Darren Brosowski

Yes it is ugly! But it is also inexpensive and reliable. It makes a great starter machine for newbies as it is also light and compact. Many of my customers purchase these for repairing horse rugs and have moved up to more professional machines for leather. Some upholsterers and auto trimmers buy them for those odd jobs that people turn up with every now and then. A 29k takes up a lot of space on a treadle and moving the head around when you need it is a pain (at 30kg - literally). A couple of guys leave it on the front counter as a talking point. I think "factory" is too grandiose a term. More likely a cave somewhere

Hi, The instruction manual does not include anything about adjustments but I think I know what your problem is. Before starting any adjustments make sure the needle is correct and in the right way. The needle is a standard domestic 705, HAX1, 15X1 etc with a flat on the shank. The flat goes against the needle bar so the long groove is facing left and the scarf faces the body of the machine. You need to be threading from the left to the right. There are a few things to check 1/ make sure the needle is centered on the hole in the needle plate. If not there are three bolts under the bed to loosen off for adjustment. 2/ Sometimes there is a bur in the takeup leaver that can damage the thread. 3/ Check the position of the shuttle carrier. Open the needle plate, turn the handle clockwise until the needle hits bottom and the comes up a couple of mm. The 1/3rd moon shaped shuttle carrier should by up against the needle - two thirds to the front (handwheel side) and one third behind the needle. If not then remove the shuttle carrier and drop it into the correct position. The shuttle carrier lifts out and has a pinion on the bottom. If all of the above is ok then it can only be the needle bar height. 4 Remove the shuttle but leave the shuttle carrier in place. Turn the handle clockwise as in step 3 but keep turning slowly until the needle is exposed. The top of the eye of the needle should be just level with or slightly below the flat surface of the shuttle carrier. If not then undo the screw facing you at the top of the needle bar adjust. All of that should take 10-20 minutes.

I have seen 45k hand cranks going through 10mm of leather with no problem but my preference is treadle. The old Singer 7 class treadle will easily run any 205 or 441 style machine at low, medium or high speed without having to make any adjustments

Always love to see the unusual machines!

That is very unusual as when these machines are set up properly they tend to go forever. Letting Bob and his crew have a look at it might be a worthwhile investment.

Methinks that Cowboy do not actually "make" that particular machine. If you order one I think that Cowboy US will add it to the shipment if you are lucky. Feed up the arm machines are low volume and probably only built when they have enough orders to justify it.

At least one manufacturer in China lists the bobbin case but for the small quantity required they are never going to make them so I manufacture them myself. The hook/shuttle is not made anymore This is a fixed foot machine and not a walking foot or vibrating presser.

If the Juki is only a grand more then this machine is way overpriced. Have you chatted to the dealers here about what you want/need?

I have access to a number of Singer 29k's and am selling them for $995 with treadle base - serviced, needles, new shuttle, new belt and 12 months warranty. A customer of mine has a couple of Landis 12L's, blake stitcher and shoe molding machines to clear and I can put you in touch with him if you are happy to go to Canberra. Call me on 0415 353 748 Darren ABLE Sewing & Anne Bonny's Locker 0415 353 748

Stock available and other machines can be had by special order!

And it is bloody ugly. Sorry, could not help myself.

Anything older than a 29k58 has limited parts availability although sometimes Bob at Toledo may have something stashed away.

The stand for a 441 clone will do the job. Lovely machine. I've only ever seen one 11k in the flesh when I visited Steve (Singermania) in Queensland Australia.

By vibrating needle do you mean zig-zag? The 17-10 is feed up the arm standard foot but could probably take a roller foot The feed up the arm zig-zag is a 19-10 I have a 19-10 but I am in Australia. To get the machine going I am making my own bobbin cases.

Search by the part numbers you need. http://www.parts.singerco.com/IPpartCharts/52W21_22.pdf Sometimes there are modern machines that use similar parts but the numbers are not the same.

I prefer treadles to servos as the speed change is almost instant. The 45k was built as a treadle but the fame, footplate and band wheel were about 5 times the weight of even a standard industrial treadle. 45k edge guide is not a problem. There is one for the GA5 and another for the 441 but with either I think the holes need to be redrilled. and getting screws could be an issue although you could drill and retap. The 45k89 is a walking foot but there is a roller foot available for the 45k21 and 45k25. I know this for a fact as I have them in stock on ebay Australia. In the not too distant future I will have new standard feet available as well as needle plates. ATM I have about 40 new-old-stock feed dogs. http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Leather-Roller-Foot-For-Singer-45k-45k25-45k21-GA5-GA5-1-Cowbow-CB2500-/221448164280?pt=AU_Sewing&hash=item338f56d3b8 A flatbed attachment is easy to make.

The 42-5 is the most underrated machine around.

WHAT? No pics of your new ABLE290? Considering some of the crap dumped on them on another thread I am surprised you bought one. Must be my winning personality

Easy fix: lightly file off the points of the feed dogs then coat them in "Tool Magic" or similar. Ditto the roller foot. Rubber coated roller feet are available but I have yet to see a rubber coated single row feed dog to suit.

If you like the 31-15 then the 31-20 is even better as it uses a larger bobbin. A 42-5 is even better as it can be pushed to run much heavier material and thread. A zig-zag machine will never give as good a straight stitch as a dedicated straight stitch machine.

Minerva was building beautiful quality machines before Durkopp bought them out. Skoda may have been a joke of a car company but they were one of the most respectad arms manufacturers in WWII.

It is not a "reproduction", more a modern interpretation of the original shoe patcher redesigned to suit the third world. Yes I ask $A295 for them but for that I assemble and test evey machine and make a number of modifications. I go to the lengths of making a timber base, a new bobbin winder, supplying my own instructions, two year replacement warranty, needles and tool kit and ongoing backup and support. In three years (and nearly eight hundred machines) I have only had to replace about a dozen needle bar connectors - mostly for machine that were dropped - but it is a part originally designed for the Singer model 15 and still commercially available. The whole point of the machine is that it is built for the third world where there is no backup or support. If you cannot figure out how to retime one of these babies then you probably should not own a sewing machine. Darren Anne Bonny's Locker The home of ABLE Sewing. Thanks Trox Bullshit. They are the simplest machine on the planet. Anyone who owns a screwdriver and a shifting spanner can fix this machine.