DougVL

[edit] It turns out that the links on the site I gave do not work. This description is there, though: "Ken Jer­rems in Aus­tralia wrote a great doc­u­ment detail­ing his res­tor­a­tion of a 29k13 which he has given me per­mis­sion to host here since the needlebar.org site where it was ori­gin­ally hos­ted is off-​line to non sub­scribers nowadays. It includes engin­eer­ing draw­ings of the shims he made to tighten up the feed mech­an­ism and an excel­lent descrip­tion of the oper­a­tion of the walk­ing foot mech­an­ism on these machines." The original article by Ken is still available at "NEEDLEBAR MAIN SITE INDEX" at http://needlebar.org/main~nb/~index.html - BUT you must sign up for membership (free) in order to get to that page. You can go to their forum page at http://needlebar.org/bb2/ to register. Ken's article is in MS Word DOC format and is about 4 MB in size. It has many color pictures, and has drawings of feed parts, including one for fixing the feed length problem by making a "shim" to build up the worn part. You can get Microsoft's "Word Viewer" for free in order to read and print the article. That's what I did. This article is VERY worthwhile for anyone who would like to do any refurbishing on a 29K series machine.

Go look for "Ken Jer­rems’ 29K13 Restoration" on the page at http://alasdair.muckart.net/sm/industrial/singerpatchers/ and read "MY FIRST SINGER 29K13". Ken rebuilt the end of his bellcrank, and described the process with pictures. I have the same feed length problem and intend to try the repair as well. Or buy a new bellcrank for $28, but finding the source is the hard part. DougVL

I love sewing machines too, and agree that everyone should have one. But the comments here seem to be ignoring most of the original question, which didn't make heavy leather much of a priority. The answers only seem to address heavy leather. The portable walking foot machine should be pretty good for the uses you mentioned. There are limits to any machine, and it might not do everything you ask. But it's a good choice for the price. The original of these, I think, was the Thompson Mini Walker. That name may help describe this kind of machine. They (all) come with a 2 stage drive - two belts and pulleys after the motor. This reduces the stitching speed and keeps it more controllable for short seams and making corners. It also increases the torque and that means more power to push the needle through the material. Going slow helps with detailed or precision sewing. In sewing machines, 'portable' means the motor is mounted on the machine, and not a separate unit under the table. The portables discussed here weigh about 40 pounds. Industrial machine heads run 60 to 80 without the motor. I've had several larger machines and wish I also had a mini walker. There's one available nearby for $200, but now I'm retired and don't have the cash. Check craigslist ads for your area for a while. You may find a good deal on some sort of industrial-type machine. Checking with Bob Kovar (sewmun) is a good idea. Doug

While surfing the web today, I ran into a little info that might help lotsa guys who want a variable speed motor with variable torque. The normal industrial way to do it for a long time was with a DC motor and controller. DC controllers are simple and cheap, and can easily have a sort of 'speed feedback' feature so that they don't slow down much when the load on the motor increases. But the DC motors are terifically expensive new. I worked for quite a while designing electrical controls for a machinery building company and picked up a couple from there as surplus. So far I used one on a wood lathe, and when that was sold put it on a Mitsubishi LU2-410. But it's a BIG motor for a portable. And for a foot pedal I had to rig up a way to connect an old car racing computer game speed control foot pedal I got from a thrift store. Now to my point: I found this info on using an AC motor and variable speed controller on this lathe website v- http://www.homeshopsupply.com/vfd.htm Hope this helps someone! Doug While surfing the web today, I ran into a little info that might help lotsa guys who want a variable speed motor with variable torque. The normal industrial way to do it for a long time was with a DC motor and controller. DC controllers are simple and cheap, and can easily have a sort of 'speed feedback' feature so that they don't slow down much when the load on the motor increases. But the DC motors are terifically expensive new. I worked for quite a while designing electrical controls for a machinery building company and picked up a couple from there as surplus. So far I used one on a wood lathe, and when that was sold put it on a Mitsubishi LU2-410. But it's a BIG motor for a portable. And for a foot pedal I had to rig up a way to connect an old car racing computer game speed control foot pedal I got from a thrift store. Now to my point: I found this info on using an AC motor and variable speed controller on this lathe website v- http://www.homeshopsupply.com/vfd.htm Also, I've seen many web comments about using surplus DC motors and speed controllers from treadmills. They're usually about 1/2 HP and have good speed control under varying load. Still need a foot pedal potentiometer or rheostat, though. Hope this helps someone! Doug

