Ferg

In my opinion neither of these knives is what you want. I have the Osborne clicker knife. If I had my druthers, it would be in the trash bin. The blades are about as cheap as anything I have ever tried to use and the handles are terrible. For a utility knife visit a local hobby shop, Michaels or others. Get a very good ExActo knife. After you use it for awhile you can think about a good knife from one of the folks on this forum. ferg

Frank, I know something of what you are feeling. In 1970 we lost both mom and dad and three other close relatives. It takes very special folks to care for the disabled. Prayers are with you. ferg

Double check your tension settings. Remember: Your stitch is only as strong as the "Least" of your thread. ferg

I guess it has been more than a year when a number of us drooled over some Italian Clicker knives among others. Clicker knives were used many years ago in the shoe industry. Trimming edges and cutting heavy leather. There are You-Tube videos of name brand manufacturers using a clicker knife to cut parts for many different items. I spoke to a good friend who makes fantastic knives about making at least two blades for me that would cut forever with nothing more than stropping. After several communications with my wishes and his knowledge I have two different blades. I have made one handle. I will enclose photos. I have made a number of wooden handles over the years and found that almost every human hand has something different about it when working with wood or leather and I am sure many other materials as well. Folks who make cutting knives for a living must try to make handles that will work for many different hand shapes etc. This handle is two pieces of solid brass with Purple Heart wood to the same thickness as the knife blade. One strip of the wood has been glued even with the two long edges of the brass plus a "plug" at the butt end of the handle. Blade and handle is held together with three brass screws. Blade has two holes to accommodate screws. You may note the handle is not exactly straight along the edges. I have found that the heavy brass and other metal handles need to "Cozy up" to your hand to be comfortable when working. I will probably do some further filing on this one as I use it. Simply a view of the one edge of handle. The business end. I wanted to show the blade entry into the end of handle not the blade itself. Time to make the handle occupied about 4 hours. I split it up into three or four sessions so I could still move my fingers when finished. I have no intentions of making any of these for sale. Am still thinking how I want to make the other handle. Questions? Just let me know. ferg

Probably didn't let it set long enough. Normally 15 minutes to half an hour is sufficient. Sounds as though you may have had some oil or other residue present. ferg

I drilled 3/8" holes at the inside corner locations of the 4x 4 post on the end plates, cut 3/8" All Thread to one inch longer than the total length of post plus end plate thickness, used Jam nuts on the All Thread tightening them to secure the plates to the post. We have a great metal supply shop close by, they cut the post and plates for me. The jam nuts rest in holes drilled into the 1 3/4" top and bottom so the plates can be lag screwed in place. This is link to finished unit. http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=48492&hl=ferg ferg

Can I guess it is about a 29K-4? Small bobbin. Treadle? ferg

Wiz, I am getting 1/8" stitch length. So 7or8 to the inch isn't bad for 110 years old. ferg

Thanks Eric, your opinion much appreciated. Darren, Don't know about the binder, got it from Bob Kovar. Bob, Believe it or not it sews perfectly. The bobbin tension screw was tight, loosened it about an eighth of a turn, relieved the top tension. The directions in that old manual are very clear and easy to understand, I had no trouble with winding or loading the bobbin. Tor, No speed reducer. The digital servo is infinite adjustment from 3600 rpm down to 200 rpm plus 2" pulley on motor to the 5 1/2" pulley on machine. I haven't tried anything heavier than 8 oz veg tan, had no problem sewing it. The knots are tight and inside the leather. I have a lot of Chrome tanned, will try it soon. Wiz had suggested coating the serrated foot with "Tool Handle Dip" to get rid of the impression in veg tan. I got some the other day but haven't done that as yet. Some of us never grow up do we? The toys just change, along with my new 2014 Chevy Impala. It replaced a 1992 Oldsmobile with 50,000 miles. ferg

This is a project I have been wishing to do for some time. I believe it came out well, do not believe I would do anything different. I took some liberties in rebuilding this beautiful old machine. Cleaned and removed all old paint, repainted with gloss black, have not applied the decals at this time. The bobbin winder is new. I moved it down to the base of the machine from it's original position so the rubber tire would touch the drive wheel groove properly. A few new screws, new belt, needles, and some other items I will show you. A close-up of the bobbin winder. The bottom is of 1 3/4" Maple with casters (two of them lock). Foot control is of Cherry, I fabricated the movable parts of the control from aluminum, bronze and steel. Servo is a digital 600 watt from Bob Kovar. I slowed the top speed of the servo to 200 rpm plus attaching the belt to the larger of the two belted pulleys. I can sew i/8" leather, one stitch per at 8 stitches per inch, top speed with this setup is a little faster than I wish to run the machine at this time. Control with the pedal is excellent. I have about 2 1/2" of travel before hitting top speed. The bolts/machine screws originally used appear to be of 28 tpi, a size of thread count that is pretty much impossible to find locally. Bob has them. Bolts to hold the machine onto the original cast iron table were 3/16" 28's, I drilled them out and replaced with 1/4-20's. I attached the bobbin winder with a 10-24 bolt replacing the 10-28. Odd looking black box to the rear of machine is covering the belt. Pedestal is of 4 x 4 x 1/8" steel with 1/4" steel plates on each end. I will be making a larger than normal drawer to fit under the top table for tools etc. Thread stand was a must since the machine obviously used small spools of thread on the post. I fabricated a piece of Piano Wire to fit over the original spool post and rise high enough to keep the thread away from moving parts of machine. Top end of wire has an "Eye" for the thread. One of the most important items I found on the Web was a copy of the original factory printed manual for the 29-4. Rear view. Closeup of the control pedal. Most of the parts I couldn't get locally or have in the shop, I bought from Bob Kovar at Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines. Plus, He and Bobby keep me up to snuff on what I can and cannot do. Some times I even pay attention. This was a fun project, I don't think I would ever consider selling it. If anyone has questions I will be glad to attempt to answer them. Thanks for looking, ferg

