When is a sewing machine too old
 

Hi everyone,

My 82 year old mother was throwing out her old Singer 7106. I said mom may I have it. She said why do you what that old thing. I said it may be old to you but not to me.

***
*** They are NEVER too old if maintained properly.
***

Many vintage machines are still in use. Age doesn't really matter. As long as they were taken care of they were built to last back in the early days. I've tossed many ( new/ young ) machines- 1990's that were junk, cost more to fix than replace. My 1939 machine runs like a champ with the most beautiful straight stitch ever.

The vintage machines do have the most beautiful straight stitch. I had my mom's 301a in the closet and all the vintage machine enthusiasts here got me to thinking about it so I got it out. It's my go-to machine for piecing now. Beautiful straight stitch and I never seem to have any problems with her.

There are a group of machines that can be "too old" because they are not actually old enough.

I'll take a 50-100 year old machine over a 25-30 year old machine any day.

The one thing going for the vast majority of sewing machines, they were never used all that much, some not even used enough to be properly broken in. It's rare that you find an old machine with serious signs of wear. but they can be worn out also. They don't normally "age" out like some plastic does, that will turn brittle even if it was never used.

My favorite machine is my 60-year old Singer 401A. I would not ever get rid of it.

My vintage Kenmore (early 1970's) does a better straight stitch than my Brother I bought in 2007. It will also sew through almost anything. I have a 1960's era Singer I may get out and see how it works.

My personal "too old" threshold (for a machine I want to actually USE) is if it's so old that I can't reasonably get needles or bobbins for it, or if it's not a lock stitch machine.

I have no "too old" threshold for machines that are so pretty (or interesting) that I just want to look at them on my shelf. :)

My brst machine is my Pfaff 1222. My husband bought it for me 1971. It will out-sew my newer machines every time.

If it runs it is not too old to work with. They are often more dependable then the new ones.