Viking Husqvarna 6440
 

Hi,
Now that I have sold my Bernina 707, I can allow myself to buy a "new" one. To restrain myself, I have set as a rule that I can't have more than 5 sewing machine in the house at the same time, because I want to use them and since I don't have any clone of myself, I can't manage more.
Anyway... I saw an ad for a Viking Husqvarna 6440 coming with all the cams for 40$ (in a cabinet, but I can't take it). Unfortunatly, it`s the white, not the brown, but still a very nice looking machine IMO. There is very, very few in my area (saw only one about a year ago, and they were asking 175$). It was the seller's grandmother sewing machine; the seller's used it herself for a time, but haven't sewn with it in the last three years.
The seller told me that the machine have a tension issue; it forms loops underside the fabric. Because the price is so low and the cams alone are worth more than 40$ (from what I could figure on looking on ebay) of course I could just buy it and give it a try. But I hate getting a sewing machine a not being able to make it sew; I can't throw it away, feel bad about donating something that doesn't work, etc. So... is there any vintage viking owner there that can tell me what could be the issue: timing? thread nest? broken cam? Also, is there any information available to help me to work with this model? I have cleaned and repaired the motor of my Bernina, but never did anything related with tension. I like a new challenge, but I'm still a newbie and not an OSMG :-)
Thanks

The Viking 6000 series are great machines, they have a low gear that will do full power at 1/5 speed. The machines have a weekness in the internal cam gear - it cracks. Viking no longer makes the part but there is a good aftermarket version available now. I had a 6440 I got from freecycle. It came to me complete but had the cracked cam. The best place for information is the yahoo group "vikingsewingpre1980" There is a lot of information on working on these machines in the files section of this group. The group also has a list with Viking techs who know the older machines and can work on them. I was able to find one about an hour from me and had my 6440 rebuilt at a cost of about $250. It was a great machine after that and I ended up selling it to my SIL as I found a 6020 to adopt that had been left at the door of a local thrift shop. It also had a cracked cam so back to my tech I went. That on I still have and designate for my husbands use.

For $40, I would grab it. At the very least, you could sell the cams, and the machine for parts, and still more than double your money. Is the cabinet one of those ones that fit around the free arm? I would try to get the cabinet too. I have one for my Elna and they are nice.

I second everything Skyangel said.

I've rebuilt 3 or 4 Vikings. They're not easy to repair and are prone to some issues that need quite a bit of work and money to deal with. $40 is a fair price for a donor machine, but keep in mind that if it has a cracked cam stack or it hasn't been completely rebuilt in the last 10 years or the wax removed from the inside, it will need it. Most repair people won't deal with them a s the labor time involved is high. It would cost a lot of money and it's not a beginner machine. I have two that I use on occasion. I find them a bit noisy, rough to sew on and they're not great at FMQing. Honestly, they tend to be my least favorite machines in my 30-35 machine inventory.

I'm sort of repeating what Candice posted - my husband has repaired a 6570 and used parts of another 6570 and a 6440 to do so. WARNING - if anything is stuck, DO NOT try to force it. They get stuck from the type of lubricant that was originally used, and they WILL break. And they all break in about the same places, so getting the parts can be hard because of that.

Get on the Vintage Viking Yahoo group and read before you even attempt to do much with the machine. Unless it has been serviced and they cleaned and REMOVED all the old lubricant. It usually needs to be gently heated and cleaned several times until everything is working correctly. And this it might break anyway as the parts are brittle with age.

They are wonderful machines when they are all working - but they can be a big challenge to a novice to fix = and most get broken because someone tries to force a stuck knob. We bought three machines before we got enough to get one up and running. the main cam driver almost always cracks- and costs about $50, but they are available.

I loved my 6570, and I love my 990 which is still running fine after 32 year, but it's been kept in running shape by my DH and does not have the cam problem the 6XXX series is so prone to. But I don't think I'd recommend anyone to buy one - unless they have money to burn and are willing to take the chance with it.

Thanks everyone for sharing these toughts. I will think about it again (and go visit the Vintage viking group) before deciding if I will get it or not.

Oh, now that I'm thinking about it; the seller wrote in her add that it was a 1995 sewing machine. She must have got this information somewhere: a bill found in a drawer? This could mean the machine was serviced... My 831 had this kind of bill (a 300$ for "motor reconditionning" in 1991) It was running perfectly, I didn't put a minute of work on this one.
I already have a Viking free arm style cabinet (I put my Bernina in it). Nicest cabinet I ever saw. Don't have the room for another one, unfortunatly.