The boxing attachment is listed on the Artisan website at http://www.artisansew.com/shop/category.aspx?catid=42 as French Boxing Attachment French Boxing Attachment of Toro 3000 and 4000 SPECIAL ORDER ONLY 43341 $299.00 Doug

Wiz - Don't be sorry! You have just the right idea! And it didn't sound to ME like you proposed a whole new machine with new castings. Just modify the Sailrite-type mini-walker. Excellent idea! Several years ago I bought a Singer 20U33 new from an importer/dealer in California. They modified it by mounting a home-machine motor on it to make it portable, and put it in a carrying case. It was pretty nice, but ran a bit fast. I happened to find some old parts in my junk box, though. An old, broken bread machine provided a large, toothed-belt pulley and belt and I also somehow happened to have a small toothed pulley that fit the machine motor. I drilled holes in the pulley and the original pulley on the machine and bolted them together. It cut the speed roughly in half, and doubled the torque. Really sweet. Now my point in all that was that it might not require a big, heavy cast flywheel. The large toothed pulley by itself really added a lot of power. It might be pretty simple to add one of those big pulleys and a longer belt to one of sewmun's portable walkers. I thought I'd seen smooth feet for them in Sailrite's catalog, so I just checked on their website. They have a leather foot for the zig-zag and one for the straight stitch. At $33 each. So the main thing it would take is finding a suitable, easy-to-mount pulley. Sailrite has belts for $10 and $12. Anyway, it seems like a pretty do-able project. Good idea! Doug

