quiltingshorttimer

My daughter is advancing from rank beginner to a true quilter (finishing her second quilt tomorrow) and currently she uses a cheapie Brother machine bought at Walmart for $90 (or my Elna Quilt Queen if I'm willing). I have the chance to purchase a Singer H74 for that has the features I think she would like: drop-in bobbin, programable up/down, etc) for $300. I've looked on the Singer website and see that it's a cast iron head (desired) and it appears to be maybe a older version and the price is in the price range. Anyone know anything about it? Thanks!

Dolphyngyrl

If she is comfortable with her brother, she might like the brother pc-420 it is in the high 300 range off amazon and has nice features, don't own singer machine so I can't comment on it. Hopefully someone who owns it or something similar can let you know

Prism99

I would not buy a Singer in that price range ($300). The low-end Singers have a terrible reputation compared to, say, low-end Brother machines. I would look for a Brother in that price range, or a used machine from a dealership.

I see no reason why a cast iron head would be desirable. The things most likely to break in a low-end machine are the gears. Vintage machines had all-metal gears but all more recent machines have at least some non-metal gears. The better machines have higher quality non-metal gears that last longer.

pocoellie

I agree with Prism99, actually I wouldn't buy any Singer newer than the 60's. Brothers and Janome have good reputations, even in the low end.