Constabulary

Hope this is the right machine for your project - have you googled the specs? Machine is mainly used for apparel.. http://www.juki.co.jp/industrial_e/products_e/apparel_e/1needle_e/dln9010a.html

Most likely the new version but it may help: https://www.pfaff-industrial.com/de/portfolio/pfaff-maschinen/freiarm-maschinen/pfaff-337 Scroll dow to the end

What subclass is your 29K? There were several - like 29K3, 29K4, 29K33, 29K56, 29K60, 29k71 and so forth. Check the oval brass tag. When you have the subclass I´m sure someone can provide a manual. Or post some pictures of your machine.

Almost all snaps I bought online (guess most were made in china) were rubbish. I figured best snaps are made of solid brass (had a few from OSBORNE). Not plated ones I mean real brass. Unfortunately I do not have a DOT fastener supplier in Germany (need black snaps only) so I will order in the US from DOT / Scovill next time. Too many failed "experiments" - I think I better buy "proven" stuff. DOT fasteners is what the US military is using - I think you can´t got wrong with DOT! They also have a PULL THE DOT (not Lift The Dot) snap that hold real (!!!) tight.

No doubt they are great machines and I´m sure so are the new Adlers. But most leather workers (I guess) run a small business or are just Hobbyists where cost efficiency is quite important to make a buck or two. And I´m sure most will run their machine until the end of days (even when written off) for several reasons like: they got used to it, just love vintage machines , have in mind never change a running machine, have no or just a few mechanic skills, or have no "Eric" around and probably have to turn in the machines for service (especially with "fancy bells & whistles" issues) - if so where is the next qualified dealer 10mls away or 100 mls or 1000 mls away?. Lots of things to consider. If you run a big business or even a factory it´s for sure a different story. Even if I had the money I´m sure I would still stick to vintage machines - just because of the certain something and because most are "quite easy" to maintain by your self. I´m off topic.... BTT

wondering how many people will look for replacement motors for these machines in 5 - 10 years... Will there be after market motors - who knows?

FORTSCHRITT, to my best knowledge, is an early clone of the Fortuna but made in the former GDR (east Germany) while FORTUNA was a West German Company. I guess yours is approx early to mid 1950´s made. FORTSCHRITT brand was also known for their agriculture machines. They made excellent sewing machines (CLAES f.i.), Motors and other equipment in the former GDR. AFAIK later on all the leather and sewing machine Co´s turned over into the TEXTIMA Combitaion - but thats just history. I´m sure most of the wear parts are Fortuna compatible but of course I cannot guarantee that. Sieck in germany has a FORTSCHRITT skiver - maybe they know more: http://www.sieck.de/en/machines/skiving/leather-goods-and-automotive-interieur/details/9342/

I have the predecessor 111G156 and the double needle / needle feed version of the above 211G156 (the 212G141) and I can tell you there is nothing wrong with buying a Singer machine. BTW - "G" means the machine is made in Germany. I would also consider Pfaff as Mercedes of sewing machines but again - nothing wrong with Singer - especially the parts and accessory situation is excellent. Presser feet sets are usually a lot cheaper than for the Pfaffs. But no matter what machine brand you buy - it always depends on how it has been treated before "it went out of business". So you can have luck with Pfaff or even got screwed - same with Singer or Adler. Best bet is go and test it. I have restored all my sewing machines (more or less). Most vintage walking foot / triple feed machines are quite well documented and you find tons of information - especially here in the forum. It is all doable even for a novice... The 111 / 211G156 (with reverse) also has the "longer forward stitch feature" but as Uwe said a longer forward stitch length reduces the reverse stitch length. I have not tested how long the the max. forward stitch length is but its a quite easy task - it is just 1 screw you have to loosen to alter the forward stitch length.

Can´t tell from the picture if the front drive shaft (for placing the hand wheel to the front side) is present. 29K60 is the large hook 29K62 the small hook variant. The 29K73 is very close to the 29K60 - just some minor differences. Singer 29K71, 29K72, 29K73.pdf

well - on this type of machine with needle system 134-35 or a bit longer 135x17 the 11mm foot lift already is a VERY good score. Maybe the Cowboy CB341 / Juki 341 type will give you a bit more foot lift but I´m not sure how thick they really can sew as they also have the 135x17 needle system. I think they max out at approx 12mm material thickness. If you want to sew thicker you will need a much heavier machine approx in the range of a Juki 441 or clone or Cowboy 3500 and similar.

I´m no "Colibri type" patcher expert but this one looks like an early CLAES & FLentje patcher with large hook (nowadays subclass 30). As far as I know they are still using the same hook and presser feet. So most likely this machine will need System 88 needles. I think Mitsubishi just put their badge on it. Cool machine - it does not have all the fancy bling bling decor stuff - I like it!

Well, 132K parts no longer grow on trees - some are still available because Seiko and Mitsubishi and so forth are still making similar machines but I´m not sure if all parts are interchangeable. Not sure what other parts are on the black machine but the silver one looks totally stripped - I would not buy it. I think I would not buy any of them as it will be really expensive. You are aware of what it will cost to restore them, right?

could you explain that please What do wee need

that is a bit of topic in a Juki 441 thread. But yes, the large hook CLAES patchers (subclass 30) easily can handle 138 thread and even larger.

It´s just what I would do. Of course it´s your decision.

