Singer 99k motor
 

Hi everyone!
I'm new here and have really enjoyed reading the posts so far. I just got back my 99k from my repair guy. It was new to me and I wanted to be sure that the wiring was safe, not knowing much about the electrical end of things. It sounds amazing (new motor, by my request) but the motor is not parallel to the back of the bed. Is that a problem, or should I just be concerned with the way it sews and sounds?
Ila in Denver

Welcome aboard! I would want the pulleys lined up correctly. Being crooked could result in excessive wear on the motor bearings.
Rodney

So what should I do? Can I safely loosen the bolt holding the motor to the machine and try to straighten it?

Can you post a picture? That might give us some better idea of what to do next. If the motor bracket is cast metal bending it will most likely break it.
Rodney

Why did you want a new motor put on it? Most likely there wasn't anything wrong with the old one that a good servicing and greasing wouldn't cure.

As for the new motor, if it has a stamped metal bracket it is a generic one size fits all unit. I have bought and used several of them and on at least two I had to bend the bracket to put the motor pulley straight with the hand wheel. They just do not always fit properly.

As Rodney said, if the bracket is cast you'll most likely break it if you try to bend it. If it's stamped it can be bent to fit.

Joe

Hi everyone,
I put a new motor on it because I'm new to vintage machines (I have a couple of 70s/80s Kenmores but this one is so much older, 1956 I think) and was nervous about the wiring. I still have the old motor, and it just sounds so much... well, older. I was worried about the poor thing. I can pop it back on there and see how it sits. I'll upload a photo of what it looks like now, as soon as I figure out how to do that (new to this board, too!).
This is a generic motor -- an Alphasew, 0.9 amp. Can I safely try to bend it? And how? I can try with my bare hands, but I have about as much arm strength as you'd expect from a barely-over-100-pounds skinny little school teacher. I could recruit my husband, I suppose.
Thanks for bearing with the newbie!
Ila

Hmm. I'm rethinking my plan to replace the motor, light and motor controller on my 1928 99. The wiring is toast (think smoke, sparks and thrown circuit breaker), but I don't want a crooked motor either!

Ila,

I have used several of those motors. They are good motors. The brackets I bent required that I put them in a vise so I could control the amount of bending. I couldn't do by hand, and when I tried with the bracket on the machine it just sprung back to where it was.

The original motor is probably just dry inside. The wiring is fairly easy to replace, basically just use the original wiring as a guide and put the new in exactly as the old was.

The old motors do not deteriorate with age as much as you think they might. I have many machines made in the 20s, 30s, and 40s with their original motors, and they work just fine. Usually all they need is cleaning of the commutator and brushes, and lubrication. Sometimes they do need new power cords but that really isn't too hard to do either.

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19cats,

Simply rewire it. There's a bunch of us here that routinely rewire the old motors, lights and cord blocks rather than put new ones on. Just ask, we'll help.

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Ila and 19cats,

Here is a thread I did about remotoring a naked Singer 99K:
{ http://www.quiltingboard.com/vintage...r-t183512.html }
I did this as a learning experience and because that machine had no motor on it when I got it.

Joe

Trying to post a pic from my smartphone and can't figure it out. Sorry. I am taking it to my repair guy to see what to do with it. I think the bracket can probably be bent slightly. For the person who has a smoking, sparking motor, don't let a new motor that is only slightly off kilter scare you off! What other option do you have? A full rewire? Wouldn't that be more expensive?

The new motor is the most expensive part. Since the machine was originally out on the curb, it would't hurt to take the motor off and look at it.

The proper electrical cord will cost around 60¢ a foot or thereabouts. It takes maybe 13 feet to rewire an entire machine. I've don a bunch of them. I get the 18-2 SPT2 cord from Sew-Classic. For the machines that use 18-2 SPT1 cord I get that locally.

Joe

This is true. I have never replaced a motor unless:
A- it's missing
B- the cooling fan has fragged
C- I swiped the motor for another machine. I did that once for a special machine, my HOTHER. The donor got an Alpha Sew motor and works just fine.


JOe

[QUOTE=J Miller;6650297]This is true. I have never replaced a motor unless:
A- it's missing
B- the cooling fan has fragged
C- I swiped the motor for another machine. I did that once for a special machine, my HOTHER. The donor got an Alpha Sew motor and works just fine.


See what I mean? I wouldn't know if the cooling fan was fragged or not. Also, how do you know which cord to use --SPT1 or SPT2? The cord on there now is REALLY thin (as in thinner than the cord on a lamp) and that strikes me as inadequate.

When you find one with a broken fan, you'll know it. They sound like all kinds of junk is rattling around inside.
Most Singer wiring systems use the 18-2 SPT2 wire. Cord block sets like the Japanese machines use usually use the 18-2 SPT1 wire. Non Singer motors can have either size insulation. I just replace the cord with the same size when I rewire them.

The only difference between the SPT1 and SPT2 is the SPT2 has thicker insulation. The actual wire inside is the same.

Find a piece of cord that is marked and strip some insulation from it. 18 gauge wire is very consistent in size. That is all I use on my rewires. No 20, no 16, just 18 ga wire.

Joe

My repair guy got the bracket bent enough to make it sit straight and all is good to go. He took it off the machine, disappeared into the back and came back with it straightened out. I should have asked him what he did! As for the cost of the motor, I got a 0.9 amp Alpha Sew motor and foot pedal for $36 on eBay. Just FYI. I kept the original motor and will open it up to see what I might be able to do so I can put it back on. Any good YouTube videos on that? ☺

Joe, I have a few motors that need servicing and rewiring. I would love to see a tut done on that as, personally, I'm not very knowledgeable in that area. Maybe when you're feeling back to yourself you'd consider doing one. :)
~ Cindy

Cindy,

You might do a search on that. There have been a number of threads / tutes on rewiring done. I've got a ways to go before I could even consider doing something like that.

Joe

Yeah...I totally understand. We all want you to get better. I'll do a search...thanks.
~C