Wizcrafts

On most walking foot machines, lowering the movable crank arm in the curved slot on the back makes the feet lift higher and raising it does the opposite. Higher lifting feet can walk over thicker new layers. But, the added motion causes some imbalance and forces you to slow down. When you are sewing upholstery, the material is usually very thin, with new layers typically under 1/16 inch higher or lower than the existing layer. For smoothness and higher operating speed (time is money in upholstery), shift the movable crank arm to the lowest lift position. You will still be able to walk up and down 1/16", but the machine can sew faster and smoother, with much less pounding. Change your stitch length to at least 5 to the inch, or even longer if the distance between stitches is less critical for puckering. Back off the top and bobbin tensions as necessary to reduce puckering with long stitches. Use bonded nylon for inside-only goods and bonded polyester for sails, tents, awnings, banners and outdoor cushions. Titanium coated needles are your friend here, especially if you use double-sided basting tape.

Don't forget to back off the tensions on the top, check spring and bobbin. Then add tension back on top or bottom as needed. Use left twist only. As I mentioned before, Puritan sells a clear liquid wax, called Ceroxylon. Campbell-Randall makes Lax Wax, which is a milky liquid. Both are meant for use in wax pots on machines sewing with Barbour's linen thread.

None of the shoe patchers are meant for production. If you care to post your planned projects by material, thickness and density, we can offer some better alternatives. For instance, if you are sewing belts, straps and flat items, not much exceeding 5/16" inch total thickness, with #138 bonded thread, a standard industrial walking foot machine can usually sew them. Holsters, weight belts, saddle bags, pouches, cases and knife sheathes are best sewn on a full size harness stitcher, which has a cylinder arm, special harness feet, huge bobbins, and sews up to 7/8" with the thickest of commonly available thread.

That machine in the picture is not a 29k anything. It is pre-k and only has the solid barrel take up driver. The K models had an adjustable take-up system, via a threaded part protruding inside the top rack, which forced the take=up lever to stay raised. I would say this machine is possibly older than the 1920's. That said, anything made of metal can be fixed and brought up to specs. I once had a 1920 model 29-4 that gave horrible stitch length. I disassembled the head and applied bronze brazing to the puck that rides inside the round ring. After filing, sanding and then buffing it to a polish, I got a solid 5 stitches per inch into 3/16" of leather and only slightly less at the maximum of 1/4 inch. Still, even at 5 stitches per inch, the machines are only patchers. The bobbins are tiny, the thread handling capacity very light and they still cannot sew more than 1/4 inch. Every leather repair and shoe shop has at least one (I have two 29k types).

It is worth maybe $400, if it is in good working condition. By working condition, I refer to not only a freely turning hand wheel and butterfly shaped presser foot direction knobs, but a maximum stitch length of between 5 and 6 stitches per inch into 1/8 inch of leather. A tight machine will produce up to 5 stitches per inch. But, a hundred+ year old model 29-4 may only be able to move the leather 1/8th inch per stitch (8/inch), which is unacceptable to most of us. If this turns out to be the case, expect to spend a lot of time and money bringing it back up to normal sewing specs. As for capacities, a Singer 29-4, if that is what it is, can only sew up to 1/4 inch of leather. It uses #69 bonded nylon thread and system 29x4 or 135x16 leather point needles, primarily sizes 16 and 18. The bobbins are tiny, but can hold enough #69 thread to sew two thin belts. Do not even consider a 29 type as a production machine. These are patchers only. They are used to sew patches onto vest, fix purse straps, throw in a few missing stitches here and there, sew over missing thread on shoe uppers, and even sew new zippers into thin jackets or pants.

I use my Cowboy CB4500 sometimes to re-sew leather soles and sometimes thick neoprene soles onto biker and cowboy boots and even dress shoes. It depends on how wide the flange is on the top sole. If one is making shoes from scratch, one could have the soles protruding out about 3/8 inch from the body, providing plenty of room for a right toe presser foot to make contact with the outside of the sole. In my case, I got a special paddle shaped right toe foot for my CB4500, from Bob Kovar (Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines). It has a paddle on the front the wraps around to completely cover the sewing path and inside foot. After sewing, one could trim the soles on a 3 in 1 machine.

Doug; 3 cord is more like #138 bonded in diameter. I wouldn't try using anything less than 5 cord, left twist, Barbour's in any closed eye machine. That will require a #24 or #25 needle. Back off the top and bottom tensions for the softest tug on the upstroke. Puritan's Ceroxylon might be a better wax in this instance. It dries clear and flakes off parts, whereas Lax Wax is milky and a little stickier. Do not mistake liquid silicon thread lube for thread wax. They are different altogether. Wetting the thread make it break more easily until it dries. Running it dry defeats the purpose of using linen thread in the first place. Real waxed linen or nylon thread will gum up the works on your machine. If the machine is not designed to operate with wax on the take-up and feed components, it will be totally gummed up, or maybe even damaged. Get a needle and awl machine for sewing linen thread.

