RAGS........ 401A

This is sort of a continuation of the last blog posting. And the title probably gave it away (for those sewing machine nuts out there - you know who you are). Here is my second purchase at RAGS.

So there my wife is, standing guard over two sewing machines on the floor at the Rotary Auction Garage Sale, one of them being the Spartan I blogged about yesterday, and the second one is today's subject. A Singer 401A from the late 1950s.

You see, a 401A is one of those sewing machine models that many people think is one of Singer's finest machines ever made. It has many features that make it so desirable, such as a direct-drive gear-drive motor, steel gearing (not belts or cams), rotary hook, hardly a plastic part to be found on it, a host of stitch patterns, and many more. So let's get to the one I picked up for $5 at RAGS.

The outer case is quite a mess, and one latch is broken, so I think this case is a total write-off, but that is one reason it was so cheap. I can look beyond the carrying case.

RAGS........ 192K

I think it's such a clever acronym - RAGS. It stands for Rotary Auction Garage Sale. And fortunately for me, it is an annual event, held in the Kitsap Pavillion.

So there we were, the lovely wife and myself, aimlessly wandering the aisles. My wife spotted a sewing machine case on a table. A lady had her arm on the case so we wondered if she was buying it. She took her arm off it and moved on. Ok, time for me to dive in. Twenty bucks. A little outside my price range. I popped the top and it was a Kenmore, about 1970 vintage. I wasn't interested. But wait, there are two more next to it. Hmm, they look like 70s vintage, a couple Singers. Both $5, and after a little inspection, both in need of repairs, as in they had things broken off. That put a damper on it for me, even though the $5 price for each would probably still be a good buy since they both had motor controllers and they may not take much to get them going. I put up a good fight with myself in my little pea brain though, and persevered. I walked away from them all.

Being just a slight bit disappointed, I started looking around again and just then the dear wife called out my name from a couple tables away. Oooh, what has she spotted but two more sewing machines on the floor under a table and out of people's sight. I like it.

I zipped over and had a look at the cases. They were quite the worse for wear. Here's the first. You can't see it but behind the handle is a large hole. There are also a couple large cracks across the top of the lid. Not to worry, though.