My personal favorite sewing machine is the Necchi BU Nova, in black. To me, it is the essence of "sewing machine." Solid and chunky in profile, with shiny black paint and sparkling chrome. Mine handles fabrics ranging from sheers to multiple layers of Sunbrella with ease, and makes a perfect stitch all the time. It's a fabulous free-motion stitcher, too. The side-loading oscillating bobbin is said to be the most forgiving conformation of all, and that certainly seems true of this machine.
The machine was designed as an electric, of course, straight-stitch and zigzag. This one came in a beautiful cabinet, shown in the sidebar at left. Like many of the Singer cabinets, the cabinet itself is wired with a power cord and controller (knee style in this case), and the wires from the machine simply plug into those in the cabinet.
This machine turns as smoothly as any machines I've ever tried... and let me tell you, that's hundreds of machines. So despite the relatively small handwheel, I decided to try it in a treadle cabinet...
This is most of a Sears Kenmore cabinet, manufactured by White, their ergonomic "Sit Strate" style. Note that the treadle (pedal) is directly under the needle, so one can sit directly in front of the work, not have to crane to the side as with most treadle designs.
I bought this cabinet from someone who thought it'd make a nice base for a bathroom sink... well, they weren't quite as handy as they thought...
Russ and I built a new top for the poor thing, and put Singer hinge-pins in it. That was a well considered decision, because it meant that my beloved Nova would have to be "defaced", i.e., the holes for the hinge-pins drilled larger. Nova hinge-pins are smaller in diameter than Singer pins, the norm.
I made the decision to drill out the holes in the machine so it could reside in any Singer or generic cabinet in future, giving it greater versatility/utility. Necchi Nova hinge pins are fairly rare. I have not been sorry for that decision....
... especially when I discovered awhile later that I was more comfortable treadling in a Singer straight-leg cabinet. The treadle is well adjusted and virtually silent. The machine, too, is virtually silent... so I can sit and sew behind the couch and not interfere with anyone hearing the television.
I left the motor and power cord on the machine (another nod to versatility/utility), thinking I could just switch it from treadle to electric cabinets as I wished. I haven't felt the need or desire to use it electrified, which is just as well because I didn't think to tie up the power cord and it got caught in the treadle flywheel... Anyway, it is fabulous to have a treadle machine with zigzag capability!
P.S. If you're wondering about the two spools of thread on the machine, see the "Twin Needle Stitching" page for details.