Pleasr tell me about a Singer 99K
 

I bought a 1934 Singer 99K while antiqueing on vacation. Bought it because I liked it and its pretty bentwood case. According to the internet these were prolific, but now I realize they are never discussed here on the board to my knowledge. Are they not conducive to quilting? Did I make a bad buy? Even if I did, I still like the machine and will plan on keeping it.

Good machine, easy to maintain, reliable, and makes a good stitch. With regular cleaning and oiling, it will outlast all of us. Quilters prefer Featherweights because they are lighter but a 99 sews just as well and costs a lot less.

Ed

And they are so reliable and simple to maintain we rarely need to talk about them.

conniemaried,

There are threads about the 99s all over this section. There is nothing really special or different about them. They are basically a 3/4 size 66. They sew very nice stitches, are reliable and durable.
Anything more and you'll have to ask some specific questions.

Joe

Congrats on your "new" machine! It's great fun to be browsing and actually find something you want and the price works for you, too!
K

Mine is very quiet to use. I can sew in the same room while others are watching TV without any complaints about them not being able to hear what's going on.

I have a 99, and 99k.. They are both great machines.. They are easy to take care of, and they hummmmmm..

I have a 99k great machine!

The stitching has probably been understated here. The 99s and 66s make a near-perfect stitch (see http://www.sewalot.com/singer%2066.htm for more). Only machine Alex A Considers better is the 201.
Someone on this forum said the 401 is the best machine, but that might just be because it also has fancy quilting stitches built-in. I makes dresses, not quilts (yet - my daughter expressed interest in quilting yesterday so there's hope for me still).
Mike

Thanks to a quilter here I have 2 99k's. A friend in Canada sent me her 99k to use as parts for the one I already had. They both purr like a kitten. My hubby even made me a sewing table for mine. I love it. The stitch is wonderful and the machine is smaller than my others. So I'm happy. You might try to look up 99k on you tube. Seems like they do have videos there of 99 and 99k.

Connie, If you need some bobbins, please don't go to Walmart nor Joann's to get the #66 bobbins. They don't work, just ask me, I know! sew-classic has the ones that do work and they are very helpful with anything you want help with.

I have 2 Singer 99's. One is a 99-13 with the knee bar that fits into the base of the bentwood case. The other 99 has a HUGE metal foot petal, and also the bentwood case.

99 and 99k (I don't know the difference, but I have several of each and they all look and sound alike to me) are wonderful little tiny HEAVY machines. Think FW, except for weight. I love all of mine, buttonhole makers, zig zaggers, ruffle, whatever I want to put on them are not any trouble attaching and working without a lot of agony (this usually ruins me when I am in the mood to do something different with a sewing machine today); I love that they are quiet and easy to train a new sewer on.

I also have a 99-13. Mine doesn't have great decals, so I don't mind using pins or doing paper piecing on it. It's a nice, reliable machine, if heavy.

There is something nobody has covered yet, and that is fmq. Even though you can cover the feed dogs with the proper cover, this machine is not good at fmq UNLESS You get and use a Stoppax Embroidery Attachment. These were made in Denmark about 60 years ago and go for about $60 on e-bay. You can easily fmq on a Singer 99 with a Stoppax. For that matter, you can easily fmq with any of the older --and many other --machines using a Stoppax. It's just amazing! The Stoppax attachment is the best discovery I've made in ages. (I have two.)

This is what they look like:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Stop...item3f26c88267

JoAnn, the 99 was made in the US, and the 99 K signifies that it was made in Great Britain. A 99-13, for instance was made here in the US, and a 99-K13 over seas.

Cricket, that is a neat little attachment that you have. I've never heard of them. I'll be on the outlook to see if I can find one. I'd like to find one cheaper. I'm wondering of some of the guys here on the QB that are into making things could make some of them?

Could the feed dog cover, like the one to a buttonholer woudl work for FM. With the feed dogs covered, they can't move the fabric. I've heard that putting the stitch length like on a FW to 0 would work too, but I haven't tried it. Turning the knob on my 99's down to 0 would be a pain. I get them where I like the length of the stitch and leave them.
No, the 99's don't have great decals, but they are cute in their own way, being 3/4 the size of the 66's. I agree that the 66's and other full size machines have a lot more decals.

I LOVE my 99-K!!! it sews the most perfect straight stitch of any machine I use- I use it as my (travel) machine because it is not computerized- less chance of anything happening to it when I take it places & it's easy to maintain/service- I love using it for quilt projects with lots of pieces- (like a lonestar) because I can piece the most accurate seams with it. and I picked it up in pristine condition for $20! it is the best $20 I've ever spent. :)

My 99 is a wonderful little machine! i love it! was going to convert it to a hand crank but couldnt bring myself to do it because it was near mint and everything worked so beautifully. so it stayed electric. :)

The K just refers to where it was made (Kilbowie, Scotland). AFAIK they are identical to the U.S. made ones. The U.S. ones would be 99W(?)

EDIT: Darn, I should really have read the whole page first. Someone else already replied to this

I have one and love it. It was my first machine, bought used, and I sewed many many clothes and other things on it before my husband surprised me with a Singer GT&S (I love mine despite their bad rep). The 99K just keeps on keeping on. As Ed says, if it's well maintained it will outlast us all.

I have a 99K it belonged to my Mother-in-law, she was a professional seamstress and used it exclusively for all her sewing.

I have 99k electric in rectangular case but recently got a 99 handcrank that looked so new. Really haven't used the HC one much yet but do like to use electric one when out in my screen room on nice day. Seems more sturdy than my FW which I use on Wed at group. But, I love'em all. Write to us again after you used it .

Well since you all have 99s, does anybody know how to grease the controller mechanism?? I started a thread here, but nobody answered :o( http://www.quiltingboard.com/vintage...r-t225570.html

Your knee controller looks the same as the carbon pile rheostat in my foot controller. I just Googled this, and nowhere is there any mention of greasing it. You said Singer recommended you "lubricate" not grease, so I'd assume they meant oil and, well, I wouldn't apply anything at all to the contacts unless there's an obvious need for it.
http://needlebar.org/nbwiki/index.ph...ing_a_Rheostat has more information about these devices.
EDIT: I'm quite sure we don't *all* have them. They're not as popular as, say, the 66 or 201