J Miller

Thanks for the additional info. I've now got more info to tune those two pesky little 99Ks of mine.

Joe

coloradosky

ArchaicArcane, Thank you for this very helpful article. I used it today to set up a $5 red eye in a matter of minutes. I tore everything apart, cleaned the parts in a sonic jewelry cleaner and reassembled. The first few tries the tension was not good so I adjusted the thread tension a few times and it was not doing much. I went in and got your article I printed out this morning, made a few adjustments on the screw and it now stitches so much better. Hopefully when I get a handcrank attached and the machine back into its case it will sew even better. Thanks again.

ArchaicArcane

Hey Joe, maybe you could tell me,.. why do these 99s seem to gather in pairs? I've seen a couple of people refer to the pair of 99s, etc. And of course, I have 2 here.

Hey!! I'm so glad to hear it's helping people!

A jewellery cleaner,.. that's a heck of an idea! I will have to see if I can hunt one of those down. The DH will be thrilled to hear I have yet another thing to find and to put in the sewing room.

Caroline S

Uh I now have triplets instead of twins. Purchased a very pristine 99K yesterday. The ONLY thing she needs is oiling and dust removal. Will post pics later today.

J Miller

ArchaicArcane,
I'm not sure why really other than both of the ones I have were in need of a lot of TLC. By rescuing them I saved at least one of them from being parted out. And by having one that was functional I was able to compare it to the other one and get him fixed too.

About the only machine we don't have a mate for is my wife's Bernina Record 930. And she's keeping her eyes open for one of those too.

Joe

ArchaicArcane

I would like to see those for sure! Well, If I'm going to be honest here,... I've been chatting with a lady who has a 99 in a bentwood case, far from pristine, that I have a chance to go get. That would make triplets here too.

You need to talk to the DH... he encourages my "no, I already have one of those" mentality. The only "doubles" I have are the featherweights and the 99s, but I see the 403 as a double of the 503, and the 15-90 and 15-91 as doubles too. All told, I think there are 6 machines I could "get rid of" and not feel a void, except for a lack of things holding desks down.

That said, I keep itching to get rid of the doubles, and he says to me "but you put so much time and energy into each of them, isn't each of them special?" Yes, I've bonded with each one, but I think for me, that the enjoyment is in the rescue and the rehab. After that, I know that any of them can go to a good home and be appreciated.

miriam

"I think for me, that the enjoyment is in the rescue and the rehab. After that, I know that any of them can go to a good home and be appreciated. "

I think I like what you just said. That's exactly how I feel. Kind of catch and release...

J Miller

I like the hunt and then the rehab too. But so far I haven't gotten to the point of adopting any of them out.
I do get attached to the ones I've really worked on, especially when all the work comes together and the machine works really nice.
But there is a limited base for sewing machines in this area. This place is economically dead. It's too small with too few people as well, and most of them wouldn't know the hand wheel from a bobbin.
I can count on one hand the sewing / quilting / repair shops here too. Very sad.

Joe

miriam

Lessons???

ArchaicArcane

Exactly! Now if I could just master the "release" part. I have the "catch" down pat.

I find it exactly the same. It's so rewarding to bring one back from the brink, and then use it. I spent 4 hours last night "piecing" my very first quilted items on the Winselmann. Wow,.. if someone said I'd be doing that a year ago, I'd have told them they were crazy!!

We're the same here. There are 5 shops that I know of that do repair, then a 6th if you count the guy I go see more than 100km (60miles) away. One of the shops is closing at the end of September, and 2 of the others are not worth darkening their doorsteps. There are a handful of other quilting shops around and I haven't spent enough time in the ones I know of to find out if they have anything as far as machines.

I had an opportunity to buy the shop that's closing (I had the inside scoop), but decided not to because I'm concerned that there's not going to be enough business to keep it afloat more than a few more years anyway.

I've had people ask me "Do they even make sewing machines anymore"? And the people I've seen in class with me, oi! Don't know the difference between a machine needle and a hand needle, or how to turn corners. Those are the ones who -want- to learn. Then there's all of the ads in the local kijiji of the backs of the machines.

The machine I picked up yesterday for free, the guy said they couldn't figure out how to use it after it was tuned up by one of the local shops, so they were giving it away. "Tension Problems" he said. I haven't sat down with it yet, I promised myself I'd actually sew last night instead.