Picked up a vintage sewing machine for $40 at a garage sale last Saturday

I was driving home from work and saw a sign for a neighborhood sale. This old Singer from the 1950s was sitting on a table with a $40 tag. I figured even if it didn't work it would look good on a shelf. Got it home, cleaned off the dust, and it sews perfectly straight stitches. Does anyone else find that older machines hold up better than the plastic ones they sell now?

2 comments

2 Comments

thomas_young25d agoMost Upvoted

My grandmother had a Singer from the 1950s that she used up until she passed away in 2019. I swear those old metal machines are built like TANKS. I picked up a 1954 Kenmore at a thrift store for $25 a few years back and it runs smoother than my $300 new machine. The plastic ones these days just feel cheap and fragile by comparison.

felix_thomas7325d ago

@thomas_young hit the nail on the head. Those old Singers from the 50s were made to last decades, not just a couple years. I've got a 1957 Singer 66K that was my great aunt's, and it still runs quieter than anything I've bought new. The plastic machines they sell now feel like toys compared to that cast iron frame. You got a steal at $40, especially if it sews straight out of the box with just a clean up. That's the kind of find that makes you wonder why companies stopped making things like they used to.