Singer was a major player in sewing machine manufacturing, prior to adoption of the "built in obsolescence " business model, and extreme competition from Japanese manufactured, less expensive sewing machines, and one of the last, best Singer sewing machine models, was the Touch & Sew 600e, a steel gear driven model.
Singer Touch N Sew sewing machines were Singer's top of the line models, with all kinds of "bells and whistles ", including slant shank feet, for better visibility (according to Singer's advertising information). The 600E has STEEL GEARS, which most Touch & Sew models do NOT, so it is the most sought after Touch & Sew Sewing machine. In rare cases, you can find other Touch & Sew models, which have steel gears, but most of the T&S models have plastic gears which tend to break, and need replaced every 40 or 50 years. If you open the bottom of the machine, and see black or white gears, they are plastic, but the 600E has steel gears.
The settings don't seem as intuitive as many other machines, which show dials with illustrations of the stitches, which I think was a downfall for Singer, not making machines prettier, and not making them more intuitive.
Steel gears make this one of Singer's last strong, long lasting sewing machines
Sturdy metal mechanical parts, are the biggest draw of the 600E, making it a favorite among Singer collectors
According to former Singer factory workers, Singer employees used the parts out of bins, to manufacture each sewing machine, and the 600e was the last model manufactured by Singer, in theUnited States, with steel gears, though a few other Touch & Sew models did get steel gears, if there were steel gears still in the gear parts bin, when they were made.
The T & S models above 600E (though you can occasionally find model numbers above 600 which have had steel gears installed) do have plastic gears, but many owners love them so much, replacing the gears is worth the money or time and effort, to some.
I know of several T & S machines after the 600e, which were discovered to have the steel gears, and occasionally, a vintage sewing machine lover did replace their beloved T & S model with steel gears salvaged from previous steel geared models, so if you wind up with a later steel geared T & S, count your blessings!
