fave "DD" sewing machine

[danemodsandy]

P.S., Mike:

I don't wonder your grans didn't have a cabinet - few people had them here either.

The No. 266-1 Swing-Away cabinet I have was originally priced at $400 in 1975, which would be equivalent to $1648 (£1031) today. Very expensive!

The only reason I have a Swing-Away is that most people don't care about having one now, with the result that values on the second-hand market have fallen very low. I certainly couldn't have afforded one back in the day.

However, the Swing-Away is one bit of specialist furniture that happened to be worth the money, unlike today's vinyl-and-pressed-wood wonders. The Swing-Away is all wood - some plywood, some solid wood, some veneer. The solid wood and veneer are oak.

 

[gansky1]

Touch-Tronic and all the trimmings - $50

http://omaha.craigslist.org/for/3386674112.html

 

[chestermikeuk]

Expensive Sewing Machines

Have just pulled out the 1979 !Which Consumer Report" for expensive sewing machines, The Singer Futura is the dearest, almost £200 more than the rest, I do think Styling comes into it as well, when you see it next to the others, non compare...(IMHO)

 

[chestermikeuk]

Which 1979 Sewing Machines Report

 

[chestermikeuk]

Which 1979 Sewing Machines Report

Page 3

 

[danemodsandy]

Very Interesting!

I've tried to research the value of the pound in 1979, and I find that it was around four dollars, meaning that the Futura was priced much higher in Britain than the Athena was in America - around $2200 for the Futura vs. $1500 introductory price for the Athena (quickly reduced to $1200, and later reduced again to $800). This was right around the time James Callaghan was replaced by Mrs. Thatcher as PM, so the change from Labour to Conservative was an interesting time for Britain - particularly economically, I should think.

The mention of a "free cabinet" for the Futura is intriguing - I don't know if that means a piece of furniture as the term means in America, or if it was what is called a "carrying case" in the States. You know the old joke about America and Britain - two great nations separated by a common language! ;-)

Thanks so much for posting this - it's information American readers could not get in any other way.

P.S.: Greg - that was a screaming deal; it's already gone and the page deleted. Grrh! I really needed a photo of that cabinet for the Singer Athena discussion group - it's the rare armoire cabinet.

 

[retropia]

Touch-Tronic 2001 photos

The Craigslist ad for the Touch-Tronic was still in my browser cache, so here are the photos from the Omaha ad. It looks like it was a nice machine and cabinet at a great price.

 

[retropia]

Touch-Tronic photo 2

 

[retropia]

Touch-Tronic photo 3

 

[retropia]

Touch-Tronic photo 4

 

[retropia]

Touch-Tronic photo 5

 

[retropia]

Touch-Tronic photo 6

 

[retropia]

Touch-Tronic photo 7

 

[danemodsandy]

Thanks, Doug!

I really appreciate the time and effort you put into posting these! That is a very rare cabinet, about which not much is known. Even with photos, it's still not possible to tell if it's really all wood or if it's vinyl over a substrate. The striping in the finish is not a clue, because Singer did that with its real wood cabinets. And it's still not known if this was offered for the Athena, or if it was a later development offered when the Touch-Tronic was introduced.

The lower pulls on it are the same ones that are on my No. 266-1 Swing-Away.

Again, thanks.

 

[foxchapel]

The Singer 301

... was introduced in 1952, so @danemodsandy is very close. I have a 301 and never really warmed up to it. I added a 201 to the herd a few years ago, cleaned it up really well, but still haven't sat down to sew seriously on it. The reason: I luuurrrrrve to sew on my computerized Berninas.

 

[texasflute]

I had the same Singer Athena sewing machine in the same cabinet! My dad bought it for my mom in 1975. I used it until the computer board fried itself in 1991. I still have the cabinet, though. That is a fantastic piece os furniture for a sewing machine. My favorite machine to use in my Viking Rose machine. It is close to 20 years old, but it is a fantastic machine for basic sewing, quilting and embroidery. I have a nice, new Viking Designer Topaz for big embroidery projects, but I prefer the Swedish made Rose machine!

 

[danemodsandy]

Texasflute:

Get yourself another Athena or a Touch-Tronic and pop it into that cabinet - they're cheap now. And you'll have fun with it. If you'd rather not fool with an electronic machine of that vintage, the Singer 1425 is a high-end all-mechanical cam-stack machine that used the same housing as Athenas; it fits the cabinet perfectly.

If you can locate the correct head bolt (the "L"-shaped bolt that holds the machine in place on its mounting board; different machines use different head bolts), you can also put some (not all) other free-arm machines into this cabinet. I've seen a Sears Lady Kenmore 1914 mounted in one. [this post was last edited: 11/7/2012-12:17]