Gently with a rubber mallet before and after hairdryer heat. Tapping it sideways, as it's all the way down, but hoping to disconnect the rust. Used triflow not airflow.. (Silly autocorrect.)

Thanks for the suggestions, guys, this is driving me nuts. Ordered some Finish Line, thanks for that suggestion, Mickey.

I think I've maybe tapped on only one or two machines and gotten them unstuck. My latest was yesterday. It was a Singer 99. Bobbin area was covered in rust as was the bottom of the machine - big clue. The machine looked good on the upper part. I spent the better part of yesterday trying to free up that machine. First I cleaned up all the rust with Finish Line bike chain lubricant. It is for cleaning up rust as far as I'm concerned. Then I cleaned and oiled the machine multiple times with no movement. I could rock the hand wheel and see slight movement in the needle bar - that told me the problem was unlikely in that area. I spent a lot more time oil in with Tri-flow and rocking the wheel. I could not see anything in the upper part of the mache so blindly kept oiling. I took the hand wheel off, and used a good mechanics glove to help turn it. Just not budging. I suspected the bobbin movement from the start but a lot of times the area I suspect is really not the part that is stuck. I do not like to ever force a machine to move since something else could break, bend or nick. Gently rocking it while oiling, will more often than not, make the machine turn. But you never know so I oiled every place else I could thin might be a friction point. After I was sure everything was well oiled, I decided to try tapping. This time I needed to tap on the part that rocks the bobbin. I tapped a couple times. Rock and tap. Oil from upside down, side ways, front to back. I like to let the oil do the job. I tapped gently and all of a sudden it gave. I put the machine back together and added a hand crank and turned and turned the machine to work the oil into it at the same time cleaning dirty oil out and adding clean oil. Then I cleaned out excess oil. This time it was the little spot under the bobbin holder carrier stuck with rust judging from the ooze that come out of that area once it turned. the 201 I had that was stuck unstuck the instant I pulled the motor. It was a stuck motor. A lot of machines don't get oil in rods and their mechanisms just left of the hand wheel and they get dried up oil stuck or rusted in the places that should move in that area. I've seen rust or dried up oil causing it to freeze behind most of the parts behind the needle bar area. You may need to listen as you rock the machine and feel what might be loose. It may NOT be the needle bar at all that is stuck. I had a machine a very long time ago that I tore apart because I couldn't figure it out. Someone had taken the shuttle off and put it back on incorrectly some how causing the whole thing to freeze. I had to learn a lot about repairs the hard way. Since I am not a really strong person, I like to let the oil work and not get in a hurry to use force.

I do not leave the Finish Line on the machine since it is rather heavy. I clean it off and use a light weight oil. If you do not have a bicycle shop near you to buy Finish Line Wet, you might try cleaning with automatic transmission fluid since it should have a detergent effect, too. Be sure to clean up as you go and use a light oil once you are ready to sew with it. A lot of repair info as well as knowledgeable people have moved to the victoeiun Sweet Shop - see SteveH for a link and correct spelling :shock:

The only Finish Line oil worth going for when it comes to sewing machines is the "Ceramic Wet Lube" version. It's in a bottle with a gold cap, at least last time I bought it. It's a light syntetic oil with teflon, very comparable to Triflow. The "Extreme Wet Lube" and the other bottles I've had from this brand is much thicker and stickier, made to coat metal and last in all kinds of salty and wet conditions. The Ceramic version is actually a very good oil for sewing machines (promise!), and the additives are aimed at reducing fricition and wear, not stand up to harsh conditions. Appart from this; my main suggestion was just to try something different than you already had used. I'm sure you are onto it, and it's all about getting the oil into all the nooks and crannies. I know it's not easy when you can't turn the mechanism at all.

Hey folks,

1. Try Kroil. I have Yet to find a better penetrating oil.
2. I would agree with Miriam. The issue may not be in the Needlebar mechanism at all

Remember these are connected systems. IF you make movement in one area without getting movement in ALL of the connected bits, you will damage something.

My personal method of choice is to take photographs and then pick a part that is a link in the chain and remove it.

