jimi

Hello Folker, just got back my PC again. "spot the needle plate game? haha"

Hello Boris, can you upload some pictures of the shuttle and needle area.

This part was worn on top and bottom and was tig welded to see if it would work out??? well after a LOT of filing it is put back (needs a little more adjustment) and just slightly helping the material through it gets 5 to the inch. but very slightly, i still dont know if it is worth all the trouble to weld and file and fit this part??? maybe just better getting a new one?? and the lifting lever came and is in very good nick. you can see how worn the old one was on the left?? (another $30 to the list).....oh... and the shuttle carrier also? should have got both of them together and saved postage

and the last two pictures is what we will be trying to end up with, shinny black like it was and with a new decal/sticker. by the way this was cleaned again with solvent to see what was underneath.

well i personally think that a bit of blasting would be good for these feet as there are a few nooks and crannies underneath to get into to clean the rust??? the decals have gone white underneath because of the solvent seeping underneath and they look like stick on.

as you can see there was quite a bit of wear on the racks and piñons. the feeding motion ring was not replaced, the foot was also changed as it was smooth and was giving a smaller stitch compared to a new one. it is sewing 6 stitches per inch and seems ok to me. i will change the shuttle carrier with an original used one and the lifting lever bar also which is heavily worn but it will not stop you from sewing. so when they arrive i will post you some more pictures. as you can see anyone looking for one of these newer 29s will find parts available but might need a little "tweaking" and others like the shuttle carrier wont work (but this could be for another model). they are easy machines to work on and do not have a lot of complicated parts to them. lets see if i can get around to doing the treadle.........

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Singer-29K51-29K52-29K53-29K54-29K55-29K56-Instruction-and-Parts-Manual-/351202167951 there is a picture here that might help??

i finally found the culprit!!.. yes... the new shuttle carrier that the previous owner bought was not working with this machine. for one it was too thick which was jamming the thread under the needle plate. also the shuttle was quite loose in there as the puny little shuttle carrier spring did not even reach the shuttle. so i put the original one back in... as you can see it was changed because the corner broke off where it received the screw. and it sewed without any problem. so here is some pictures of the parts that were changed.....

Here is a quick update: parts arrived and took a bit of fitting! first of all the leading piñon did not come with a screw and the original did not fit! so luckily i had a screw that had the same thread. ( not a good one there from CS, they should send the screw included in their new part). so had to make up a new one. then the following piñon did not fit on the post!! had to be filed a bit on the inside diameter, when i say a bit it means not just like taking a burr off. so finally got them in and noticed the eccentric cam was loose. that done i checked the shuttle and saw it had a little wear in the thread path, nothing serious. you see that line coming from the hole on the left going horizontal? so put it in and after a lot of birds nests, changing shuttles, adjusting the timing....

Hope this helps? i think the 29k51 didnt have a gearbox?? i could be wrong??

Thank you Sark9 for the info, very nice looking clone you got there. it looks well made? changing over parts is an option left to explore but by the looks of things large gearbox`s seems to look wider also. it may be possible but i think some milling to the gearbox would have to be done??

Thank you gentlemen. i will forget about that experiment then. meanwhile i will clean up the base and upload the progress.

Wiz, thanks for the info. have you tried the large gearbox in the 171?? this one here measures 197mm long and has about a 4mm gap at the end. has anyone actually tried fitting a large bobbin gearbox in a 171???

Hi, the screw is for blocking the rotation of the foot. you can fix it in one position without it moving.

Yeah, well lets see what the new parts are like and hopefully they will fit well. i think they would make more money selling the older style piñons and racks because there is a lot more of them out there compared the newer ones!

Also forgot to mention the feed motion bell crank lever in the first picture has a flat spot top and bottom...... the gearbox has lost some plating and will probably get a fine rub with some steel wool... or not??? now you can see the normal wear it has. until now two days of work, 3 rags, about that small bottle you saw before with solvent and a little grease and oil. parts will be about €90 foot not included as i think i have one somewhere. you could probably save a little if you got the bell crank lever welded.. so i might try that out while the new one comes to see if it could work if anyone is interested. the foot could also be filed or filled in whatever. i might try something like that to see??

so here are the parts for changing so far. as you can see the rack and piñons are very worn. the lifting lever shaft in the next picture is also worn but will see how that goes, i think it was loose when it came. the foot is worn also and the needle screw has the head broken in half. one half of the needle plate has been drilled also, as there is a very fine hole then on the other end a larger one. nothing too serious but will need cleaned up a little...... this little screw is still stuck as well as the two screws that hold the gearbox in..... not made in japan if anyone wanted to know... next will be the stand while waiting for the parts to come.....

Hi dikman, there are a lot of these machines floating around this side, and prices are usually higher, 400 upwards and in abandoned condition. the solvent is just a cheap thinner for paint and varnish etc.. not really very strong compared to some paint strippers. Uwe has uploaded the spec sheet for this solvent, thanks uwe. when restoring antiques a while back i remember that the paint came off easier if the undercoat had sealed the wood. if it was paint on top varnish not sanded or paint on paint it would come off pretty good. the problem was paint on wood with no sealer underneath. in this case there is paint then finish or top coat so thats what has helped the paint to come off i reckon. it was not sanded underneath and it was on top of a thick clear coat. even then you have to go lightly otherwise you will take off the decals. thanks for the video Al, i have seen the darning machines before, it was just Wizs contraption that looked odd?? haha. well i will give the CS a try on this one folker. i have to get the feed motion bell crank the both piñons and large and small racks as these are shot! i did get a feed motion ring from them for the other 29 i have but it was just a little too thick, so when the head was screwed on it jammed! (if this happens to anyone else just put a piece of paper in between, its only about a decimal or two?) i will put up a couple of more pictures. most parts have been cleaned and some very lightly sanded with a very worn piece of fine sand paper, then(not sanded to death!) greased or oiled. the patch on the head which has a little light rust will get some steel wool to it then maybe a little clear coat or something to protect it. no shellac here Al because shellac is brown and will show up brown on the light blue paint. the goal on this one is to get it going again and not leaving it as a show piece. in some cases little is more?....

Ok Wiz thanks.Neat gadget! i bet you dont buy a lot of socks then. Folker, according to the singer 29k171,172,173 manual the 172 is the large bobbin machine. when it refers to putting the spool in the shuttle the first example says "for 171 and 173 machines and the second example is for the 172 large bobbin. do the gears from college sewing fit well in these newer 29s??

Nice Machine there Wiz, whats the darning attachment? that sort of tube wrench thing you got there?? wiz how long does your gearbox measure from end to end?? Folker, you must be thinking of another Holy machine. this is the small bobbin, unless someone has swapped over gearboxes?? but i wouldnt think they would be interchagable. it does have a big looking gap at the back. it seems the gearbox is a little short?? but maybe it was like that? no part number i can see folker, i cant get the 2 screws out! the pin came out but the screws wont budge! the number is inside i bet... more pictures.....

First of all Happy New year to everyone here at the LW. this is another 29k restoration if anyone is interested. iam sure some of us are saying " Oh no ANOTHER 29K!!! " but they seem to be about the most popular machine on this forum??. this machine was bought for €130 with the stand and is in need of some care. one of the previous owners was more than likely a cobbler who probably used this everyday due to the wear on the parts. unfortunately somewhere along the line the paint brush was taken out and this 29k171 was the victim. so the initial idea is to hopefully be able to get the top coat of paint off without ripping through to the original finish ( if there is anything there?) as this machine is one of the newer ones it should have a lot of original finish left, but who knows???. so next was to try out a light stripping (just universal solvent) to see if this was enough or maybe i would need a stronger paint stripper? so as you can see, the solvent was enough and the original finish is BACK! more to come....

down the 1st page a little Uwe.

Great stuff Al, very informative. thanks for sharing. jimi.