Wizcrafts

You missed out on my up and running 29k172 by a few months. It was for sale for a year before I traded it in. My shop is in Burton, Michigan, near Flint.

All of the machines reco0mmended to the OP by his dealer are domestic sewing machines. They are built for household sewing tasks on an intermittent basis only. Any of them will sew linings and broadcloth. They are fine for occasional use and typically spin a a few hundred rpm. Any production sewing should be done with industrial sewing machines mounted on heavy tables and driven by a 1/2 to 3/4 horsepower industrial motor mounted under the table. Slower rated machines, spinning under 2500 rpm, are often manually oiled, just like the ancient Singer machines of yesteryear. Newer high speed machines sit on an oil pan and use a pump to force oil to the extremities. These machines need to spin at several thousand rpm to distribute the oil from the pan to the top wicks. For lightweight garment leather (2 to 3 ounces per piece, or 4 to 6 ounces total), a bottom feed roller foot straight stitch machine will do. They typically use #69 bonded nylon thread to sew the seams of garment weight leathers. Some people use a Teflon presser foot instead of a roller wheel. The wide plastic foot keeps the material laying flatter than a single sided roller. One can usually score an old Singer 31-15 straight stitch machine from a tailor or dress maker for a couple hundred dollars in working condition. This machine takes all manner of presser feet and handles #69 thread with ease. However, #92 is pushing it, depending on the year it was built and the hook and shuttle installed. When it is sewing cloth and linings the standard steel foot can be screwed on. Any leather thicker than 6 ounces combined should be sewn on a compound feed walking foot machine. The Consew P1206RB mentioned by a previous responder is a fine machine for sewing material from 4 ounces to 20 ounces.

Nope. It said 29k172 and had a tag stamped Made in Japan.

The mechanism you are calling standard is dual, top and bottom feed, where only the feed dog and outer foot move together while the inside foot and needle remain static. This is not what leather sewers call standard. It is useful for sewing webbing, vinyl, cloth and upholstery leather. The earliest dual feed machines were made by Simanco from the 1920s, onward. I own a 1923 Singer 42-5 that has a spring loaded outside foot that moves back with the big feed dog on the bottom, then lifts and springs forward. Most of the modern era dual feed walking foot machines have teeth on the feet and a crank driven outside foot. The teeth on top can chew up and mark top grain veg-tan leather. If you intend to sew veg-tan or bridle leather, do not get a dual feed walking foot machine. Get a triple/compound feed walking foot machine with smooth bottom feet. If you need a harness stitcher, get one that has a smooth feed dog, like the big Cowboy, Cobra and Techsew 441 clones. This feeder won't leave tooth marks on the bottom layer.

Only that they were made until at least 1987. That is the copyright date on the parts manual PDF (below). The manual below is for the 29U machines that were all made in Japan. My blue 29K172 was also made in Japan, despite not being a U series. 29U171A_172A_173A.pdf

My 29k172 was blue and made in Japan. It was a difficult machine from time to time, throwing fits for no apparent reason, then sewing fine. I ended up replacing the entire rack and pinion assemblies, plus the shuttle driver, as well as the feed motion crank and thread holding spring inside the needle bar.

I traded in the Singer 29k172 for a Singer 168 post machine in October, 2018. Mine didn't like #138 thread either. OTOH, I got an Adler 30-7 which does like #138 thread, but is normally threaded with #92. Dealers usually have replacement take-up check springs in stock. I buy a lot of parts from Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines. The prices are very reasonable there. If you decide to change to a servo motor, remove the cork brake. Otherwise, get a 2" pulley for your clutch motor and put a little grease on the clutch to make it more featherable. Better yet, get a 2:1 or 3:1 speed reducer and find a way to mount it between the motor and machine.

I cannot open that movie file in my Windows 10 PC. What program was it created with? What type of device and operating system did you use?

My 4500 could sew that. I've done almost an inch by reducing the lift height to the minimum and sewing one stitch at a time.

You will probably have to post some means of letting members contact you about your wallet. Members can send private messages to each other, but not guests. Your options are to post an obfuscated email address, or phone number, or link to your website that has a contact form. I may be able to build your wallet once the details are firmed up. My website is: www.rw-leatherworks.com and there is a contact page with a contact form there.

I found your machine in 30 seconds using Google Search. Here are the search results. In a nutshell, this is a dual feed walking foot machine meant for upholstery or garment leather, or webbing, or vinyl, or heavy cloth. It is not designed for veg-tan leather, bridle leather, or any leather that memorizes markings. The feet and feed dog have aggressive teeth needed to transport the material.

Sometimes, the best and cheapest way to obtain spare parts, that are made of Unobtainium, is to buy another similar machine and strip the parts off of it.

The next closest Cowboy dealer I know of is in Toledo, Ohio. The only way to get a CB3200 cheaper is to buy one used.

Our regulations require that you show your asking price, shipping or pickup terms and location.