Got to the campbell Bosworth site I gave the URL to above. That page has your information. ferg

Hi Ian, Welcome to the Vintage Singer Sewing machines. You can do a classy stitch with #138 thread with a "DIA" needle . Access this site for charts that will give you needle sizes for thread size: www.campbell-bosworth.com I find myself using a thread that has a gold line through a medium brown. Very attractive stitch. The thread exchange has a great selection in thread and are very prompt with delivery. ferg If you want rustic look I would use a needle such as a "TW" or "RTW". They will give you a saddle stitch.

That is a great deal! Want to sell a couple of the ones you have your eye on? Or, How bout I go together with you on an order? Just PM me. I am interested. ferg

Check with Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines. 1 (866) 362-7397 ferg

EagleScout, These machines were never intended for heavy production. They are Patchers. Will sew into the end of a boot or shoe and even a glove to fix a tear or bad threads. Great for sewing recognition patches on jackets and shirts. It is said they will max out at 1/4". Anything below that would be a plus. I want to use it for sewing small items and little gussets. The needle hole in the Needle Plate is 1/8" from the end of the arm. Only one foot design available for it as far as I know, it has teeth that will mark most any leather. Wiz suggested I use the tool handle dip on the teeth to smooth it out. I think the "dip" will normally give it enough traction since the notched foot is the only thing moving the material. The 29-4 has a small bobbin, it holds 21 feet of #69 thread. With the digital servo I can slow it down to one stitch at a time if I wish. My knees and ankles have long passed the ability to sew with a treadle driven machine thus the servo. I love machinery of most any kind, this little machine is priceless in it's simplicity. That is probably why they have been around for over 100 years. ferg

About halfway through the build on this little beauty. You folks who like to see the Vintage Singers refurbed to their original beauty will not like this I imagine. That said: I have wanted a Vintage Singer Patcher for some time. Had the opportunity and decided to build it with a Servo motor. The table is somewhat like the many presented on the forum except the top and the bottom are made of 1 3/4" solid Hard Rock Maple. Pedestal is 4" square steel tubing with 1/4" steel plates on the ends. Pedestal is not welded. Obtained a Digital Servo Motor from Bob Kovar, same one on my Skiving machine. I have a few decals for the machine, unfortunately I haven't been able to find a complete set for the 29-4. Stripped the finish off the head. Seems it had been spray canned several times. A few screws were not original, replaced them as well as a new Bobbin Winder. I did not disassemble the head to refinish it. Masked all of the parts not requiring paint finish and sprayed it. Masked the drive pulleys and large hand wheel, haven't decided if I will repaint the large wheel but will not do the smaller drive pulleys. The maple will be finished with Poly Urethane. Maple has not been finish sanded or the edges shaped at this point in time. Anxious to show the progress to someone outside my family. My wife actually thinks it is a beauty. Thanks for looking, ferg

AMEN! ferg

http://www.tolindsewmach.com ferg

I have a fairly large logo stamp. It is magnesium a good inch thick. I don't think you are going to have much luck with the delrin etc.on chrome tanned. I don't have one so I do not know for sure. I do know that mine in a two ton arbor press is about right. It takes all the pressure you can muster with your arm to make a good impression in chrome tanned. I have a large hot press. I put my logo stamp in it, take the temperature to about 240 degrees Fahrenheit, place the leather on top of something rigid, pick up the stamp with a very good pair of heavy leather gloves, place it into the spot you want. Close the press for about one minute. Voila! there is your imprint. ferg

Bob, Time will tell. It seems to be in pretty good shape. Haven't tried to sew anything with it yet. ferg

I have one I just bought last week. Exactly as yours. Only bought the head, am building a stand for it with digital servo. A few things missing and needs a refurb. Will post some photos when I get it finished. ferg

I lay the leather on either a marble slab, nylon cutting board or a piece of wood/MDF, with the edge of the leather close to the edge of stone etc. This gives you some much needed angling of the blade without cutting into your table top. Knife of any type needs to be super sharp and stropped often. ferg

I am betting on the quality levels. May be considering an entire hide with different areas of quality. ferg

I believe you would need to look at the Techsew 5100 or several other of the large machines. Keep in mind that you cannot sew with the smaller/finer threads with these. ferg

My skiver has both top and bottom feed, I would need to use a single feed to be sure that was the best way. Anyone considering one of these machines should know that other than the Fortuna, almost all of the machines on the market are exactly the same with different names on them. Fortuna is certainly the one that has been copied the most with at least one glaring difference. Just check out the photos of the different makes you will see the difference immediately. I also have several hand skiving knives I use to clean up corners mostly. That I do with a French Edger at times. ferg