A lady dropped this by the shop last Saturday. She had picked it up for her daughter and wanted it checked out before she gifted it. It's easy to see why she was attracted to it, it looks pristine. The throat plate doesn't have a scratch on it! Either the previous owner was very careful and never broke a needle or the machine was used very little.
Only two external issues - the spool pins and one deteriorated bed cushion.
The spool pins had been replaced with the wrong size and were loose in their sockets. Easy fix, just press in the proper pins. I had a replacement bed cushion in my parts bin and replaced the bad one.
Opening the top, I was surprised that there were no plastic gears up there, a timing belt transfers rotation from the upper section to the lower.
Then, I opened up the lower section. OOPS! Wish I hadn't done that.
The formerly white feed gears are dark yellow. They have no cracks or chips at this point, but once they turn color, it's just a matter of time.
The formerly white hook gear was worse.
It has turned brown and one tooth is chipped partially off. With any use, I predict this gear won't last another six months. I can buy replacement gears like the original but suppliers are now stocking gear sets with curved teeth that are supposed to provide smoother, quieter operation. I am anxious to try out a set of those new gears.
The Stylists are good utility machines, although a but stodgy in the styling area. Maybe Singer should have called them something else like Boxy or Clunky. Their weak point is the internal plastic gears that are disintegrating with age. It would be nice to find metal replacement gears, then those Stylists would last as long as Singer's 66's.
