder to find the round or the long ones. Thanks

I have a Singer 66 Red Eye like the one you are looking at except it's in a different style cabinet. I can tell you I love, love, love mine! So relaxing to sew on and in no time you will get the pedal down. My advise on that is don't try to muscle it like a bicycle, just let it gently rock up and down (go with the flow). When I started out I guess I was trying to get speed and kept cutting the pedal short of a full swing.