You can then see which side of the chain of moving parts is now frozen and concentrate your efforts on that portion

That's rust below the bushing on the needlebar? I think it's as likely a place as any because of that. You've made a really good observation in that everything else wiggles when you jiggle the wheel but there's no movement here. I've also heard good things about Kroil. In fact, I must remind DH to bring some home for me...

Mickey2 - I think I might get the prize for "stuck". My poor Gritzner is still stuck and I got the Facebook "1 year memory" post the other day. She's been here a year and still only a tiny bit of rock in her. :( We gave her a break come fall so she could come inside and she's reassembled and in my bookcase at the moment. I know if I could get the handwheel off, I could get further but it's stuck but good. She's the only machine in the house that doesn't turn and sew.

Miriam, I had a good stuck one yesterday too. Those Rocketeer handwheels/clutches are unreal. I finally had to use a DH! Seriously, I tweaked something in my wrist trying with rubber gloves, and he came in with the rubber mallet and gave it a few taps then used the rubber gloves too and finally got it loose.

SteveH, I might have to get a bottle of Kroil too, if I can find it here. There are lots of stuff I haven't tried, and I've had and still have quite a few rememdies on my shelf. I have noted down Wintergreen essential oil; apparently it unfreezes all kinds of rusted screws and bolts, and I have also noted it's in one of the known spray can oils. Oils in general work well. There was an advice to mix acetone with gear oil, but I had no luck with it.

Tammi; an entire year and still stuck has to be a record, and I hope annf doesn't have to compete with yours ;- )
What type of oils have you used? As I mentioned; some times just switching to something different helps. The explanation mightbe as the first oil gets to do it's work and when something else get't to take over, working slightly differently, things happen. I hope your Gritzner loosens up after next round of oil and wiggeling. In my case machines have unstuck by soaking in oil over night; in one case it took me four days to get a machine running smoothly, repeated applications of oil and turning the hand wheel did the job. It was just dried up oil and grime causing the sluggishness, hard to pin it down to any specific part.

I like Miriam's advice on tilting the machne over, side ways, even up side down. Those horizontal rods under the base can be very hard to get oil into, I'm not even sure there's oil spots officially in the manual, but I have studied them and it looks like there's one metal piece running through an outer one; in other words metal moving against metal, not a solid piece made in one casting. Make sure the oil seeps into the oil points, and in cases like these I oil generously, deliberate over oiling. I like the wooden case with kitchen paper or old rags before I start.

Assuming it is indeed the needle bar that's stuck, how about depositing a drop of evaporust where you suspect it's seized? Let that creep in. You may need to do this a few times depending on how bad it is.

I would not do that ever. Use something with an OIL based detergent not a water base. Can you remove the needle bar? You would have to retime it if you do. I have a Kenmore 15 clone in like new condition. It was frozen up all right. The needle bar shafts don't line up. Something wrong when they made it... Must have been near a holiday in the factory. That gorgeous machine is for parts, sniff. I think I was bragging that I didn't have a 15 parts machine... It could also be a bent needle bar.

I recently managed to un-stick a Singer 99. Both the needle bar and the presser foot bar were stuck. I have had the machine maybe a year, I don't remember. I had worked on it, oiled it up and decided to let it have some time for the oil to work. I decided if I couldn't get it unstuck it would be a parts machine. So I tackled it again. Put tri flow, oil and finally some break free. Still stuck. Finally got the presser foot bar moving by tapping on it. The needle bar was about half way up. Tapped, tapped. Left overnight. Tapped tapped, left over night. Tapped some more, going up, tapped going down. I had made a mark on the bar to see if it was moving. Hey the mark had move a 32 of an inch. Hey a few more taps and it moved 16th. More tapping and finally tapped it clear down, then back up, with taps. At last it was free- applied more oil wiping up the excess and spinning the movement. Oil coming out was orange, yes it was rusty.
How is it now, it is one of the smoothest movements of a 99 I have. Sweet little machine. Next challenge is the motor, bad wires and doesn't move freely. I may just replace the motor. Would put a handcrank on it but it has a solid wheel and the spoke wheel is too thick.

Sorry if I have rambled on a bit, good luck on the sticky problem!

Ethel