Hi, I am new

If you want your new machine to last as long as your old one did, don't get a computerized model. It is a pretty safe bet that the motherboards to fix them won't even be around half that long.

Melinda, (Just curious, what does the "take out trash to reply" mean???)

Good point about the machine not lasting that long. Its such a Catch22. You want a machine that you spend so much money on to be worthwhile and yet, like a computer its out dated before reaching your doorstop for delivery. I am trying to justify to myself and my budget conscience husband, how the purchase of a machine that costs what I might get a good used car for would be a smart move. It'd take me alot of orders with my alterations and monogramming to earn that kind of money and just break even. My husband wants to know what truly makes a sewing machine worth the high $. I can make a list of the differences of what I've read, but haven't used a nice machine to have a comparison. I was shocked at the difference in feel bewteen my Kenmore electronic 15 year old model with plastic gearing to that of the vintage Singer knockoff from the

50's that I just inherited with all metal gears. I imagine its along those lines where the difference lies. Next trip I make to the city I hope to sit down at a sewing shop and see what the big deal is. Feel free to jump in here, Ron and advise us!

In my opinion, read as much about the different sewing machines online before going to dealer to try them out. And please, don't forget to carry samples of fabrics that you use most often when trying out the different machines yourself. You have to try them, not allow the dealer to show you how. Great success with your purchase and keep us updated on what you find you like. Emily

There are the characters TRASH inserted into my email address so that robots that harvest email addresses from newsgroups won't get my correct address and won't be able to send me spam.

Well, sewing machines are not the only things that have planned obsolescence built in.

My Singer 192K, 221, 301, 401a, and 501a all work as well today as the day they were built, and they are all at least 50 years old. My 80s vintage 30-stitch New Home worked as well as the day it was built until I tried sewing through something too thick a few weeks ago, and now it needs a trip to the sewing machine doctor to get the timing fixed, but after it gets serviced it will again work as well as the day it was built.

Vertical-market(*) computer circuitry, for one. Inflation, for another.

[(*) "vertical-market" means that there isn't a HUUUUGE market for the specific function -- thousands or tens or hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people use office suite software, so the created of office suite software has an immense potential market, but for areas like sewing, specific industries like trucking companies, etc., the creator cannot reasonably expect to sell millions of units, and therefore the cost of creating the product has to be split among vastly fewer units, driving the base price up.]

What *is* the difference? Maybe your Singer clone is a bad machine -- who knows. Have you tried a Singer 400 or 500 series? They run as smooth as silk when they are tuned up (casting loving smile toward my

401a sitting on a TV tray next to my computer desk, because I was sewing on it this afternoon)

Melinda, good idea about the TRASH, I may try it myself. As per the gearing, I actually meant the the old Precision (Singer knockoff) was a smoother, more sturdy feel when stitching than my Kenmore 100 stitch. I've read many people love their old metal straight stitchers, but in the sewing I do, I really use all of the decorative stitches that my machine offers, it just doesn't do them as well as I'd like. It has a bit of difficulty staying in "tune." I would hope the more expensive machines with metal gearing would be better at this. Do any of your older machines have the cams that the older machines used for decorative stitching? I think my Precision needs new belts so I am wondering whether to fix the machine up and keep it or to pass it on to someone who might like it. It was literally dropped off in my garage annonymously. My husband already complains about me having too many machines! (Serger, embroidery and sewing, that's all...)

Oh-oh, that's a telltale sign of a poor-quality machine.

My 500A and 401A both use [the same] cams and actually they both have built-in stitches. No embroidered rows of little duckies or anything like that, though.

If it doesn't keep its timing, it's not worth keeping.

You would love the Singer 401 or one of the other versions of it up to the 501 series. All metal. It uses plastic cams for the decorative stitches. Very solid machine.

Another old solid all-metal machine that I particularly like is the Pfaff 230, which I stumbled into in a thrift store locally. The motor hums with power, but so quietly.

The Elna Supernova may be in this class. I have one of those, but haven't tinkered with it yet. So many machines, so little time....

I have 8 sewing machines around the house and my dear son, DS, with whom I live has 8 guitars, we never complain about each other's hobbies. How many different tools does your dear husband, DH, have that he uses lots of the time, more or less than your machines? My 1961 Singer 503 Slant-O-Matic has many fashion discs(a kind of cam) for decorative stitching and sometimes they are prettier and more useful than the stitches on the White embroidery/sewing machine or the Pfaff 7560 combination machine. To give you an example, I housed a DS(sister), her DH and daughter with the five four-legged pets for two weeks during their evacuation from the New Orleans area because of Katrina. The day before they left, I made bandanas for the pets, and they chose designs from the 503 machine rather than the embroidery on the other machines. The pets are 2 regular black poodles, 1 natural-color miniature poodle and 2 Bischons, one white and one black. They love wearing bandanas. Emily

If you can find a NECCHI SUPER NOVA it has cams galore, is all metal geared and made in Italy. Mine is 1956 model which has never had a service call (knock wood!). I have always kept it well oiled and changed the belts myself (no big deal). My husband and I went to the county fair that year just to see the exhibits and not intending to spend much money. We saw a local sewing machine business demonstrating the NECCHI and we couldn't believe our eyes. We left the fair owning a $400.00 sewing machine (in a limed oak desk console)and that was a a hefty price in 1956). Never regretted it for a minute and have enjoyed it all the happy hours I have spent with it. So if you can find one grab it if it has had tender loving care.

