Originally Posted by
costumegirl
1) I think this machine may need a new tension spring since the one there is hanging and out of shape - never changed one before - will this be difficult to adjust?
I think I can find the spring online and if I lay it out as I take it off as suggested by Miriam, it may be ok to replace - Is there something that I should be careful with when doing this?
Normally you should be careful not to damage the tension spring, but in your case you may ignore that
Originally Posted by
costumegirl
2) Although the small bobbin wheel seems to turn easily by hand, it won't engage when against the hand wheel - the rubber on the bobbin wheel looks good and feels smooth.
Is it a screw adjustment to get the bobbin wheel to engage?
Yes. There's an adjustment screw on the mechanism. Loosen it and move it a little closer in. You might have to test a few different positions before the final one is reached. It's very common for this to happen. Don't over tighten it so it's pressed up against the hand wheel or you'll destroy the rubber. Only very light contact is necessary.
Not sure about the finish. I'd probably try cutting compound on a small area that isn't obvious and see if I could get the crazy paving out. If it were a featherweight or something valuable I'd paint it and put new decals on, but you might not want to go to this much trouble.
Have a look at tfsr.org and DL their manual. The 99 is one of the models it focuses on and you will find it to be a very useful (valuable even) resource. See the sticky thread about finding vintage resources for the link, and more resources.