Old Singer 99 questions
 

I bought an old 99 and was again the victim of my own hubris. See pictures here. It has a hole for a knee control, but I don't have the thing that goes in there. What is it called, and is there a good place to get them?

The second issue is that the wire from the wall ends in 2 little cylindrical plugs, and one of them is barely hanging in there. How doe I replace that?

The third question is, can I bypass all that mess and just have a regular foot pedal? Is this accomplished by rewiring it to have a power block with lights and motor plugs?

It only cost me about $40, but the amount I'm going to pay in post sale problem solving might be steep, lol.

Thanks in advance to those who have gone through this before me.

The first picture is a 99 that came to me with a motor and foot control, the light is wired into the block under the motor. The second picture is a motor/bracket from a 15-90. I put the 15-90 motor onto the 99 and the belt appeared to line up fine ( I didn't take any measurements) and it moved the machine just fine.

From what I've read elsewhere I think finding one of those knee levers might be difficult and/or expensive, not to mention the rewiring problems. I've never seen under one of those knee lever covers, so I don't know how hard it is.

Quick answer... You need a circular knee lever like https://www.vintagesingerparts.com/p...=8009364471838 There were two styles of knee levers, one round and one flat. ETA- I think there is a third kind for a knee bar/lever that works for a "portable" that fits in a cabinet.

The circular plugs I believe should screw apart to be rewired.

Janey - Neat people never make the exciting discoveries I do.
Not affiliated with off-site link(s)

You can find some knee levers on ebay. I was leaning in the direction of rewiring a motor/light/foot control.

You may consider just using a hand crank on it,''

Actually, this might be the best idea of all, thanks for the idea. I have a hand crank already, but it's a 127/128 27/28, whichever is the small one. I love the crank, but I'm not really too excited about the little spindle-type bobbins.

Thanks for the pictures. Under the knee lever cover there is basically the insides of a foot control. It has the little slider that moves in an arc, and the piles (?) under it. Not sure what the name of the innards of the foot/knee control are.

Holy cow, $70!!! I'll definitely be doing a work around on this, lol. I haven't been around much and I've missed you guys. Glad you commented on this, Janey.

They can be found elsewhere, but yes can be expensive. Evidently, someone made some reproductions, but think currently sold out. A few links that I found.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/KNEE-BAR-SI...p2047675.l2557
https://www.singeroriginalvintagepro...%20BAR-0000002
https://www.bonanza.com/listings/Kne...d-128/80675571
https://www.quiltingboard.com/vintag...t304332-2.html

The bonanza one sold for less. The QB one I replied "My #191412 knee lever also has "99 mach 200 set" and "128 " 201 set""

I also read (on another board) that there were two people that had the opposite shaped knee levers for their machines, so exchanged them.

Janey - Neat people never make the exciting discoveries I do.
Not affiliated with off-site link(s)

Rewiring a kneelever machine isn't that much different from one with a foot pedal, but you need to follow the wiring diagram carefully as with any setup. If the kneelever turns up, I would go for a rewiring. I easily became used to the kneelever setup, both on my old 99 and an Elna Supermatic. I have never been able to get completely comfortable with hand cranks, with just a few seams or stitches I don't mind, neither with the buttonholer, but for larger projects prefer both hands free to maneuver the fabric, electrical motor and light.

If you already have a hand crank 128/127, the trick with the long bobbins is to wind a few at a time if you know you need a lot of thread to begin with. These models are not difficult to get used to.