Necchi, Singer, Pfaff, Viking (now made by Husqvarna), Janome, Some of the older Sears/Kenmore machines are good and even some of the lesser known brands can have machines that are real gems.
Necchi Bu series machines are near bulletproof, almost anything Singer made pre 1970s is typically good if well maintained, Pfaff still to this day makes some of the most bulletproof machines, The Viking machines stand on their own merit, there is a reason they are still to this day one of the most beloved brands of machines.
Simply put just look and see what you can find, carry test scraps with you of various thicknesses and textures and give it a good run down. Normally bunching up of thread and other thread related issues on older machines are something as simple as adjusting thread tensions until it correctly feeds the thread you are using.
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