well, the Singer 45k´s are not what you find very often anymore the "modern equivalent" are FI the Cowboy CB2500 / GA5-1 / Hightex CB105 but they only have drop feed (bottom feed). Noways most leather worker swear on triple feed machines, however IMO heavy needle feed machines like Adler 105-64 are underrated.
I have a 45D91 (German made version of the 45K other than that its the same machine) and 12mm is possible but IMO very much limit due to foot lift and the needle system - you need a little reserve and don´t want to run it at its limit all the time. 9-10mm is what I sew mainly but I only do simple leather work like chest handles. I did some archery stuff for a pal and so forth. This is my machine: