Grandma's Sewing Machine

I continue to love those old Kenmore sewing machines so when someone at church asked if I would "just take my mom's sewing machine off my hands" I was delighted to find out it was a Kenmore. It was described as a sewing machine that her mom hadn't used in a long time and wasn't going to be using it either so maybe I would just take it away? I hoped it wasn't going to have to be put out of its misery! Several weeks later it came home with me and I knew from the start it was going to be just fine:

Kenmore 148-19370

Isn't she a beauty? All cleaned up, oiled, new bobbin case, minor adjustments, and she ran like a champ. It continued to sound less than smooth so I let it sit overnight, ran it again, oiled it some more, and she sounded even better. But there was a noise when the stitch was at maximum width. Listening carefully, the sound was isolated to the bobbin. Bobbin casing came out and the noise was gone. Since it was not the original bobbin casing, just one of my extras, maybe it wasn't the best choice:

Flip the lid on the bed and the bobbin
is inside its own door

Another one was used and the sound went away. I tested this bobbin for the quality of stitch and there were no adjustments necessary as it made a great straight stitch and zigzag.  This sewing machine also had a couple stretch stitches that worked quite well but the buttonhole setting wasn't too great. Maybe I needed a special foot? Instructions?

Three dials and reverse!

Although I could get the feed dog drop lever to work it didn't really drop the feed dogs unless you manipulated the mechanism below but this seemed like a small concession. Who was going to use this machine for free motion embroidery or even darning? Who was going to use this sewing machine?

I got back to my friend to tell her the machine was working great, just hadn't been used in the last decade (or more) but it was so nice wasn't there someone she could give it to? How about her sons who have moved out of the house into their own home? Two bachelors might need to mend something or even sew camping gear or hem jeans. She liked that idea and insisted on paying for the service so we agreed on an hourly rate and I would add any accessories that were needed. No? The manual and all of the extras were already there, just weren't passed on to me so now her sons are set with their grandma's old Kenmore sewing machine. Isn't that a nice end to the story of a Kenmore that will now live with grandsons? Might my own grandsons have one of my beloved sewing machines one day!