Bonded polyester thread has less stretch than bonded nylon and is UV resistant. It has marginally less breaking strength than the same size in nylon. It is primarily used in Bimini covers, sails, tarps, tents, awnings, motorcycle seats and outdoor furniture. It is at least 10% to 20% more expensive than bonded nylon. I keep a couple of spools of #92 black and white bonded polyester thread on hand for jobs that are regularly exposed to the sun. From what I recall, Cansew thread is top class stuff. Colors match across sizes and the bonding was very good when I last had some. They are mostly setup for the garment and upholstery trades and preferred to sell in quantities for less common sizes and colors. You may save money by setting up a wholesale account with them, then order a dozen spools at a time.

Can't you go there and pick it up?

I buy all of my motors from Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines. They are an advertiser here. If you want Boxing Day deals, your only recourse is to contact Techsew, in Montreal, Canada, where Boxing Day is still celebrated. They are also an advertiser with us. Gregg at Keystone Sewing stocks a lot of servo motors and is a contributor here.

Unless you have the adjuster's manual, or have somebody else who knows what they are doing, I would lower the presser bar to avoid contact with the needle bar. The only effect this will have is to reduce the clearance under the feet by about 1/16 of an inch, or less. Lowering the needle bar may throw off the hook timing, leading you down a slippery slope that will result in more headaches than you have now. Later on, you may learn how to check the needle to hook timing and the proper way to adjust it. Then you can raise the foot to regain any lost clearance. Just my 2 cents worth.

If the bottom of the needle bar hits the top of the feet, you can either raise the needle bar a smidgen, tweaking the hook timing to match, or lower the presser foot position to avoid impact. There will be one set of co-adjustments that will yield the maximum foot lift without hitting the needle bar, along with effective hook timing in forward and reverse at all factory standard stitch lengths. The higher the lift and longer the stitches, the more critical all adjustments become.

Many sewers have pondered the mysteries of the bobbin system, hoping to discover a way to use a spool of thread instead of a wound bobbin inside a case. The best they have come up with is the chainstitch mechanism. This system only uses one spool of thread which is on the top. Aside from the appearance on the underside, the problem with a chainstitch is that unless it is waxed, or sewn over, it can totally unravel by pulling on the thread in just the right direction. Garments sewn with a chainstich are usually sewn over at the beginning and end to keep the thread from unraveling. An example of a waxed chainstitch would be a dogleg style leather rifle case. They are usually sewn on a Puritan chainstitch machine with linen thread run through liquid beeswax in a huge wax pot on top of the machine. The chain is protected by the material lining inside the case. The same chainstitch system is used in the McKay sole stitchers with a rotating horn. With these the chain is covered by the slip-in insole, as well as wax on the thread.

Every now and then I experiment and switch my long body walking foot machine to use System 190 needles. I find that any gain in needle stroke is virtually offset by having to lower the presser foot to clear the bottom of the needle bar's thread guide. Unless a machine was designed to use System 190 needles, you will need to file or grind something out to get the full benefit of the longer needles. The hook timing and check spring throw also needs changed.

I saw the starting top thread being held back outside the inner foot's hole. Try feeding the top thread through the hole in the inside foot before you sew. It may solve your mystery.

You could change the motor pulley to a 2" (50mm) pulley and get a shorter v-belt to keep the existing motor position in roughly the same place. Your motir uses a type 3L (3/8") v-belt. The size in inches will be marked on the outside of the belt. If you have a 4" pulley now and replace it with a 2" pulley, buy a 2" shorter belt. The last servo motor I bought was a Family Sew FS-550s, which cost about $150, shipped. The dealer changed the factory pulley to a smaller 2" part at no charge. I already had extra v-belts so that saved me about $7.00 or so.

Are you saying that even though you hold back both threads, the top thread is giving up at the needle? First, make sure you are using the correct needle system and size and that it is inserted with the thread channel on the left side and scarf on the right. If the machine does sew at all that translates into the top thread is breaking (possibly from a burr). If you can't get any stitches at all, the timing has gone out (likely), or a safety clutch has popped. Inspect the hook to see if there is a jagged edge at or near the pointed end. You can watch the timing as you hand wheel the machine. The needle should go down to BDC then begin to ascend. The tip of the hook should intersect the needle about 1/8 inch above the eye as it ascends. That's usually where the best loop forms on the right side of the needle. If the hook arrives after the eye of the needle has passed it, the timing is retarded. If it arrives below the hook, it is advanced. The needle timing can be thrown out by impacts against metal or very hard material. Some machines have one screw holding the needle bar in position. A solid impact, or series of impacts can cause the bar to slip up enough to de-time the machine. A thread jam in the shuttle usually cause the timing to change. Some machines have a safety clutch that disengages the shuttle drive to protect it. If the clutch pops, you need clear out thread remnants in the shuttle and bobbin race, then hold down a button on the bed while turning the hand wheel, usually backwards, until it snaps back in the drive position.

If this was April 1, this post would make sense.