Kenmore 158.541

I'm not sure there are rules re. collecting anything including machinery but I've learned over the last few years that down to a certain price point, I can always find the same item for less. All I have to do is wait.

Now, this machine isn't exactly the same as my 158.540 (there are some cosmetic differences) but it appears to be mechanically identical with all the great features a 1960s Kenmore includes: 

• 1.2 amps
• Double needle capable
• Built-in buttonhole drive 
• Reversible plate insert for zig-zag/straight switching
• 5mm width
• Cam assembly
• Automatic bobbin winding
• Interlock light/power 
• Incremented plunger-style pressure control
• All-metal: cast iron body, steel parts
• Aggressive dogs for heavy-duty sewing
• Feed dog drop
• Reverse feed (and timed to match Forward almost exactly)

It has a few small dings but is in great shape, especially the wiring.  Even the case (a vintage '60s Sears pressboard trapezoid) is very decent.  Pretty, isn't it?

The last picture shows an inserted cam -- an E-type cam, to be exact.  Kenmore made cam assemblies in different sizes, different width capabilities, and with different numbers and styles of following arms.  The 541 is a single-arm mechanism that follows the lowest layer of a 2-level flat disc (E) cam.  This means that the stitch design you see on the top of the cam is produced by the layer on the opposite or lower side of the disc.

The 541 and several other models of this era are essentially straight stitch machines until you add cams, including zig-zag stitch, i.e. there is no built-in zig-zag.  It may seem an odd design decision but it makes perfect sense in that so much workhorse sewing is straight.  By limiting zig-zag to a following arm instead of including an internal cam mechanism, manufacturing is somewhat simpler.

These Kenmores are some of my favorites, including the fantastic 158.1503; if you sew a lot of denim, they are an excellent choice.