Brewerkel

The manual is available online if you don't have one. Aside from the excellent advise you received above, the manual is handy if you need to order parts. The 72 is a beautiful machine when properly maintained and tuned. Your grandfather was a wise man chosing that model. Happy tinkering and happier sewing!

Outsole stitchers are heavy, even once disassembled into head and chassis. Figure the cost of the trip into your decision. I've seen a few hundred K's in various states of repair. I've only seen two or three L's (Model named "Aristocrat") and they were more compact and beautiful. Each was sparkly clean and well maintained for a fifty year old+ machine. I suppose the men who owned them paid more for them and keep them in top order. I would seriously consider the option of local delivery worth the extra funds.

Since North & Judd closed in the 1990's, some production was carried on by Custom Metal Crafters. (previously employees/ owners at N&J) They were the last domestic steel buckle producers AFAIK. I don't think they make their own products anymore, or at least their plating services are offshore. Its been a few years since dealing with them, so take that info with a grain of salt.

Look around for industrial saw blade sharpening shops. Most of them also sharpen planer blades used in woodworking. Can't hurt to ask.

I've known a few people that bought them because they were cheap. (The machine and / or the people.) Every one of them got a better used patcher as soon as they could scrape together the coin. Apparently you have to spend a lot of time just getting them to work smoothly. OTOH, a used Singer K29 can be incredibly finicky as well. Most shoe repairmen we sold to wouldn't let anyone touch their's once it was tuned to their liking.

I can't guess what kind of volume you need but CMC was a great source for those wholesale. https://www.custom-metal.com/index.html

I'll second Harness Hardware for decent brass hardware in Canada. They are in the heart of Mennonite country in Ontario the same as Weaver is in the heart of Amish country in Ohio. Not anywhere near the size of Weaver but they had some hard to find items that Weaver didn't carry. Since North & Judd closed a couple decades ago, there hasn't been a reliable quality buckle producer in North America. Everything comes from overseas.

The Leatherworks Company closed down in 2016 - 17 or so. No doubt the product is hard to find now. We sold hundreds of them over the years. We had to sell the Tandy one after that. It was okay. Luckily, I have two or three of the originals around my shop as I am an incurable hoarder.

Carnauba wax has a much higher melting point than beeswax or parafin. It is the main "shine" ingredient in paste shoe polish. You should be able to buy Yankee stick wax from shoe parts suppliers. It comes in four colours: neutral, black, dark brown and mid brown. The sticks are triangular like a Toblerone candy bar. Other brands might be available like Holt's but its an American brand I haven't seen for decades. These hard waxes are used to seal and polish sole and heel edges. They aren't sticky like beeswax and have no scent, unlike yellow beeswax. Pure white beeswax has little scent as its sun bleached. Damned pricey stuff though. I prefer carnauba.

The wholesale side of the business is generally listed under Shoe Findings, being that findings are the bits and bobs repairmen need. There used to be an organization called the Shoe Service Institute of America (SSIA) but they evolved to serve the retail shoe market instead of repairmen. I can strongly recommend the monthly magazine "Shop Talk!" which puts out a fantastic annual volume of suppliers. Its pretty cheap to at $29 USD a year. (Last time I checked.)

Recently retired from the wholesale shoe findings business, stocked or ordered every Singer 29K series part you can imagine for 27 years. Pass on this machine; parts are not compatible with later series. If the drive rail is bent or has a broken tooth you will have to have a replacement machined by a skilled technician. Sewing fur might have been its last purpose but it was unlikely its only one during a very long life. You might be able to find a 29K51 for that kind of money or maybe a couple hundred more, as shoe repairing is a dying trade. At least that is a dependable machine with parts readily available.

Bummer. Good guy. Dealt with him for more than twenty years.

Thanks! I should update my account to show where I am.

I have an excess of belt rivets on hand but have run out of burrs for them. There are well over a hundred pounds of them available. A pound of rivets is about 120 pieces, I think. I need to fund a purchase of burrs for these so I'm willing to offer rivets without burrs for $10 CAD per pound. (something like $7.50 USD) kel.rekuta at gmail dot com

I use dead shot mallets for wad punching, strap ends, et cetera. I have a full selection of them for each level of force required, largest being 3lb for driving into sole leather. At some point I will invest in a heavy maul but the mallets serve well enough. I have a little nylon mallet for stamping, which I do very little of. Dead shots are inexpensive, easily replaced and perform adequately. Useful addition to your tool rack.