bkay

There's a 1935 15-91 up for auction tonight. It looks really nice. It's also in a cabinet I've been wanting. Are the pre-war ones just as good as the post war ones?

bkay

Rocsew

bkay, the early ones are nicer IMHO because they had the nice scrollwork chrome plates, as opposed to the plain striated plates of the later years. I don't think there were any significant mechanical changes throughout the run.
Be aware, though, that a 15-91 from '35 will almost certainly need to be re-wired, if it hasn't been already.

bkay

Yes, it has that nice faceplate and also has a chrome handwheel, too.

My machine from 1948 needs rewiring, too. The wires to the wall and the controller are fine, but the ones from the plug to the motor need re-doing. I guess I'll have to learn how to do that.

bkay

leonf

Did you get it?

bkay

No. I went to bed early. It was at $13.75 when I quit. I bid $21.75 maximum and it went for $22.00 at the last minute. It was a pretty machine, but I really wanted the cabinet.

Perhaps that's best. Getting in a bidding war is what got me to pay $125.00 for a featherweight with missing paint and no cord a few months ago. You know, "Just $5.00 more and they will quit".

bkay

Mickey2

I payed around the equivalet of $80 for my 201, it's in a small table. It needed a new spool pin, belt and bobbin tire, and a Singer lamp. I will do it again if it's exactly the machine I wanted. In nice condition they can be hard to find under $150 here. A Featherweight went in literally minutes last week, $250 and gone before I had a chance to consider it. I'm still on the look for a 201K2. Some models are well worth it, dependable, capable and would cost more than ten times as much new.

bkay

You're right Mickey. I think I paid $150. for my first 201. It was in good condition, had lots of accessories, it had the stool and the cabinet (model 65) was in good condition. The stool needs some veneer repair, though.

The featherweight was not a good decision, though. It's not likely to be my last bad decision, either. It's so ugly that I'm not sure what I am going to do with it. It's the epitome of the phrase, "Rode hard and put up wet".

I've never named a machine. If I did, this one would be Lil for live and learn.

bkay

[ATTACH=CONFIG]583843[/ATTACH]

Mickey2

It needs a full restoration then; and to get it right it is a lot of work, or very expensive to get it done. It looks like it has potential though.

bkay

It's hard to tell what you are bidding on with an auction. This particular one didn't look that bad in the photo.

I wanted a blonde oak 65 cabinet, which looked good in the photos. When I picked it up, I saw that the veneer was loose everywhere and crumbling. However, the 15-91 inside was pristine. You never know.

Online auctions are always a crap shoot.

bkay

Mickey2

I am willing to improve upon veneer and clean up grime and dust. As long as it looks like it's within what I can do with a bit of time and effort I am willing to take the chance. Pristine machines doesn't turn up that often around here, I have only seen a few 99s and a beige 201, looked like they never were used at all. So far a full refinishing and new decals have seem a bit too much for me. I don't have ideal work space for that kind of job.