Guest Blogger Sneaks A Viking 2000 Into The Smackdown

 Today's post is from guest blogger Anne Graham, aka yarndiva.
Apparently she has tried to send other posts in but this is the first one that came through.  So hopefully we will be hearing more from Anne soon.

Anne writes:
Just a quick progress entry to your strait stitch smack down.  I bought for
$15.00 a Viking Husqvarna 2000 at a rummage sale.  It was made in 1964.  Of
course I immediately had to try it out!  Because my current non work project
is my yellow squares quilt, I slipped it in to the competition briefly.  It
is a strait stitch only but that is only because it broken, a cracked cam
stack.  This is a very common, if not 100 percent guaranteed problem with
6000 series Vikings of which this model is the first.  With a repair, it has
the capacity to do zig zag and other deco stitches so it does not qualify to
compete, but still, here it is.

This brings up a topic common to older machine aficionados: is it worth
repair?  I needed to try this one out for a while to be sure.  The part
alone costs $50.  It also had stuck feed dogs.  This might be why it was in
the rummage pile so long.  No one could get it to sew.  I was able to fix
that and lubricate the machine thoroughly.  With much testing, I have
decided to let myself bond with it - it is a great machine.  Sews great,
very precise and takes low shank attachments.  Easy to thread and the foot
control is the most well designed of all my machines.  Very sensitive so it
allows more control while sewing complex items.  The stitch quality is not
to par with the 15-91 or even the treadle 66 but it is still very good.
That is usually the case with zig zag machines.  I digress....

Back to the strait stitchers.  Singer 201 is next.

Anne Graham
Snowy Sierras

Cheryl (aka DragonPoodle) writes:
Its all about love with these old machines, isn't it?  Your Viking looks lovely and maybe you will get lucky and find the cam stack for a decent price someday. I love the free arm. 

"Is it worth repair?"  Now there is a question with no answer.  Here in my area I can get a terrific vintage machine at just about any time for under $50, usually for WAY under, although Vikings don't pop up too often.  So, do you repair, or just wait for another, even better one to come along?  Or both?  lol