It's In The Mail

Sometimes it takes a long time before something comes to the attention of those who need it. Take for example the Kenmore 158-1030-1040-1050 sewing machine in its adorable rose embossed case:

Kenmore 158-1030 portable case

This is one of the nicest 3/4 sized sewing machines because it's more than small: it really sews quite well! Due to the run of these machines almost 50 years ago, parts do break and are hard to replace so donor machines are always sought after. But it's those odd parts that NO ONE has that are frustrating, such as the front compartment storage boxes. If they break you are just out of luck and it makes using the machine awkward.

Without the front box it's a little strange looking

Then I got smart and had a customer become my supplier of these boxes when he mentioned he had a 3D printer. That was my lucky day and he made up six for me and I advertised them on a few of the sewing machine Facebook pages. No action.

It's been about two years now and two women came together to find me and order this little box:

Storage box made from a 3D printer!

Both were excited to find one so I sent them off immediately. I heard right back from one who was very happy with hers yet the second one lingered. After four days I asked if she got it and she said yes but she was a little disappointed: it didn't snap shut. Well, yeah, it didn't but I guess I was so happy to get a replacement that didn't even occur to me. Now that I think about it, though, the original boxes didn't snap either! She wanted to paint hers and I guess that's a possibility but I didn't think it would be wise since all of the pulling in and out would scrape the paint off. One for two isn't too bad, though and I still have several in my supply.

Kenmore 158-1040 with box in place and extra on the side

Another item came in the mail that I am very, very happy with: a Viking Husqvarna 1100 sewing machine. I bid on it through Goodwill Auction and was shocked that my bid was the highest. You have to be patient because my experience shows once it's yours they are in no hurry to ship: it was two weeks until I got the shipping notice. It then came in only three days and was well wrapped, looking really good. It came with a power cord but no foot control but I already had a Viking 1100 with the FR-4 type foot control to test it out. I got it all set up but it didn't turn on. Hum. The handwheel turned fairly easily so I turned it over to check things out. That wasn't the smartest thing to do because I unwittingly took out the screws that held the motor and getting everything back together and working as it should took about six more tries. What was the problem? I plugged it into the extension cord that wasn't plugged in. I could have avoided all of that work!

Viking Husqvarna 1100

As I suspected, in the photos they didn't show the accessory boxes with all of the goodies:

Model 1100 with slide on storage boxes open

It was fully loaded, only needing snap on foot B, something I can easily get if I don't have it already have one. The case was pretty dirty but with a bit of elbow grease it cleaned right up. I will have to come up with a new foot control plus the cord that is sold separately: foot control and cord could be $120. Yikes! I will be patient and wait for a bargain. Yes, waiting patiently either for the market to come to you, as with the Kenmore storage boxes, or for a foot control to come on the market at a bargain price, patience is the key.  Patience is a virtue, I hear, but I don't always want to practice it!