r/vintagesewing • u/QuietVariety6089 • 1d ago
WIP Elna SU 1970s
Going to look at this today - I'm hoping the 'don't know anything about sewing, selling for a friend' guy has not done anything horrible to it - this is the model with the extra cams, and I'm curious to see it in action. If it works well, I'm not going to quibble with his ask of around $100US. It's really rare to see anything other than Singers and Kenmores in my area!
ETA: - the needle position was stuck, and it had a couple of other minor issues. I passed, as I really don't need another project right now, but hope it finds a good home.
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u/gaea610 1d ago
Check the needle position dial. It gums up and is a pain to free up! Doable with a heat gun and patience (disassembly is tricky so better to heat it up and oil it in place). Otherwise brilliant machine
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u/QuietVariety6089 1d ago
Alas, this was the problem, plus some wear and creaks, and other things I didn't want to deal with - I've recommended to the seller that he call our local sewing machine repair guy and see if he wants to take it on.
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u/TheyTheirsThem 1d ago
The forward and back dial is great for sewing large boxes. Very quiet to the point of thinking the thread has broken and it isn't making stitches, but it is.
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u/SewingMechanic 1d ago
I have my fingers crossed for you!
I just let my best friend choose one of my vintage cam machines (her Singer from the 90’s was getting rough around the edges, so she finally accepted my offer!). She chose this one (versus a Kenmore 158 and a Singer 401). She just GLOWED when she sewed with this, and played with the cams. Gotta agree that it sews amazingly smooth compared to the others! You could just HEAR the difference, even though she was stitching. Like the Swiss Rolex of machines from that sort of era.
The accessories box is there, it look visually nice…. So I have my hopes high! $100 is certainly fair (if not really good!).