Things used to be prettier: The Slant-O-Matic 500

Just look at it.

I'm spending my holiday getting ready for my Scarf-a-Day project, which means lots of looking at lots of fabric and sewing machines. I've thus far just been using a 1940's singer, but I think it's time for a change, and I want a machine that can do different stitches. 

In my research I ran across this beauty: The Singer Slant-o-Matic 500 Rocketeer. No joke, that's what it's called.  I immediately fell in deep machine-love, but I've learned my lesson and decided to do some more research. Turns out, the Rocketeer is kind of interesting- not only is all metal gears, it's only gears and no timing chain at all. Like a lot of sewing machines from this era, you change your stitch shape by using different shaped metal cams. Again, this machine does something different- there's a stack of cams, and you can select multiples to customize stitches. 

Ok, that's enough blabbing. Unfortunately, he's made his videos un-embedable, so check out the sweet action, over on BrianSewes.