I have have no success running 4 or 5 cord Irish linen thread through my CB4500. The mechanism is too brutal and breaks the thread, especially if I run it through Lax Wax (Campbell) or Ceroxylon (Puritan). It is possible that 6 cord left twist Barbour's Irish Linen will hold up better. The wax is like rubber glue and fowls up the tensioners and needle. I recommend getting a Union Lockstitch, or Campbell Randall needle and awl stitcher if you want to sew with Barbour's Irish Linen thread. They are designed to use that thread.

This is what I refer to as "Poor Man's Reverse" - which is the only reverse I have on two of my 6 industrial sewing machines. None of the needle and awl harness stitchers have reverse, nor do shoe sole machines.

The cheapest sewing machine that is fully capable of sewing 3/8" of leather or Biothane would be the Cowboy CB2500, which is bottom feed only, with a 10.5" cylinder arm and the capability of sewing with thread sizes 138 through 415, using needle sizes 23 through 27. It sews up to 7/16 inches of material and sells for around $1000, without reverse, or about $1300 with reverse, plus shipping. The next better option would be the newer CB3200, which has triple feed, just like the bigger, more expensive machines. It sells for $1600, plus shipping. That machine sews 1/2 inch, with needles up to #27, which is big enough for sewing #346 bonded nylon into Biothane. If these prices are too high for your budget, the next best option would be to find a used upholstery grade compound feed machine and settle for using #138 bonded thread. These machines can be found on local ad sites for anywhere from $500 to $1000. Note, old Singer 111 types do not usually have reverse and are limited to just about 3/8", if not slightly less. Newer upholstery machines will sew through 3/8 inches, with #138 thread; possibly even #207, if the machine is in very good condition and the hook is readjusted to pass thicker thread.

I'd suggest you look into a 441 clone, like the Cowboy, Cobra and similar large body, cylinder arm machines with extra heavy duty parts. Examples are Cowboy CB4500, Cobra Class 4. Based on my own experience, you may have to use one size larger needle than would suffice for leather.That is because Biothane tends to heal the bottom of the hole. Thus, to sew Biothane with #277 bonded thread, top and bottom, I'd probably use a #26 needle, rather than the usual #25.

Carol; You can buy type 794 and 7x3 in packages of ten needles from dealers who's banners appear on top of our pages. They can mail them anywhere in the World. It will be a lot cheaper than buying 100 needles in .EU. You can also buy them on eBay, from sellers in .EU.

It would be a good idea to rotate the outside foot so it's inline with the indie foot and not hitting outside the throat plate.

You're better off relocating this ad in the Marketplace section, under Sewing Equipment, Used. This is the wrong place to sell stuff.

I'm happy to have been of help to you. Now, go back to the proper needle/thread combination.

You definitely should be able to easily pull the work out (usually backwards) with the presser feet all the way up (by knee, foot, or hand lever). With nothing being sewn, simply engage the presser foot lift pedal or knee lever all the way while watching the upper tension disks. They should open up and allow the thread to flow with almost zero tension. Failure to release the disks can be due to excessive upper spring tension, where the thumb nut is screwed in so far there is no room left for the disks to separate. If this is what's happening to you, back off the top tension until the disks can separate enough to let the thread pass freely. Go to the bobbin case and back off the spring tension screw until there is just a slight amount of tension on the bobbin thread, as it comes out the top. The bobbin thread must not be jammed. If it is, investigate to find out where it is binding. If you have backed off the upper tension nut and still cannot get the disks to separate with the (foot/knee) lifter, call Ronnie on Monday and ask for assistance troubleshooting the lift mechanism settings. This is inside the head adjustments and I won't delve into them on your new, warrantied machine. If the 2700 has a top facing bobbin that drops in, there is probably a "latch opener" arm that has a single screw adjustment. Ronny can talk you through any changes to that arm. It's job is to pull the bobbin case tab forward to let the top thread pass freely. It also has to release the case at the right moment to let the thread finish its trip without getting hung up by the latch opener. If the top thread does get stuck on the opener finger, your tension settings go down the toilet. If the bobbin tension is good, this could explain why adding more top tension doesn't help.

