Mickey2

It's not the light weight version then. I guess it's comparable to a basic 99. I thought the Japanese 99 clones were aluminium? I guess the aluminium versions are rarer than I though. According to some onfo on the web, there was a 99-10 in production for a short time, it had an aluminium body. I have held a 185 in its' case with aluminium body so I know they exist. Either of these should be about the same to work on.

Cari-in-Oly

I've seen an aluminum 99. Rare but they're out there, and not all 99 clones are aluminum. Some of the Compac(Compaq?) machines are cast iron.

Cari

Mickey2

An aluminium 185 will have it's advanages, and I like the beige and green versions, but look at this late version 99.

elnan

I have seen posts on here from Joe Miller looking for the lens for the light that was original to the little green machine. It looks like something from a magnifier. The 4-H leader who handles the online list for 4-H has the handle of Walla-Walla Sweet Onion. Ages ago, I posted on here a link to a flier she had that featured kids using hand-crank sewing machines outdoors at a Fair. She went into detail about how to attach the hand-crank. She said the 185 was ideal for a hand-crank.
The Sewing Machine Master Guide by Clifford L. Blodget says the 185 and the 99 are considered short bed and He also says they are 3/4 size machines, and that the 185 is cast iron. According to Blodget, the 185 and the 99-31 are functionally the same and share some of the same parts. I have the little green one and have not used it since first bringing it home and cleaning and oiling it, but first I had to order a few small parts from Sew Classic. Someone had ruined the flat spring that holds the slide plate, then stripped the screw that it attaches with. It seemed odd to mail-order one tiny screw, but the price was reasonable.
This book also says the 185K can take up to a size 21-(130) needle. If my Singer 301A bites the dust, I will probably switch to the 185J for home sewing of patchwork.

leonf

After lugging around Singer 66s and huge White portables my 185 doesn't seem heavy to me. And yes the magnet told me it was cast iron.

Mickey2

All the old straight stitchers take up to 21 size needles, and my 99, 201 and 128 have luxurious clearning for the 22 size too. The exception might be the smaller Featherweight or 301, I have just bout seen them up close, so far not worked on them. The only reason I have prefered a 99 over the 185 is the plastic spool pin, replacements for it is available and it tends to last and it should not be a big deal. I fell for the black and gold machines at some point and still like them. The pale green looks very nice though.

Onebyone

The round lens for the light for this machine is different. It's thick and heavy. My machine has the original bulb that works. It gets the housing too hot. I have gotten burns from the metal housing on these old machines before. Not worth it too me to have that hazard just because it's original. I have a FW and the 99 in cabinet, I put LED bulbs in them.

Mickey2

The new led bulbs give very good light too, the ones with lots of the yellow light "squares" are nice. I have never had problems with the lamp in my 99, it's the open bakelite type with out glass, the old type bulb works fine. With the clunky model 15 type lamp with glass, it turns too hot even for the bulb. Leds luckily solve any heating problem.