Singer Zig Zag 758 Goodwill Find & Why I didn’t Buy It
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Singer Zig Zag 758 is a Singer Touch and Sew machine from the early 1970’s. I found it at a local Goodwill shop for $25. However, I didn’t buy it! This blog will give a mini review of Singer Zig Zag 758 and cover the reason why I didn’t buy it. Perhaps, my reasoning will give you insight about what buyers look for when purchasing vintage sewing machines. Note: At the end of this article, there is a parts list for Singer Zig Zag 758.
Zig Zag 758 isn’t all metal
This sewing machine was produced post golden age and include nylon/plastic cams. Nylon cams wear over time and can be a pain in the donkey to replace.
Therefore, I always lean towards getting one of the machines produced during the golden age because those machines have metal internal parts. Plastic parts can be cool and still last a long time. When I shop vintage, however, I want all metal. If you would like to learn more about which vintage sewing machines to choose, check out “The Best Vintage Sewing Machines to Buy Now.”
It is highly recommended to stick with sewing machines produced before the 1970’s era of plastic.
Let’s say you’ve already got a Singer 758 that’s misbehaving.
Many of you have contact me about this machine getting jammed up or just simply no longer feeding fabric. In both of these cases, it means you have one or more gears that are worn out. I always recommend replacing all of the gears and the motor belt at the same time. I recommend this because it’s easier to open your machine one time than to continually find your 40+ years old machine in need of repair. Here’s a few of the parts:
Left Hook Drive Shaft gear (feed dogs not moving)
Complete set of Hooks for entire machine (seems like the better bargain price wise)
So far, I’ve dogged touch and sew machines because they aren’t all metal.
However, not all Touch and Sew machines have plastic/nylon gears. The Touch and Sew was made during a time when Singer was transitioning from metal to plastic. So you will find a few Touch and Sew models with metal inside. But, it just takes more research to learn what model is good. Here are a few all metal touch and sew models:
- 600
- 603
- 626 *Some 626’s aren’t all metal so you have to look inside.
I want bobbins on demand.
Therefore, I didn’t want Singer Zig Zag 758. Singer Touch and Sew bobbins are very difficult to find. You can’t go to Walmart, Hobby Lobby, or an other local store to buy them. Joann used to carry these bobbins. However, I am not so sure they carry them anymore.
Choose a sewing machine that takes common bobbins for your own sanity!
Who wants to wind a bobbin every 5 seconds?
The Singer Touch and Sew bobbins are not just hard to find, they are small. The bobbin winds from inside the bobbin shuttle area. This means you never have to take the bobbin out of your machine to wind it. In it’s day, this bobbin winding mechanism was innovative and impressive to all. However, the feature makes it impossible to use a regular sized bobbin. Instead, you must use very small bobbins that run out fast.
Once again, choose a sewing machine that takes common bobbins for your own sanity!
You now know the reasons why I didn’t buy the machine but,…
…here are a few things I love about Singer Zig Zag 758. I enjoy Singer 758 because it has:
- a slant shank, which makes it so easy to get fabric underneath the presser foot (Slant shank just means the presser feet are at an angle)
- nice big buttons so blind bats, like me, can see
- a cool modern retro (The Jetson’s) style
- awesome accessories. *This Goodwill machine came with many presser feet all included in a the original box. It is rare to find all original presser feet and accessories with any vintage machine but, this one had everything!
What things do you look for or avoid when searching for a vintage machine? Please, let me know your thoughts.
Originally posted May 2019 & Last Updated July 2023
Looking for Sewing Machine Parts? Check out the links below!
Needle Plate (Part Number: Singer #174198)
Slide Plate (Part Number: Singer #172956)
Left Hook Drive Shaft gear (feed dogs not moving)
Complete set of Hooks for entire machine (seems like the better bargain price wise)
Other Helpful Articles
The Best Vintage Sewing Machines To Buy Now
What to Do When You Can’t Find Data on Your Vintage Sewing Machine
17 Comments
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Spent years sewing on this machine, it was my mother’s. I adored the wind in place bobbin, and was sorry years later that newer machines did not have that technolgy.
Seems like Singer would be able to recreate the wind-in-place bobbin system with a larger bobbin. Also, it would be great to see slant shank presser feet again. I love those features on the 758. Thanks for your input! Stay blessed 🙂
Hi: I’m looking for a plate for this machine, can you help me
Hello, I have updated this post to include links for the plate on your Singer 758. Enjoy!
I have one of these, originally purchased by my mother. I’m getting ready to take it in for service, order some bobbins and try to remember how to sew. Wish me luck!
Best Wishes!
Thanks. It appears to be in good shape. It’s been cleaned and oiled and cleared for takeoff!
I have a Touch and Sew II model 770 from 1977. If you must have a Touch and Sew at least the Touch and Sew II has the free arm feature. There will never again be a Singer or another sewing machine with a self-winding bobbin. It proved too temperamental. And the nylon gears in tandem with timing belts made this a delicate machine. In Singer’s utopian world every one of these would have been in the junkyard no later than 1980. Just my 2 cents.
You’re definitely right about that!
guess I’ll get rid of my 758 can’t get the service manual to repair it
A service manual is great to have but not a must. If there is a simple problem with the machine not involving the cam stack, you may be able to fix it. Sometimes, you can look up the exact problem and be able to find some solution. Thanks for visiting the blog 🙂
i did buy the model 758 at goodwill and needs a speed controller- power cored foot pedal can not find local and not sure even on singer site if power cords availble are the right one. i live in fayetteville ga if anyone can help
Here is an Amazon Link for you https://amzn.to/3rd1flz. I hope this helps!
I’ve had model 758since I was a young girl learning to sew. I need help with getting it stuck out of the up and down mode. Need help with trouble shooting. I can’t get machine to propel the fabric forward to feed the fabric through. I have tried to change out the disc to reset it and no results. Do you have any helpful tips? No one works in this old but faithful anymore.
You have a broken gear near the bottom rock shaft. You’ll need to take off the bottom cover of the machine and replace the gear under there. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frJOiC90oWw
Took my Singer 758 machine for a tune-up at a local sewing machine shop, they are letting me know my machine can only do straight. Something to with my stack cam not functioning correctly. I was wondering if maybe you could point me to where I can possible find this item?
This is the cam stack gear https://millardsewing.com/product/172803/. However, the actual cams in the stack are harder to come by. I have seen a file for this on thingy verse here https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3390281. I hope this helps.