Seen a Free machine today in a mission cabinet, decals are in great shape, attachments box is complete and full, manual and some thread. Is missing the shuttle and front slide cover and machine turns over a little hard, has a price of $55 on it. Guy did offer to give a better price. Didn't get to see if the top had any problems. Does it sound like a deal or not. Lee

A little over an hour left on this one. Seller will ship, with or without the cabinet. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Sing...053527#vi-desc

Nancy; Yes, I got the 301 problem fixed. If only it were so simple to fix the carban based unit's issues that uses Rebeckah. :D:D

I would scoop and run, but I LOVE my Free. The needle bar goes through a tube (behind the faceplate) and that was where mine was stuck. After I drooled enough liquid wrench and the tri flow in that area the machine was the smoothest thing ever. Laura

OK, I need some encouragement. My little National/Montgomery Wards machine needs a case or a little extention table. I went down to the garage ( nice and cool down there) to start on making one or the other. I opened up the cabinet to take the measurements and it occurred to me.....if I take the cabinet apart, a lot of the work of making the extention table is done. I would just have to put the two table top pieces together, finish the edges or maybe cut it down a bit, add little legs and there you are.

My hesitancy is in destroying the cabinet. But, I'm not keeping the cabinet, and G-d knows, the world is covered in discarded sewing machine cabinets. I was planning on ditching the cabinet, anyway. So, please egg me on. Or tell me me I'm an idiot. Laura

I needed a treadle top so we took the legs off a cabinet and part of the frame - then we rigged it and it works just fine. I'm sure you will figure something out or you already have. I saved a bunch of cabinet lids and hardware when we had to leave some tables to be burned from the hoarders stuff. We kept the best ones of the lot. I'm short on treadle tables but I have some irons so we may do it again. Have you been to any antique malls lately? They are doing that kind of thing all the time. I say don't sweat it.

If it fit my needs, and I wasn't destroying a valuable, rare piece of history, I'd do it in a heartbeat. Go for it!

Ray wouldn't let anybody take pictures since it was her invention.

I say if it is yours, and you want to cut it down it fit your need, do it. Or if you have another sewing machine cabinet in worse condition that would serve the same purpose, or someone you know that is a sewing machine nut who may need to trade cabinets(broken leg perhaps), but either way, jump on it. Sounds like a plan and would love to see pics when you get done.

Yeah I do need a big shop then everybody could get on a bus & start from California and come and we could all play with machines - get another bus and come from the east and party at my shop... Oh and Muv could fly in from England and do videos!!! I have enough sewing tables right now - we wouldn't run out... Some of you will have to come and help Phil make scones and tea... (He doesn't do coffee. Once we tried it. We had scones baking and a couple old men were hanging around waiting for a scone and they wanted some coffee. So I said ok we can do coffee.... DH didn't know I had some stashed away... The geezers convinced me it would work... So I put the coffee in the big pot. About maybe 5 seconds later DH erupted. "HEY THAT WAS THE DISH WATER.... YOU CAN'T DO THAT." (Well, I did) Those two old geezers though it was pretty funny. Any way the scones came out of the dutch oven and I poured a couple cups of coffee. "Well, how does it taste?" I asked. "Just like dish water" quips one old geezer. It wasn't very dark so maybe he was right. Anyway we transferred the 'coffee' into another couple pots and told people they could help themselves to Grumpy's coffee - tastes just like dishwater. So then everybody had to try it - what ever - that's it as far as coffee goes.) Candace could be in charge of the zzer machines. Melinda in charge of color coordinating it all.... Cathy can haul some treadles and we could have an Olympic treadling contest while we are at it. There is always an ice cream truck going around. We can set up a couple big tents - one for men and one for women - couples can bring a camper or something - just let everybody bunk if they don't stay up all night and organize the shop... ok. Well, maybe after we get some plumbing...