newbie question

(posted to other groups but not x-posted)

I have just purchased my first sewing machine and am going to learn how to
sew. I bought an old (1968) sewing machine in mint condition (just needs a
little "tune up") from a lady who hasn't used it in years (she even gave me
the original owner's manual!). I know it's a bit too late (already purchased
it) but I just wanted to get some opinions on the machine (quality etc.) and
if it will be ok for someone to learn on it. It is a 1968 White Sewing
Machine model 764 (weighs a TON!). Any info would be greatly appreciated. I
paid $50 for it, was I totally ripped off or is this an ok price?

TIA
Nadene

On Tue, 4 May 2004 05:24:55 UTC, "Plissken"
wrote:

(posted to other groups but not x-posted)

Repeat after me: "Crossposting good, multiposting bad."

I have just purchased my first sewing machine and am going to learn how to
sew. I bought an old (1968) sewing machine in mint condition (just needs a
little "tune up") from a lady who hasn't used it in years (she even gave me
the original owner's manual!). I know it's a bit too late (already purchased
it) but I just wanted to get some opinions on the machine (quality etc.) and
if it will be ok for someone to learn on it. It is a 1968 White Sewing
Machine model 764 (weighs a TON!). Any info would be greatly appreciated. I
paid $50 for it, was I totally ripped off or is this an ok price?

There's no way to know if $50 is a fair price; there are many factors
that play into "fair."

If the machine "weighs a ton," that's a good sign. Your machine was
probably made in Japan, as were most machines by then. You'll want to
check under the hood, so to speak; remove any access plates and clean
any lint or thread or fuzz; after cleaning, put a drop of sewing
machine oil at any point where metal rubs against metal.

White has a web site if you need more info, www.whitesewing.com

--

"Ann Knight" wrote in message
...

Repeat after me: "Crossposting good, multiposting bad."

Sorry! I've been using usenet for a few years now and I've never heard this.
Seen tons of people multipost and no one has ever mentioned it. I thought it
was ok.
is this an ok price?

There's no way to know if $50 is a fair price; there are many factors
that play into "fair."

If the machine "weighs a ton," that's a good sign. Your machine was
probably made in Japan, as were most machines by then. You'll want to
check under the hood, so to speak; remove any access plates and clean
any lint or thread or fuzz; after cleaning, put a drop of sewing
machine oil at any point where metal rubs against metal.

White has a web site if you need more info, www.whitesewing.com

I think I'll take it in to the store where it was purchased originally
(still open I believe) and get them to tune it up and have look at it to see
if I got an alright deal. Guess I should sign up for a couple of sewing
classes too.

Plissken wrote:

I think I'll take it in to the store where it was purchased originally
(still open I believe) and get them to tune it up and have look at it to see
if I got an alright deal. Guess I should sign up for a couple of sewing
classes too.


Not necessarily. Some shops do a good job cleaning and
oiling old machines. Some do not. If the machine does
not need parts replaced, you would probably do a better
job of cleaning and oiling it yourself, especially since
you have no interest in selling yourself a new machine.
;-) Certainly, the price would be better.

--

Joanne @ stitches @ singerlady.reno.nv.us
http://bernardschopen.tripod.com/
Life is about the journey, not about the destination.

white machines were noted for their quality. they were the workhorses of
their era, and used in many schools. i have one made by them (under the name
sewmor) that was gifted to me by hubby on the occasion of the birth of our
first child. that was jan. of '68. it still works. white made all metal
machines back then, and short of using them to sew a tent, they would hold
up to nearly anything. (and even a tent could be managed if one was
careful..) i agree that probably all you really need do is clean and oil
it. sewing lessons would be a plus---or at least a good "how to" book.
helpful hint #1--be sure your needle is in the right way--or anything you do
will be screwed up!

have fun with it. get some inexpensive fabric, and experiment. muslin is
good--it will not stretch too much while you play, and you can always use
it for a dustrag later!

admom

On Tue, 04 May 2004 15:42:37 GMT, "Plissken"
wrote:

Repeat after me: "Crossposting good, multiposting bad."

Sorry! I've been using usenet for a few years now and I've never heard this.
Seen tons of people multipost and no one has ever mentioned it.

Cross-posting means that people who read more than one of
the groups that you post to will see your post only once.
Multi-posting means that they can't escape it -- like the
spam that was in every dish at the restaurant in the Monty
Python sketch.

Nowadays, the meaning of "spam" is much wider, but still has
the meaning of "difficult to avoid".

(The meaning is narrower as well as wider: you aren't
likely to see well-meaning, on-topic multiposts called
"spam".)

You haven't seen complaints because the sewing groups are
tolerant of nettiquette violations -- we don't even killfile
people who top-post and fail to trim.

(Tangent rant: The opposite of "top posting" isn't "bottom
posting". Bottom posting is pretty much the same sin as
top-posting. The correct method is "quote and response"
posting, in which each response is immediately after the
remark that it is a response to, and matter not responded to
isn't there unless it's needed for context.

Quote-and-response takes more time to write than just
dashing off an answer and appending the entire thread, so
top-posting is often the rule in contexts where there is
only one reader for each message.)

/rant

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

On Tue, 4 May 2004 15:42:37 UTC, "Plissken"
wrote:

I'll take it in to the store where it was purchased originally (still open I believe) and get them to tune it up and have look at it to see if I got an alright deal.

A sewing machine "tune up" generally consists of cleaning and oiling,
and checking for worn or broken parts. If you want to, you can learn
to do this yourself, and save the $40 - $75 a shop will charge you.
There's a book you can look for at your local library called "The
Sewing Machine Guide," by John Giordano, that has a chapter on popping
the hood of your machine to give it a cleaning and inspection. I
realize not everyone has the time or inclination to service their own
machines, but if you're going to devote time to sewing, you might
consider it.

I have a White model 603 with a nylon (plastic) cam stack that I keep
an eye on. Nylon parts can crack over time.

--

On Wed, 5 May 2004 19:18:03 UTC, joy beeson
wrote:

Sorry! I've been using usenet for a few years now and I've never heard this.
Seen tons of people multipost and no one has ever mentioned it.

Cross-posting means that people who read more than one of
the groups that you post to will see your post only once.

It also means that the original poster only has to follow one thread
in one of the newsgroups; much easier. It's also net-friendly, since
cross-posted articles only appear once on the server, no matter how
many groups they're posted to. Like other Usenet conventions,
crossposting can be abused, but used the right way it's invaluable.

--

newbie question

(Plissken)
(posted to other groups but not x-posted)
I have just purchased my first sewing machine and am going to learn how
to sew. I bought an old (1968) sewing machine in mint condition (just
needs a little "tune up") from a lady who hasn't used it in years (she
even gave me the original owner's manual!). I know it's a bit too late
(already purchased it) but I just wanted to get some opinions on the
machine (quality etc.) and if it will be ok for someone to learn on it.
It is a 1968 White Sewing Machine model 764 (weighs a TON!). Any info
would be greatly appreciated. I paid $50 for it, was I totally ripped
off or is this an ok price?
TIA
---
Nadene, if the machine sews well, if you like it and can get some use
from it, if it doesn't have to spend a lot of time in a s/machine shop,
then it's a good deal.
Good deals can be subjective; just remember: you can spend up to
$500.00 on a new bottom-of-the-line machine, and still have a hunk of
junk (BTDT), or you can snag an old used machine at a yard sale/thrift
shop for $25.00, spend a bit of $ &/or time refurbishing it, buying
footsies and whatnot, and have a cream puff. (BTDT).
Cea