Oh, you guys are going to get me into soooo much trouble! RE: the tools of my DH, well, I can't use that as I have more tools here at the house than he does. I am a tinkering sort of person by nature and love to fix/repair/take apart stuff. My girlfriends think I am very weird, but I notice I am called before the plummers and electricians they know. Some don't call me anymore because it hurts their husband's pride and we don't want to do that, now do we! My husband LOVES that I do these things and that way, when I come to my limit with something he can come in and save the day anyway. He just hates the piddle and loves that I can save us $$$ by fixing most of our appliances myself. Anyway, I don't have many thrifts nor time for garage sales here but I will keep my mother and sister aware of some of these for them to call me when they run into one. THey are in FL and have some of the BEST garage sales and thrifts there. When I go visiting, we go THRIFTING

2-3 times a week! My mother sews so she would have an idea if it has been taken care of or not. Its so funny how I never wanted an old machine (you know surely the $700 ones are better now) but it might be fun to try the older ones and get lost!

It is definitely fun to try the older ones. I got hooked when DD saw a sewing cabinet being used as a night table when we were browsing an 'estate' sale. I had completely overlooked it. Turns out it had a well-cared-for model 15 Singer inside. All it needed was a new cord. And once re-corded, I played with attachments I never saw before! Although I had been sewing for >60 years, DM apparently never used any of her attachments, so I didn't learn about them when I was young and using her machine.

Have bought 2 different others since. DH just teases me about them, but we have lots of toys, mostly shared but not all, so we understand each other.

Jean M.

What kind of attachments did the Singer 15 have??

narrow hemmer, edge guide, edge stitcher, gathering foot, ruffler and sometimes a tucker and a bias cutting guide that you put on a scissors. Almost every set I've seen has a zipper foot added.

Oh, my goodness! I don't think I've ever even heard of some of those! I wonder if this attachment set can be bought anywhere? ISMACS just does gallery work right?? I'll have to check around, I wonder if the Singer set would fit my Precision. S.

Both Nancy Notions and Clotilde sell sets and individual generic attachments which fit most machines. I've purchased some for my regular machines plus the slant needle one.

and/or . I am not affiliated with either company, just a happy customer. Emily

Attachments sometimes show up in thrift stores and antique stores, yard sales as well. That is not as easy as simply ordering from a current supplier. To get old ones, you might also check and of course, eBay.

You'd never guess what I just did! A few weeks ago, I made a pillow for a customer who no longer sews and she gave me a large ziploc bag of her old attachments and asked if I could use any. Not having the old machine then, I politely took them and put them aside until I could decide what to do with them. This morning it dawned on me that perhaps some of those feet would fit my "new" Precision. Sure enough, some do. Now I haven't sewn with any yet as I am making sure everything else is understood about what is "normal" for the machine before I venture off, but I think I have 2 rolled hemmers, a couple of zipper foots, and a few that I am not sure what they are exactly for. One has a groove in the bottom for something like satin stich/monograms, another has two grooves like pin tucks, but don't know why only 2 if it is.

Some of the sewing machine websites have photos of the attachments that go with their particular machine. Google sewing machine attachments and you may get a lot of info about their uses. Emily

This post is a little late, but I believe so strongly in what I am about to say that I just had to write anyway. I have several machines, including a Brother PC8500 computerized machine and a Pfaff 2030, also computerized. However, the machine I probably use the most is a Janome 415 I purchased new for around $200. Clearly, it is the most economical and feet/attachments are very reasonable. On top of this, it is absolutely a top performer, producing a beautiful stitch -- and it looks good itself. Since I bought mine, Janome has introduced some other, more capable machines in the same line -- all fairly new designs with a good number of stitches. They're mechanical machines -- not computerized. That means they will probably last forever and not cost an arm and leg to repair if they ever need it. Janome has computerized models also. I highly recommend checking them out before you buy Singer (which is not the Singer most of us grew up with. That company is gone. They sold the name to the current Singer) Janome was a surprise for me, and I would buy another one in an instant if I needed it. They don't rip you off for feet and accessories like Pfaff, Bernina, Husqvarna and the big "names" typically do (when I got my 415 the dealer GAVE me a walking foot, which works like a charm. The "names" charge a mint for one.) For a budget in the $700 range you should be able to get a very capable new Janome machine. And no, I do not work for Janome or have any connection with them other than as a very satisfied customer. Good luck. Fred

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