Old Singer machine advice

It's interesting. People get new fridges, stoves, televisions, washers, dryers, microwave ovens, cars, trucks, vans, vacuum cleaners, stereos, computers, lawnmowers, etc., etc., etc. at "regular intervals". What's the big problem with getting a new sewing machine every 20 years or so?

As for the computerized machine not being a good choice. That's bullfeathers!

gwh

If the software in the sewing machine works today, it will still work

gwh

We've only been in the business for 8 years, and have had several "blown boards". One of these was on a machine that was only a couple months old. With a couple of others, the problem was the mechanical part of a switch on the boards, not the electronics.

About two years ago, a woman brought in an embroidery machine that had gone through a flood. It spent several days under water. Apart from some rust marks on mechanical parts, and noisy bearings in the motor, that machine is still chugging along very nicely.

gwh

And I have 2 computerized machines, enjoy them for what they do, and love my old mechanicals for what they do too! :) Sewing on all of them is a pleasure because they are all working properly.

Sure...just like the software in the Apple IIe. Problem is, the Apple IIe is worthless today, except for show and tell.=20

-------------- You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.=20

--Mae West=20

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Most of the 'new' machines won't even make it 5 years. Take my 80s-era Singer purchased at Walmart. $200 at the time and it was a piece of junk. I *should* have gotten a lawnmower instead, it would probably still be working.

-Irene

-------------- You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.=20

--Mae West=20

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Whereas I'm still using my MILs first edition Viking #1, bought about the same time, iirc. And the mechanical Singer I got in 1982 is still working just fine for the person who has it now. A good machine will last 15-20 years. A cheap machine from a big-box store probably won't.

A $200 lawnmower *might* still be working, but I'd be surprised.

-- Jenn Ridley : snipped-for-privacy@chartermi.net

My oldest working machine was built in 1909. The newest is my 2003(ish) Toyota overlocker. The electronic wizards are the Lily, 1999 and still working perfectly after six years professional use, and the 1998 Huskylock 910, of similar use. If the electronics of these last two hold up, the mechanics will still be going in another 10 years.

The £200 petrol driven lawnmower is still doing well six years from purchase, even on our goat-iels crossed with graveyard type garden!

Hehehe... I GAVE two Atari 1040's to a fella last summer. They had got to the 'pick-up-the-left-end-and-bang-it-on-the-desk-to reboot' state. Went with about a cubic metre of attendant stuff: hard disks, monitors, software, etc...

They WERE the cat's meow - 20 years ago! :D

I don't see why not. My 30-year old Troy Bilt Tiller (purchased new) still works fine. =20

-Irene

-------------- You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.=20

--Mae West=20

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On some of the Embroidery lists we are getting the Katrina machine reports. It is amazing that even in that situation these machines are surviving intact. On gal reported that her Pfaff has sat in water for 2 days and she was devastated, but tilted it on its side to drain what was in there, then took it to the tech. As you said a bit of rust in the bobbin area but when he cleaned and dried it out it ran fine...the foot control however was 'toast'. They replaced that and she will now be able to do her curtains once all the drywall, insulations and rotten wood in the house is replaced. The 7570 survived in better shape than the house. I know there will be horror stories too but the ones being reported now are basically good news for these babies.

These machines and others are turning up in college campuses and in Internet cafes for the Nostalgic value of the games. I took my 2 classics up to a coffee shop and they were thrilled to have them. Most popular machines there. The kids now have never seen these and as we are fascinated with old mechanical machines so are they with the old computers. Or local computer store cannot keep in stock the Atari games---they refurbish and sell the old Atari's to a growing group of kids who think they are just the cat's meow.

I guess you get what you paid for. 5 years for a 200$ machine is not that bad.....besides who actually made it is the question. We have gone though new 3 Toro Lawnmowers in 12 years, but the 35year old Craftsman is still going strong, although this year it HAS to have a new deck and we have a guy down the road who can do that.

I have had one computer motherboard, two modems, and several video cards fry on me, two electronic shut-off irons die from the electronic control frying, etc. And we tend to use some of our computers into the ground but they hit a point generally at about 10 years of age where something goes wrong -- hard drive, memory, motherboard, whatever -- and we cannot locate spare parts, so the machine goes belly up.

So your machines might keep working because you have a tinkerer who is able to constantly refabricating parts, but not everybody is able to do that.

Go back and read what I said, particularly the "for those who don't have the money to retire machines at regular intervals" part. It would be a major sacrifice for me to come up with $5000 for a computerized sewing machine -- I have never even spent that much on a car, even -- and to have to replace it regularly is out of my ballpark. For *me* a computerized machine is not a good choice.

That does not mean that *nobody* should get them. Hey, I'd love to have one. But it's as much out of my budget as a Rolls Royce, and thankfully my mechanical Singer 400 series machine does as many things as I need to and will keep working for as long as I need it to.

Maybe you are rather young and/or have for other reasons totally bought into the philosophy of planned obsolescence, but I hate it.

That's what Bill Gates wants you to believe. If an Apple IIe performed useful tasks 20 years ago, it is still capable of performing those same useful tasks today.

We had a 20 year old computerized sewing machine in for servicing 3 years ago. Some of the mechanical parts were showing wear, but the computerized electronics still worked the way they did when it left the factory.

gwh

That's a mistake a lot of people make: spend $200 for a $150 (or less) item at a big box outlet, instead of spending $200 for a $300 item at an independent retailer.

gwh

Sounds like you've got problems in the power supply to the house. You should get that looked at. Or buy a *good* conditioning UPS. It'll be cheaper than replacing all that fried stuff.

-- Jenn Ridley : snipped-for-privacy@chartermi.net