Welp. Now I need ("need") a post-bed for fashion shoes.

[rk5n]

To go along with the the Singer 236 suggestion, look into the 136 as well. It's a bottom feed roller foot machine like the 51 but a little more heavy duty. It is limited to a high SPI and the needles are hard to find. I usually sew two layers of 5oz and have done up to three layers of 4oz in a pinch. I picked mine up from a moto gear shop for $400 which seems like a decent price, it's just that they don't pop up so often.

[SheltathaLore]

I decided to buy a new clone from Gregg.  I've been keeping an eye on ebay and craigslist and the forums here for quite a while now, hoping for one of the old Singers, but very few machines surfaced that would actually save me money over buying a new one, and of course I'd always be taking a risk on an ebay machine being completely worn out or getting broken in shipping.

 

I can't wait for it to get here!

[Wizcrafts]

1 hour ago, SheltathaLore said:

I decided to buy a new clone from Gregg.  I've been keeping an eye on ebay and craigslist and the forums here for quite a while now, hoping for one of the old Singers, but very few machines surfaced that would actually save me money over buying a new one, and of course I'd always be taking a risk on an ebay machine being completely worn out or getting broken in shipping.

 

I can't wait for it to get here!

Not only do you have to worry about damage during shipping from eBay sellers, but also the level of assistance the seller will give to you after the sale. Some will and some won't and others don't speak English as a first or even second language.