Saturday, March 10, 2012

Kenmore 158-1040 "Lunchbox"

I have been looking for this model ever since Rick mentioned it on Bernina Thirtysomethings. He said it is a great machine for young ones to learn on, along with the Featherweight, and I knew I had to find one for my Claire!

The price always goes too high for me on ebay, so I turned to my local classifieds site and eventually one turned up nearby. The lady had owned since her dad bought it for her in 1976--she was sad to see it go, but I assured her it was going to a good home.

This machine has a strong motor and is a nice compact size--great for taking to a class. It even has a few stitches built in including a zig zag, which the Featherweight does not! The real charm lies in the case--it is white plastic with stylized roses embossed on both sides.

As for repairs, we will have to find a solvent that can remove Gorilla glue, they glued the spool pin in because it kept falling into the machine. Now the case can't go on. Other than that, it is in great shape and only needs oiling and a good lint cleanout.

I used it last night to bind my little quilt and it ran like a champ. Love it!

1 comment:

  1. I have one of these; got it for $50 bucks. That's a pretty good price compared to what sellers on e-bay want for them. It's a fabulous little machine with a strong motor and it purrs! I'm using it as my 'travel' machine when I go to my quilting group at church. I also have a 158-14000 like the one you mention in a previous post. I got one of these as a gift in 1969 or '70 and loved it because I'd never before had a machine with zig-zag and stretch stitches; I was in heaven! I stupidly gave it away about 35 years ago (tears!), so when I found a restored duplicate on e-bay, I grabbed it. It's now the back-up to my modern electronic quilting machine and actually does some things the modern machine won't! It's a gem and I love it.

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