Last year, I bought new Featherweight 221 here in Savannah. My sister spotted it and I credit her with being the enabler. I did not try it out before purchasing...a dangerous move. I paid $295.
When I got home, I plugged it in and she hummed nicely and the needlebar moved, so I was happy. (They are all female, right?) I did not try sewing on it however.
The serial number indicated that is is a 1950 model made in Elizabeth, NJ.
Here is my source for serial numbers: https://ismacs.net/singer_sewing_machine_company/serial-numbers/singer-sewing-machine-serial-number-database.html
And here is my source for locations: http://www.oldsewingear.com/blog/where-was-my-singer-machine-made
Today I decided to take it for a spin. I oiled it up from directions from these nice folks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OyRXkSLcY8
After that I noticed that the bobbin case had a problem that could not be fixed, someone had snapped a minute metal part. But this guy was instrumental in helping me figure that out:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLqIAIEiF0w&t=324s
Apparently it's good to check the bobbin case before buying and to threaten anyone doing service on your machine to not swipe it and replace with a cheap import...but I may try just that myself... (wish me luck).
But in the meantime, I have another Featherweight from 1940, also made in Elizabeth NJ, that runs like a top, so I got that one out:
