hello, beginner here with singer 29k-4 cylinder bed (1904 dated) i am self taught (outside of any info i found online and on this website). i am currently in the process of reconstructing a shoe upper (deconstruction of shoe and complete reconstruction with superior skins). my singer works well 85% of the time. sometimes the mechanism that transfers force from the hand operated wheel to the rest of the machine locks up and ends up throwing the shuttle arm and gears off. also the foot on the machine tears up suede and thin leather . i also have trouble sititching the uppers perfectly straight (maybe because the cylinder bed does not offer much working surface?) i feel like although this machine is great and gave me a much better understanding of how they operate i am considering adding a juki/pfaff/consew or any newer flat bed machine, mostly because i feel it is a more reliable product? and it would be easier to stitch perfect lines/curves with a flat bed machine. my question is: should i invest an a newer machine? (i plan on doing this for a while) or should i add a flat table to my singer and stick it out with a machine that works 85% of the time. i am gratefull for any info. thanks