One thing I really like about sewing machines is that they are really machines. Little pieces of metal push and pull on
one another, go around in circles, move up and down, carry the threads along and interlock them with your fabric. You can see everything
working. No microchips. Not much has change since young Elias Howe wanted to help his mother with her sewing.... Anyway, I really get
a kick out of sewing machines that way.

Mine has treated me right since I bought it at Sears just out of college. I think it cost about $100. But now, just as an urge to do some sewing takes over, my machine ain't working right. I've tried it a few times and the problem persists: I keep breaking needles. It seems like the needle is making contact with the widget that holds the bobbin. The widget is perhaps misaligned or the needle isn't coming down straight. I've taken out the bobbin assembly, cleaned it, visually inspected it. I can't see anything, though the bobbin assembly does seem to sit a little loose, and I can hold it and make the problem recur.

Any sewing whiz kids out there who can help me get this fixed? It seems silly to take it somewhere to get fixed. I can't imagine anyone charging less than $30 for repairs, and a working machine is surely worth that, though I don't want to invest too much in it if it's reached some sort of old age... I know there are some centuries old sewing machines out there, stitching away, but is my plastic-cased bottom-of-the-line Kenmore really gonna make it?

As a friend of mine said, love to have one of those vintage machines that look like a 50's Cadillac -- if it were working well.

--------