Scored a sweet 99
 

I walked into a local charity shop and the staff had just wheeled out this sweet Singer 99. It's lovely, doesn't appear to be missing any attachments, and even the case is in good condition. The decals are worn, but otherwise the machine is pretty shiny and happy looking. It powers on, the light works. The knee lever that came with it doesn't seem to work. I've attached a picture to see if it's the complete lever.

I haven't opened the compartment with the knee lever controller yet. That's a project for tomorrow. This one was manufactured in June 1928. It's still amazing to me every time the staying power of these machines. I paid $16 for this and was just giddy that I found it.

Welcome to my[ATTACH=CONFIG]567796[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]567795[/ATTACH] new baby!
Maggie

Yay! So glad it found you.

It was meant to be. It'll be worth the money to get it fixed.

Great find. It's a nice machine.

bkay

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*** Lucky you.
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*** Our local ships GW, ReStore, Miracle Hill, & Salvation Army have gone crazy on prices.
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*** They would have priced that one in the $100. range.
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Nice find! That's a good machine.

I got one with the electric and decals in horrible shape. I attached a hand crank and my DGD loves that machine - it's her go to machine when she is over. I love it with the button hole attachment.

I love your new sewing machines. Almost every single one of my vintage machines were bought at thrift stores. We had fun cleaning them up and now I have returned most of them back to thrift stores where they didn't last a day. Most thrift stores in my area sell them for about $35.

A very lucky find and still in nice shape.

I have one exactly like it. Mine is from 1934, only difference I can spot is the knee lever, slighly differently shaped. I had mine rewired, kept the original motor and speed controller, and it has behaved very well since.

I have to give you one warning (in case you are new to this model). When you slide the bobbin case to the left, there's a screw in the lever holing it all in place. Don't touch it with a screw driver unless you read the service manual in advance. In stead; slide the bobbin cover completely off the machine, the end of the lever lifts up and towards you and realeases the bobbin case. It will give access to clean all parts from top and under the base of the machine.

Mine is mint condition, $40.00 at a tag sale. It came in the ugliest cabinet in the world, so I ordered a new (plastic) case for it. Granddaughters might need it someday.

Miriam, I love the idea of a hand crank. My friend found a very sad, beat up version of this machine for me about six months ago, and that's what I did with it, but the bolt holding the hand crank gets loose after about a minute of sewing. Do I need a new bolt? BTW - I can't convince my 80 year old mom that hand cranks are manageable. I try to tell her that there's not as much pulling as she thinks there would be since my theory says that powerful motors actually pull the fabric off center just because of their power.

The hand crank accessory should have come with a spare bolt. Usually when the HC does come loose I keep a screw driver handy eventually the machine and I come to an agreement if not I have an L shaped screwdriver handle so I can get some torque. My opinion is to use the original if possible.

I also replace the tubing on the finger that goes in the spokes. I have used tubing or I have sewn a bit of leather on the end of it. The black rubber one never lasts very long.

Don't pay any attention to your 80 year old mother. My 90 year old mother graduated from college with a degree in home-ec and all she had was a treadle chain stitch machine. She traded it in on a FW in 1948. She had an old HC long bobbin we used until I sewed a finger. I think I have better control due to learning to sew a straight line with a hand crank. I'm amazed at what I'm able to do on my favorite, an ancient Singer 115 fitted with a HC. I was able to do flat felled seams on a curve on a HC. If your machine is not sewing straight check to see if the pressure foot is straight with the feed dogs. Also check foot pressure.

If your machine has the smaller solid cast hand wheel it would require a spoked hand wheel to be able to fit with a hand crank. I think the 3/4 size machines had a different type hand crank for it to fit in the casing. I'm sure somebody can give first hand info on this. If you actually plan to use it (it's a very capable machine) it is easier to have both hands free when guiding seams along, bulks of fabric, etc. I have the knee lever version and I like it. I handed my 99 in for rewiring and service on the motor, it was a bit expensive but I have never regretted it since. These days I'm eager to take it on as a DIY adventure.

My GF and I took two 99 Handcranks to our state historical museum for Ks day. 1500 kids came through and many of them tried our machines. Great fun. At slow times we let parents and teachers try them too. We had one Singer crankt and one repo. The repo crank fit on 66s and 99s. Haven't taken the Singer one off the 99. Hoping to pick up another 99 today, but not nearly as nice as the original poster's.

You are right you have to remove the hand crank, modify the case or never put the top on the case. I have not seen a smaller version of a hand crank accessory. If it comes with a solid hand wheel you will either notch it or replace it with a spoked wheel.

With a bit of nervousness, I feel I must disagree with Miriam. My handcranks stay in place, with the handle arms hinged in on my 99s with the bentwoods. I don't have a travel case for the 66.

Leon, some of them do fit perfectly.

I'll have to look at mine when I get home. I picked up a 99 hand crank in a bentwood case, but never gave it a good look to see if it was different than the one on the 66 or the repo one.

to the OP - looks like the right knee bar. if it does not work, then something may be wrong with the controller under the metal cover, or the wiring. I've got a 128 in a case with that style knee control, and another 99 in the later style knee bar (has a slot instead of a barrel end and takes a different type cord)

I have a Singer 99k and is a very nice 3/4 machine. Since I found my white featherweight, my 99k gets neglected - sad :(

Those are great machines! And so cute to boot! Super buy.

Motor, hand crank or treadle doesn't have any effect on off-center pulling or guiding the fabric. Either way the machine is run, it's all on the hand wheel not any where else. The feed dogs move exactly the same, the same for needle movement and presser foot tension. If there's any pull it's usually the weight of the fabric itself or feed dogs need adjusting.

The advantage with the hand crank is precision sewing and opmtimal control of needle and feed dog movements. The disadvantage is your right hand is always occupied and we are used to having two hands on the job; that's one of the advantages with treadles and still is. The motor setup makes it faster and it works very well. I lean towards being true to the origin of my machines and not alter them too much. There are plenty of hand cranks turning up in my area, and I would rather just get one of those than remove the motor and light (I like it for most type of jobs). I understand you though, fitting a hand crank requires much less work than rewiring a 1920s motor and sorting out any problems.

I think I have a 'sibling' to your machine.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]568460[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]568461[/ATTACH]

and a homemade key that actually works on the bentwood lock

[ATTACH=CONFIG]568462[/ATTACH]

Janey - Neat people never make the exciting discoveries I do.

I love that key...