On 26 Sep 2003 11:45:46 -0700,
(Belindi) wrote:

So if I tested a used machine, I'd have no idea if it was doing what
it was supposed to be doing.

If it's from 1960 or earlier and still sews when you turn
the handwheel, you've got a good one. You should also plug
it in and make sure the motor runs and the controller works.
But if the motor is bolted onto the back, odds are that you
can buy a new one pretty cheap. (A fitted-in motor that has
to have been made for that specific model can be expensive
or unobtainable.)

A thrift-shop machine is probably full of dirt and ossified
oil, unless the previous owner dropped dead while still
using it. If you didn't get the machine from someone who
repairs machines, take it to a mechanic and have it cleaned
and oiled, and have the mechanic show you where all the oil
holes are and tell you how often to drip in how much oil.

It's hard to abuse a good, practical sewing machine to the
point where a cleaning and oiling won't fix it right up. A
modern expensive-toy sewing machine can go wrong without you
even look at it cross-eyed, unless it's a REALLY-expensive
toy. Or an industrial machine.

All you absolutely have to have is a good straight stitch.
I use my zig-zag a lot, but I've forgotten how to turn on my
fancy stitches. (I looked it up a few years ago to make a
fringe on a tablecloth.)

A free arm is really, really nice if you make garments,
particularly children's garments.

I've probably got a much longer rant posted at
http://home.earthlink.net/~joybeeson/ROUGHSEW/ROUGH.HTM

Joy Beeson
--
http://home.earthlink.net/~joybeeson/ -- needlework
http://home.earthlink.net/~beeson_n3f/ -- Writers' Exchange
joy beeson at earthlink dot net