If I were you I would get rid of both motors. The old black (Singer?) Motor because it most likely is no longer electrically safe and it has an external clutch. The white clutch motor because it runs at 2800 RPM which is way way way way to fast for leather working or any other application when you are new to sewing machine. Trust me you will not like this motor! If you want to set up the machines for leather working or upholstery work I would buy a servo motor and add a speed reducer (pulley system for slowing down sewing speed and increase the torque). You will find many many posts on speed reducers + servo motors here in the forum. https://www.google.com/search?q=servo+speed+reducer+site%3Aleatherworker.net%2Fforum%2F&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-b-ab regarding replacing the timing belt - I was in a similar situation a few years ago - check this thread

Here it comes again - I had to reduce the file size: Manual Singer 133K8, 133K9, 133K10 and 133K17 (1).pdf

well - that looks like an original JUKI 441 to me with just FERDCO sticker put on. Being honest I would think twice now but most likely I would keep the original JUKI + Pfaff 545. Not because the Juki is better machine but it is THE Original! I also like the stand very much. As often pictures tell more than 1000 words.

Personally I would keep the 545 because its a Pfaff w. large hook and high lift and it most likely will hold its value better than any comparable Chinese machine. Furthermore I´d keep the Cobra 4 because it comes from a company which has a very good reputation in the leather business. I´d get rid of the other 2 as long as they are "as new". My 2 cents

Had to think twice what you mean... the sign actually is a stylized hook and the letters in side the sign are NTW (not an anchor) NTW means Nähmaschinenteilewerke. They produced hooks and other sewing machine parts in the former GDR. Co. still exists but no longer makes sewing machine parts. Note their company logo. http://www.haerterei-dresden.de/index.html black crackle coating is the new silver I have not tried it. Its actually a dirt cheap binder for flat bed machine I have modified. It was just for testing back then but that thing really works well for my purposes so no need to replace it. I run quite thick cotton tape through it. Don´t ask where I bought the binders - I think it was a German seller on Ebay. I have bought 1", 7/8" and 3/4" width and they all work very well. Don´t you have

You are welcome! Yeah, it indeed works very well and I´m very pleased with it. Would be nice if it had reverse but that's not necessary for binding operations.

I have adjustment instruction in English for the 138 and similar machines - maybe it will help you . Adjustment Pfaff 138.pdf

I once decided to use vintage sewing machines only (for different reasons) and at one point I even narrowed it down to Singer only - when ever possible. It is amazing how many parts for certain Singer machines are still available and when you have an open eye and watch / compare the model range you will figure that many spare parts within the Singer model range are interchangeable. Yes it it time consuming looking up all that - but it is very interesting also. A lot of spare parts come from China nowadays and quality varies but since the Chinese and Japanese co. have cloned many older Singer machines some parts will be in production almost for ever I think (f.i. parts for the Singer 111 range). Even some German brands like DURKOPP (not Durkopp Adler) or CLAES have cloned the older Singer models and the parts are interchangeable. F.i. Durkopp 239, 227, 245, 241 and the like is using the same tension unit and hook saddle as the 111 from Singer - even hooks are interchangeable. A lot of Durkopp machines can even use the 111 type presser feet and vice versa. Sure - up to date models have a lot of bells and whistles and probably have better sewing capacities (f.i. higher foot lift, larger hook and longer stitch length) question is if you really need these features - and - will you get spare parts for your (sometimes fancy) bells and whistle machine in lets say 10 - 20 years. I know most industrial sewing machines are not made for the "common private user" or small businesses or just "One Man Shows" (or the like) but a lot of old / written off machines sooner or later end up on the private market for what ever reason. And I´m sure it will be a point where no one knows what factory certain machines came from. Because some dealer may buy just larger stocks of certain machines put their name sticker on them but are probably not able to supply parts in 5 -10 years because the dealer or even manufacturer went out of business... You never know. I recall a user who wanted to buy feet for an older Artisan Model machine and he had no luck (I do not recall the model - was and odd name) since they no longer support the model. But that even happens to known brands too - like the Pfaff 45 ECO - I just recently have learned that. I think FERDCO is a good sample too. The name still exists but I´m sure the current "name owner" does not supply parts for the early machines - or even know know them "by heart". Not sure if LUBERTO still is in business or if you can find parts for their machines. Yes it´s probably like comparing apples and oranges but the game is pretty much the same. I know Singer also is no longer in business but the name still exists but Singer (or the name owner) no longer supports any industrial sewing machine afaik. I don´t say my way (vintage Singers) is the right way and I don´t say Chinese machines are bad but a lot depends on the dealers reputation - no matter what machine brand you buy. But it is always a good bet when you buy a machine of a known manufacturer and dealer who well supports his brand and / or a clone machines that is based on a wide spread model - like the Singer 111. I´m sure all the dealer who have banners on the top of this side DO support their own brand machines very well - but there are "other" dealers out there Buying directly from China is a gamble too - some users here did it and they saved money but if you know nothing about sewing machines especially heavier type machines or "bells and whistle" machines better don´t do it. But keep in mid that import charges and VAT will apply and you have to deal with the customs office - you are lucky if it is local! Buying from private sellers is always risky BUT when you buy a known / wide spread model (or Chinese clone of it) like Singer 111, Pfaff 335, Juki 441 (just to name a few) you will find tons of information like manuals, videos, mechanics manuals or parts lists. I have bought all my machines form private sellers and I have restored them all by my self - thats very satisfying and you learn a lot and I saved a lot of money. However - there are always two sides of a medal - the decision is always up to the buyer. My 2 cents

Not knowing this machine in particular but most likely the stitch length adjuster mechanism is gummed with old oil. I had similar issues on my Singer 132K6 and a Singer 111. Heating he mechanism with a heat gun and oiling it could solve the problem. Just a guess

Check with SIECK in Germany - they sell and ship internationally www.sieck.de