Another Singer 328.

My first FREE Singer was a 328. In that case the lady had inherited the machine from her mother-in-law. The new owner kept having trouble with the thread breaking when she was sewing. Thinking there was something wrong with the machine, she gave it away. In reality she was probably just threading it wrong. Other than having a broken light and a missing spool pin, it was in great condition. I recently sold that machine in a feeble attempt to downsize my sewing machine herd. In the meantime (back when I still had that first 328 in my possession) I noticed another 328 on Craigslist. Knowing these are sturdy, dependable machines I put the word out. The fellow was asking $25 which was a very good price. And there it sat for over a month. Unclaimed. Why? Perhaps because the fellow knew nothing about sewing machines and wasn't able to determine if the machine was in good running order, or not. He told me it seemed to be "running slow" and I could have it if I wanted it. Yesterday I enlisted my husband to drive me up to Everett. And here she is. It looks just like the one I sold, except this machine is in better condition. The light works and it has all 3 spool pins. It even came with a carry case.

Why did the previous owner think it was running slow? I like to open the machines up and give them some attention before plugging them in and testing them. This poor machine was dry as a bone. There was barely any lube on the gears and no oil anywhere. No wonder it was slow. It was thirsty. It was also packed full of lint. I pulled a big chunk out of the bobbin case. At first I thought it was a 2" long piece of fabric, but it was just compressed lint. Maybe 50 years worth. Once I had her cleaned, oiled and reassembled I plugged her in. The motor runs strong. The only problem I noticed was her upper thread tension was wonky. It wouldn't tighten and the knob didn't look right. Turns out the knob was on backwards. I flipped it around and it seems to work properly now. The machine came with a box of feet, attachments and bobbins....

....the original manual, some needles, a spare belt (in the original packaging and marked with a price of 30 cents)...

...and what appears to be a bottle of oil from the 50's or 60's. And yes, it is almost full.