I wanted to post the below comment on Core77´s article:
but wasn´t able to due to some nagging error so I decided to post it here instead.
"I imagine that back in the early 1900s, when these wheels were originally made, the manufacturers actually cared about the end user. American women, mostly, that worked with the singer machines and so, the manufacturer made sure that all the details were properly resolved, rounded edges, shiny and smooth paint coats, etc.
I have a hard time believing that a chinese manufacturer, or any other manufacturer in this case, would really be interested in the end user experience of someone still using an old singer sewing machine nowadays given the abundance of alternatives on the market.
That may seem harsh, but whoever those people are, they don´t strike me as being much of a priority target market for any modern manufacturer, consumer goods provider or designer.
The production volumes are too low, the turnover rate (obsolescence) too long and the margins barely viable which is why they´re made in china, because nobody else is even inclined to provide this service to a dwindling clientele.
It´s surprising that spare parts are actually still being made at all for a product that´s mainly out of circulation."
