Added a new motor to my Singer 99K (again)

Yes, you read it correctly. I have gone and added a new YDK motor to my Singer 99K. Now both of my vintage machines are motor driven!
I have to say that since I swapped my first YDK motor from the 99K to the 201, the 201 has been in almost daily use and it has performed flawlessly. It was a good move on my part back in June, but I really felt that the 99K should be motor driven, as it was when I first bought it (even though the original wiring was in a dangerous state.) So I took the plunge and went for a second motor, received it a couple of days ago and put it straight on the 99K.
Like before, it runs very well, but is considerably more noisy than the almost silent 201. I think I have found an issue that is adding to the noise. The tension spring is hitting the thread guide below the take up arm as the spring flicks back and forth. If I can fix this (may need a new tension spring) the noise level will drop considerably. Fingers crossed!!

Comments

My primary machine: Toyota's Super Jeans 34 after 10 months use.

This is my Super Jeans 34. The big daddy of Toyota's Super Jeans machines with 34 stitch options. It's black, well actually it's more like a dark brown to my eyes. Like almost every domestic sewing machines today, it has a plastic exterior with a rigid metal frame inside. This makes for a lightweight machine, but one which can still punch its way through multiple layers of denim fabric with ease. So what drew me to this machine and what is it like to use? Well, first let me say that my partner has been using a Toyota Quiltmaster 226 for close to 5 years and swears by it as a real, un-fussy workhorse. She is a quilter and has made a multitude of quilts on her machine since we bought it, and it has been totally reliable. I have a Toyota 3304 over locker that I use for garment construction too. It took me a weekend to get to grips with a machine that uses 4 threads instead of two, but since then I loved using the 3304, it's a great over locker, quiet, easy to use, ...

Singer 99: Edge stitching attachment.

Looking like a weird set of ladders the Singer edge stitch attachment is one of the most versatile attachments I have, so I thought that I would share some of the ways it can be used. First, it is a very effective and almost faultless way to stitch at the edge of material. Remove the normal presser foot and attach the edge stitcher and you are good to go. I like to turn under 1/8-1/4" of fabric first, and either press or finger press a sharp edge in place. The video below details the full edge stitching process using the attachment. Singer edge stitching foot More edge stitcher techniques: Singer 99: Adding lace, ribbon etc to a garment edge with the edge stitching attachment

Issues with using a thread stand on my Singer 201K and 99K solved.

I had a small frustration with my vintage sewing machines which I have now cured. When I sew using cross-wound thread, which is most of the time, I do not use the machines spool holder. It is designed to work with spools of stacked thread, like the old Sylko reels. I run my thread from a thread stand, which works in reducing any additional twist to the thread by pulling the thread off the spool from end, not the side. In theory, it works great but in practice, I hit a snag. The spool stand is tall, with the thread stand guide arm being 3-4 inches higher than the spool pin on the machine. Most of the time there is no issue with this, especially if I am sewing at slow to medium pace, but if I pick up speed the thread has a tendency to jump out of the first thread guide on the machine. I find this happens on both my 201K and 99K machines. What causes the problem is that the thread goes slack if I take my foot off the gas. There is nothing to stop the thread flap...

Sewing on and Serging forward

Search This Blog