>>>but who's still got a 1950s washing machine ....
>
>We do. (Well 1961 anyway). Still going strong but has to be bolted to the floor to prevent it leaving..<g>

Ten years ago I saw the restrainer legs for wild washing machines... imagine a rubber cake, about 20cm in diameter at the bottom, with a hemispherical pit on top, about 12cm in diameter. Take four of these and seat your machine in it. If it manages to jump out of those, you'd really have to chain it to the floor. Or check whether all the springs which should hold the drum are really there.