April 16, 2007

Caveat emptor!

I broke one of the cardinal rules of Ebay.  I bought a Singer Featherweight back in January.  I was in a serious funk when the machine arrived and I wasn't sewing at the time, so I didn't even bother to test the machine.  I do believe the listing said it worked.  Well, I tried it out this weekend and - you guessed it - it DOESN'T work.



And of course it's too late to even bring up the Ebay listing to see if it was supposed to work, and I have no recourse with the seller after all this time.  I do feel like the machine can be repaired.  The electrical system works - the light comes on - but nothing happens when I press the foot pedal - so maybe it needs a motor or a new power cord?



I am registered to take a "Care and Repair of Your Featherweight" class sponsored by my guild in May.  I will take the machine with me and ask the instructor what he thinks before I take it in to the repair shop - or perhaps it is something I can fix myself after taking the class.  If nothing else, I have a cute  and very expensive sewing-related paperweight.   :(



6 comments:

  1. Aaah. I just bought a featherweight from ebay about 4 weeks ago and like you, life gets in the way and I haven't had chance to test it out yet. Guess what I'll be doing tonight? It wasn't cheap either.

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  2. Well, that is just wrong. However, there is some good news. These little Featherweight machines are extremely simple devices. They are a breeze to get up and running, and the parts are widely available. I would bet my next paycheck that there is someone in your area who is an expert on Featherweight repairs who would be up to the job, and that it wouldn't cost that much. Your guild members undoubtedly would be a great source for a recommendation. I adore my little Featherweight, and have never regretted buying it. I did have some trouble with "the timing", whatever that is, but it was easily corrected. I hope you can resolve this problem and come to love and use your Featherweight.

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  3. I have a Featherweight and they are easy to work on. It probably just needs a good cleaning and oiling-seriously. There is a Yahoo group devoted just to Featherweights. Check it out-they give great advice.
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/featherweight/messages

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  4. I have a pal that is a whiz with featherweights. Email me and I will put you two in touch. Maybe she can help troubleshoot!

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  5. hi,
    My friend Swooze told me about you and your Featherweight problems. I'd take the FW care class and most likely it
    just needs a good cleaning and oiling. The FW can be stopped
    dead from a thread being caught behind the bobbin case base.
    Turn the machine over and look in the hole underneath the bobbin
    area and see if you can see any thread caught in there. Also make sure that the finger of the bobbin race is between the space under the throat plate. This URL is the best one I know of
    for info on the Featherweight. http://www.singer-featherweight.com/
    Purplefiend/aka/ Sharon Weaver.

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