Lots more interesting comments! And great ideas for new people to read. Especially the recounting of user's learning experiences. Those were sort of the point of my original posting The statement "There is nothing wrong with them, provided they do what the user wants" made above says it the best of all. As a couple have said here, you don't always even know what you want. I was just suggesting a way to find out what you want, not how to make money fast. And I hoped to point out that there are amateurs who want to do leatherwork and just plain can't spend multiple thousands of dollars. If a machine can pay for itself, then the only reasonable thing to do is get the absolute best. My career has been in getting industrial machinery working and working well. Some included design for efficiency and for operator convenience. I have plenty of high quality equipment in my own home shop. But there are still a lot of things that just don't justify professional grade tools - things used only occasionally for light duty work. My first table saw was a light weight little benchtop model that used an 8 inch blade and a washing machine motor. It did good work, and I still have it. It's handy to be able to take outside or into the garage. I can't do that with the big, cast iron 12 inch one that's in my basement shop now. So far every response here has been about using a sewing machine for producing income. Part of my premise was that this is not always the case, and responding to any inquirer with the answer that the only thing to get is the brand new, top of the line machine doesn't always help. Describe some alternatives, and maybe the reasons why the alternatives are less desirable. I've done a fair amount of projects for myself, of light weight leather (like garment or upholstery weight) with an ordinary, ancient straight-stitch home sewing machine. Using a wedge point needle didn't make much difference, but I didn't know at the time, so I got some. The machine worked great and made just what I wanted. But I didn't try to make holsters or boots, or even knife sheaths with it. Last year I found someone moving with very short notice and forced to sell a Singer 112W139. I'd kind of wanted a double needle machine for a few projects, mostly non-leather. For example, need a machine for sewing thick but soft, loose fabric. There's a clothing project or two of fleece, and 3 or 4 layers of that just won't fit under the presser foot of most machine. Including this one! Its foot lift is only about 1/4 inch. From reading specs on various 111 & 112 series machines, I had expected at least 3/8, and maybe even 1/2 inch. Oops. I didn't have time for research on this one - seller had only a day left. And the manual for this model doesn't include the spec for foot lift, although many of the Singer manuals do. I found that a clutch motor is unusable for me. I want to make little things, with short seams and lots of corners and curves. For tarps or things with long, straight seams it would be fine. I put a huge pulley on it and slowed it down to about 1/3 of full speed and now it's not too bad. But until I can come up with some spare cash for a servo motor with needle positioning, I won't be using it much at all. If I can come up with a way to make money with it, then I could get the servo. I've considered trying to make boat covers with it - that's what the seller had originally intended. But that's a whole 'nother learning curve I haven't been ready to follow yet. Someone here already mentioned downloading manuals. There is a huge number of them available from Singer, both operator's and parts books. And some service manuals. For those people who have an interest in having one, and for people wanting to know the specs and features of machines they can't see in person, it's a big help. Most of the Singer manuals describe the uses or products which that specific machine was designed for, which is also helpful. I don't understand why so many responses seem to be about fixing broken machines. I only said that it helps ANY machine operator a LOT to understand how their machine works and just what it can and cannot do. Whether the machine is a stove, oven, mixer, radial arm saw, concrete compactor, sewing machine or dump truck. Especially a welder! I also do not recommend buying used equipment through ebay. At nearly best, the seller is honest, but just doesn't know anything about what they're selling and can't give useful information to answer good questions. And of course, sewing machines aren't very practical to ship, either. I did buy one machine that way, my 29K51, though. It came heavily packed but still the bobbin winder got broken off. A nice feature for a web site would be a comprehensive listing of machines suitable for leather, with both their capabilities and their limitations listed and described. I was looking at the Ferdco site and did see a listing of light, medium and heavy stitchers and their thickness capacity, and thread weights for some of them.. I'd like to see something that also included the type of feed, needle series and useable sizes, weight, needle-to-arm distance, round or flat bed, useable thread weights and needle sizes, etc. A WIKI somewhere would be nice, so it could be updated by anyone with information to add. Maybe the dealers would even participate and describe the differences in the special parts they use instead of the standard stock ones. For example, Ferdco says they start with a 440 frame casting and put in their own parts. On the other end of the scale, some other 440-based model will cost less but have all Chinese parts. Some machines are made in Taiwan and seem to be better quality but higher priced. Sorting all this out would be very helpful. It's interesting to see how many responses to this posting have shown up this quickly. And it points out that apparently just about all the users here are professionals who depend on their machine(s) for a living. That wasn't my assumption in the beginning, and isn't the case for me. But it's interesting to learn, and find out how many people there are out there in cyberland who do leatherwork for money! I'd think it to be a rewarding career. A couple more thoughts to toss in here - - - - This posting was about picking a FIRST machine, with the idea that a progression to better is a good thing. (I did especially like JSLeather's posting here.) And a fine, high-grade tool is a great pleasure to use, in its own right. I have a couple older Leica cameras that are just fabulous, even though not often used in this digital age. DougVL

Wow! It seems that so far no one likes my suggestion at all. But all the objections are for the extreme opposite case to the one I proposed - they all describe someone with immediate commercial business needs and no knowledge of machinery or interest in crafting for fun. Seems pretty far outside my parameters, and answering just for the sake of objection. The original post that got me thinking about all this was someone who just makes holsters for a hobby and had no particular plans to go commercial at all. Or maybe the forum is just for professionals, and I missed that fact somewhere. Anyway, I for sure agree with 'Use the best tool for the job.' If time is money and the work is full time, then a new pro machine is the obvious choice. But there are other circumstances. I'm against wasting money, not time. (I don't get paid anything for my time!) And opinions - just as valid and valuable as mine. Doug

Our first computer had just a tape drive. Never did use it much. My own personal first one was an "IBM PC --Compatible(?)-- with just one single-sided floppy drive. So I know what you mean. I'm not talking about using inappropriate tools, like vise grips on lug nuts, just working my way up. Say from a one-arm lug wrench to a 4-way, and then to a air powered impact wrench. For which you also need a rather expensive compressor. That would be overkill for my two cars! (Of course, the easy response is that you can use the compressor for so many other things. But that's beside the point, and AFTER the big investment.) Sure, if someone can't handle learning on their own and has to have their hand held, and doesn't even know how to sew, then they need a dealer who's a good teacher. And a good calling plan for their phone, because that dealer won't be local, and can't demonstrate hands-on. I thought this forum was here to help people learn how to do stuff more than how to buy stuff. I seems like a number of the people looking for machine info don't even know yet just what they're going to do with one. So there's two basic possibilities that I see: One is to buy the absolute best machine that can do everything, and the other is to get something inexpensive and try it out to learn what you really want to do and what capabilities you really need. I'dLOVE to have a big machine that could stitch an inch of leather all day, but all I feel like I really need is a half inch foot lift and compound feed. (Looking at specs online, many listings don't even seem to describe the feed system very well. Makes it extra hard to shop that way - yup, need a good dealer!) Being self-reliant is why I have sewing machines in the first place. If you've got $5000, instead of buying a machine, you can have someone else do a lot of work for you and have a lot of time for other things. Like designing, cutting out, and marketing. Lots of us can't spend thousands on a hobby machine. And like I said earlier, learning can be fun, satisfying and rewarding. If a machine user learns a lot about the machines, he can also become a repair man and make money at that too! I'm certainly not against buying a great machine from a great dealer and getting great service. I'd love to do that myself. I just want to point out some alternatives, or alternate viewpoints. Not necessarily the best things, just different. Finally, I wouldn't make anyone go this way, just suggest it as a possibility. Like don't rush into any purchase, either. You have to know what you want in order to be able to get it! Doug

I've seen a lot of posts about selecting a first sewing machine. Most recommendations are to get the best machine from the best dealer and avoid problems. I have a radical suggestion - get something used and cheap first. It's a lot more enjoyable to use a premium machine if you already have some experience with a not-so-good one for comparison. Or - you'd appreciate a Mercedes a lot more if you had a Volkswagen first, assuming you're buying your first car. And if you have some troubles with a machine, you'll learn more about using, adjusting and fixing a machine. You'd appreciate the dealer support more, as well as the better machine if/when you upgrade. It's nice to have a broad experience base. Trying out different machines is a fun way to get experience. And this way you might wind up with multiple machines with different specialties, increasing your versatility. Just my thoughts. My opinions are guaranteed to be worth at least twice what you pay for them! Doug

A couple of extra feet with modified teeth might help too. One with the teeth dulled a bit, and another with the teeth ground off and finer teeth ground in (this one wouldn't be easy). Doug

Try a different size needle. The material you're sewing through has to sort of 'grip' the thread one one side of the needle as the needle rises out of the material in order to form the loop of thread which the shuttle hook grabs. If the needle hole is too large, the thread can pull back up through the needle hole in the material and not be grabbed by the shuttle hook. Then it won't get wrapped around the bobbin and tied to the bobbin thread. Doug

Pictures might be nice, but the parts source would be even nicer! Doug

Probably too late now, but I'd recommend for a hobbyist to get a used Boss. It seems a pretty safe investment with low risk because of good resale value. Then you can see how you like it (I wouldn't like all that pulling - I tried one in a store once). Then if you move up to business work, get the power machine, when it might be able to pay for itself. Otherwise it's an EXTREMELY expensive hobby toy! It might also have a good resale value, but you're pretty likely to lose at least 25% of the purchase price if you sell it. Probably about what a used Boss would cost! Consider the economics carefully. Doug