I just bought a Singer Golden Touch & Sew at an estate sale. The straight stitch works great but it will not do a true zig-zag. It starts at wide width and the zig-zag narrows steadily for about one inch until it sews 2 or 3 straight stitches then widens steadily for about one inch until is is wide again. Can this be fixed?

Singer has most of their sewing machine manuals on their support site: https://www.singer.com/support . I don't see the 606 though. They do have the manuals for the 600 and 603 zig-zag Touch & Sew machines and the 604 straight stitch version. (Leave off the final 6 in the search box to see these manuals listed.) Since the Touch & Sew line didn't change much over time, these manuals may help.

Several sewing machine parts suppliers do have the 606 manual for sale. https://www.sewingpartsonline.com/instruction-manual-singer-606.aspx and http://www.sewingshop.com/singermodel606instructionmanual.aspx .

I do not have a source for the repair manual. Singer used to have parts diagrams available for their machines at singerco.com (on the Industrial machine page section). However, that site no longer works.

I hope that the above information helps.

Cindy Wells

The manual in belo link may help

https://www.manualslib.com/manual/1051312/Singer-Touch-And-Sew-639.html

Provide detail of your machine, make & model No. Download Instruction Manual from below website for free if your machine is Singer, may be it helps:
http://www.singerco.com/uploads/download/448_5_6_8_10_slide.pdf

not sure if this is any good to you but its all i can find at mo..The machine has a 'hold' in the blank (or red) posiiton. You have to push the selector dial in a little bit then turn it. If it is in the red position it will only turn clockwise...or go to this link... can move the upper stitch pattern selctor to the position Google Search

try moving it with the stitch width set to #1

since you bought the machine at a state sale it would probably be a good idea to have the machine serviced.
you should be able to go from straight stitch to zig zag with out any problems.
if you move the dials or knob & the machine will not do a straight stitch then it needs to be checked

No sewing machine does a true overlock stitch, that is what sergers are for, they trim and form a stitch on the edge of the fabric using 1 or 2 needles and two loopers. Costs more for an additional machine but the finish is much more like a shop bought item.

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Some sewing machines have an overcasting or interlock stitch which looks like stitch 10 in this picture above. Your machine may have this stitch?

If not, does it have a three step zig zag? It looks like a zig zag but the needle goes into the fabric three times as it forms each leg of the zig zag. This stitch is great for neatening a raw edge and I use this a lot myself. Especially on wovens as it is always faster to seam with this rather than the overcasting stitch where the feed dogs move the fabric forwards, then backwards, then forward to make the stitch.

The sewing machine made overcasting stitch can be used to sew knit fabrics, attach rib around an neck line and neaten raw edges but it is always going to take longer than a serger and there is no trimming function so its never going to look like a shop made overlocked item. However, you can sew knit fabrics with a sewing macine with a bit of patience as long as the machine has some "Forwards/backwards" type stitches as these put elasticity into the seams - if you seam knit with a straight stitch, seams can break when under tension during wear.

And use a twin stretch needle and straight sttich to sew the hems, this looks a bit like a cover stitch and has a bit of give in it too.

Hope this helps you a little. You can find some good sewing general info on www.sewing.about.com or invest in a good sewing book. I refer to my Vogue Sewing Manual and my Singer Sewing Secrets often. Or take a sewing class, its a great way to learn new things, get enthused and have fun.

a all purpose foot or a zig zag foot will do both straight stitch & zig zag

Well, I think you confused your machine. Go back to the zig zag and sew on a scrap piece of material. Stop sewing and carefully go back to regular stitching. Make sure your stitch length is correct and you have everything tightened up and the feed dog is raised. If this doesn't help, try doing a button hole stitch for a bit, stop sewing, go to zig zag, stitch a bit and go to the regular stitch and see if that works. If not, you may have to take it in to be reset. Good luck.

Did you switch the metal plate to one of the ones that won't allow left/right movement by any chance?
If the wrong plate it in -The machine somehow figures out that the plate won't allow the needle to move in the left/right directions and only does a straight stitch or funky other stitches.