I had no idea I might be posting here, but- a friend of mine got something called 'The Elgin' as a gift.

Its an old sewing machine, cast body, hand painted. Looks a lot like this, in fact nearly identical:

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SifEWOh97I...00/Elgin+1.JPG

So- it has no belt- can it be powered by a motor? I think its a tradmill type.