LRanger; Make sure you check the top thread path to ensure that it hasn't risen up out of the middle of the upper disks. That will cause birdsnests due to no top tension. Also, always hold back the threads, or at least the top thread, for the first three stitches. Reverse not lining up with forward is correctable with adjustments to the machine, which I won't touch on here. But, you can try to equalize the stitches yourself using this method: Use the hand wheel to lower the needle until the point just reaches the feed dog hole. At this position both feet should also be fully down. If the inside foot is raised above the feed dog, do the following: Loosen the large straight blade bolt on the knuckle on the back of the machine, which is driven by a vertically movable crank shaft coming out of the body. It's not the crank arm you need to adjust, but the bolt on the top rear. This bolt tightens down the shaft that moves the presser feet. When you loosen the big bolt the outside foot will snap down, if it isn't already down. The inside foot will be movable by hand. Push the inside foot down with your finger until it is solidly against the feed dog (with the outside foot down all the way). Tighten the big bolt. What this does is to more or less equalize the lift of the feet, in sync with the point of the needle. It often is a simple way to also match forward and reverse stitches, all else being set correctly inside the machine. Your machine has 10.5 inches inside the body. If the backtack stitches still won't line up, use the Poor Man's Reverse. Spin the work 180 degrees, sew three stitches, then spin it back and sew to the end. Repeat the reverse direction at the end. This is how it was done on industrial sewing machines from the time Noah emerged from the Ark.

The inside foot is severely bent up on the left and down on the right. This is wrong! Replace the inside foot, or both feet.

Both of his splitters have been sold.

I don't know about the alignment of his machine either. He needs to check the presser foot to see if it lies flat on the throat plate on both sides. If the foot isn't square on the plate, the head may be out of alignment (four bolts). Or, the gearbox may be misaligned. There are two bolts under the gearbox that secure it to the arm.

Constabulary; I believe his machine is not misaligned. He "can" move the needle to the left or center of the hole. But, if he does, the machine will skip stitches, just like my 172. There is something about the cam on the back, or the clearances in the shuttle drive system that causes the loops over the eye to be diminished and hard to pick up. Thus, keeping the needle all the way to the right gives the hook a better chance of picking up the little thread loop. Sergeant; Replace your shuttle and see if that helps. They are not all cast the same. Yours may be blunt, or worn down.

I own a Singer 29k172, which is the long arm, big bobbin version of your machine. It too has to have the needle all the way to the right to avoid skipped stitches. Timing is difficult on these Japanese built Singers, which were the last of the line of the 29k series. They were last produced in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

I use my Singer 29k "patchers" to sew embroidered patches onto vests and jackets, especially over pockets and sleeves. I also use them to repair purse and sandal straps and loose thread on shoe and boot uppers. Their sole advantage is that the machines can sew in any direction and have very narrow snouts and long cylinder arms. Other than that, they serve no other purpose in my shop. I limit my patchers to using #69 bonded thread, top and bobbin. The stitch length gets shorter over time, with use. Eventually, the machines will need to have the feed parts replaced, or brazed and shaped, to regain the original 5 to the inch maximum. The stitch length also gets progressively shorter as you sew over 1/8 inch of material. Finally, the feed is via teeth on the presser foot. These teeth will leave lasting impressions in most smooth top grain leathers, especially in veg-tan. Rubberizing the bottom of the foot reduces its grip on slick leather, further reducing the stitch length. You can still buy tiny patcher sized spools of bonded nylon thread from Wawak.

My thinking on this is if the #207 thread you use is soft, rather than stiff, you'll have better luck with it. This means probably not using black on top all the time, unless you get a batch that does not act like a coil spring. You might want to try some of the bonded polyester that Campbell Randall sells. I have a couple spools in black and white and the black is definitely softer than any of my bonded nylon thread.

Check the label on the long belt to see its "size." The legend may begin with 3L, which is the width designation. This may be followed by a dual number, like 58, 59, 60, etc. That is the circumference of the inside of the belt. Your machine has a speed reducer system that mounts on a square steel block. It can be moved up and down by loosening the one bolt facing the outside right on that post. The belt feeding up to the machine is usually placed around the smallest pulley on the reducer. If you have already lowered the reducer as far down as it can go and the belt slips on the smallest pulley, order a belt one inch (size) shorter. When it arrives, loosen the bolt, remove the old belt and install the new one. Then set it for no more than 1/2 inch deflection if the middle and tighten it down. The shorter belt goes from the motor pulley to the large wheel on the reducer. You can adjust the motor position to tighten that belt for minimal deflection. I usually spray belt no-slip on my sewing machine belts. This lets you run them a little looser than a dry belt. Looser belts translate into longer life for the interconnected components and their bearings.