by Robbie Brewington, one of zigzaggers' most faithful (and productive) friends. Check out her blog!
Love it, hate it, or something in between? Something in between, actually. There are certainly things I like about it, but there are others I definitely don’t like. The down sides have been outweighing the up sides.
When did you buy this sewing machine? I’ve had her a little more than two months. That’s not a long time, but my #1 machine has been down most of that time so the Husky has had a real workout.
When was it manufactured? I’m not sure. Information about this model is really hard to come by. Viking did send me a pdf of the manual, but no manufacturing date. I’m guessing she dates to the mid-1970s.
Where did you buy it? My favorite thrift store in Alvin, Texas.
How much did you pay for it? Well, I bought the Husky and an old Wizard (that I’ll probably sell for parts) for $50.00. The thrift store made me a deal so I would take both of them. Since I’ve had no luck getting the Wizard up and running yet, you could think of it as paying $50.00 for the Husky and getting the Wizard free; or $25.00 each; or $35.00 for the Husky and $15.00 for the Wizard…
How many projects have you done on this machine? Lots — everything I’ve made for the past two-and-a-half months (except what I did on the serger).
Describe the kind of work you've done with it. Let’s see. I’ve made clothes for myself (pants and tops, mostly) and the ladies I sew for, loose jackets (using a rolled hem foot, which worked beautifully), free-motion quilting, piecing quilt blocks, a couple of tote bags, a denim vest made of recycled blue jeans, and a couple of other things. Plus I used it when my granddaughter wanted to learn to sew.
What do you like and what do you hate about it? This is a real workhorse of a machine. She goes over multiple layers of denim like nobody’s business. I love that she uses the big Class 15 bobbins which hold a lot of thread. I really like the reverse lever (over other machines’ buttons). She has the basic utility stitches, nothing fancy. I also like that she uses snap-on pressure feet, which are so easily interchangeable with a whole range of low shank feet. I can use all the low shank feet I’ve accumulated over the years, plus the snap-on feet from my much newer Kenmore and Brother machines.
I’m not too fond of free arm machines in general, but other folks really like them. Also, the threading ‘feels’ backward (for instance, the take-up arm is to the right of the tension assembly) but that’s no big deal. The biggest thing I dislike about this machine is that in order to oil her, you have to completely remove the entire back of the machine! It’s easy to keep the bobbin area cleaned out, but that’s only part of the job, and oiling this machine is at best inconvenient. At worst, it’s a real pain.
I’m not sure what I’m going to end up doing with this machine, but I doubt she’ll ever be a go-to machine once Miss Sophia is back up and running. Still, she does go like blazes and doesn’t blink twice at going over seams in blue jeans.
Aloha.... I came home with a "good deal" yesterday from a neighbor who is cleaning out her house and have the Husky 160.... do you have any info on it? Now is not the time to ask however, would be happy to receive your comments/complaints, etc. Mahalo!
Posted by: CoolMoves8 | December 30, 2011 at 10:19 PM