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"ken's life singer 29k13" google or needlebar. Good article with images. If it sews but has short spi or foot not lifting high this will help. Shimming ladder gears can improve hook rotation. Make sure the bushing on the cam rotates smooth. I would think the experts will post. You can buy 1mm shimstock at NAPA

Try Ohio Travel Bag, Buckle Guy, and Goldstar Tool

I think a 45k 76 has some interesting features. The height of the foot is adjustable, which means it can be used for various thickness by a simple adjustment at the top of the machine. With the foot released you are free to move material, than make the stitch. I have a high gear reduction settup which can make a stitch at a time. A better choice would be a sevo with needle postion. With that you can position needle just right. Since it has no feed dog and the foot is flat it does not mark the leather. Much faster than hand stitching. You can also lock beginning and end stitches much like embroidery machines which lock stitches before and after jumps. I use it for shoe soles and knife sheaths. There also cheap. Picture shows $50 machine before rehab.

AmeriKen has stores all over USA. They have large selection of clearance items with pricing, location, and description. maybe you could get a good price to help pay for importing.

I will cover 3 machines I have and my opinions. Any shoe patcher should be test sewn with a pc. of fabric under the leather because of surface tension. I glue a pc. of teflon 1m onto the toe . I've done this for 25 years. 30-1 Great build quality, stupid parts prices small bobbin. Singer 29-4 Primitive, cheap. Relatively easy to refurbish including stitch length and lifting height. CLSP Chinese shoe patcher. Cheap including parts, stitch length up to 1/4", high lift only one a of the 3 with adjustable needle bar. Adjustable arm for centering needle and easy hook timing. Larger bobbin than the above. Any of three will work in your application. Attached photo is a insole stitcher that I intend to buy for insole and side stitching.

Other than paint it looks like my Mitsubish 280l. I heard this design went to Juki

You can view these machines on Amazon. Colored Peas CLSP or facebook chinese leather shoe patcher. The $100 model gets a lot of bad press I would call it a great design but poorly executed. However there is heavy duty $300 with high lift and larger bobbin. Though manual it would be no more difficult than a 29 singer patcher to motorize. There is another model that has a 45 degree foot with a high lift that would work for inseaming. My preferred sole construction is sew the insole and midsole . Than sew the midsole to the outsole. This technique is also called Blake Rapid.

I am in a similar situation. I make my own shoes because it's difficult and I have issues. Being elderly I'd rather sit at the bench than ply my trade. Auto trim, upholstery, and leather. My choice would be a cb3200 or a Singer 45k variant. The cowboy would probably fill all your needs. A alternative would be a one of the 45k. For example a 45k69 was designed for shoes and has a unique walking foot. I have a 45k76 which has a lifting foot with no feed, sewing a stitch at a time still faster than handstitching, these can be cheap. I paid $50. This machine is easy to mount to a shoe patch table and could than operate with a treadle. They come with a heavy flywheel. Finally explore a Cowboy Outlaw or Tippman. Or a heavy duty version of the CLSP .

I like this machine it will sew 138 thread with a 135/16 /23 needle. The foot can be moved. it has needle timing and hook timing. That's the good stuff The bad rough finish on hook and shuttle needs polishing. Lot of these machines need work, however with couple of hours it will sew. Go to facebook chinese shoe patcher and read the files and post.

I have a 45k. The second picture shows thread behind tension disc should be between. Other issues needle timing and needle to far from the hook. If you can't fix let me know and I will check rising needle timing to hook. If you have needle to far from hook you can bend needle bar where needle is inserted. Not recommended but hey I only paid 50 bucks for the machine.

If you go to needlebar.org and then search for ken's life or ken jerrem's you will find a excellent article on shimming various parts on a 29-4. You can buy 1mm shim stock buy the inch from NAPA

I purchased 3 clickers in the 90's A USMC model C a mechanical clicker running on 220 single phase. A Fipi 20 running 220v 3 phase using a phase converter. Best feature reads die height automatically, also has dial for pressure. Did conversion and found difficult because euro wiring colors and application are problematic. Today the internet would help a lot. Third was a Schwabe model D a dead simple machine with manual height adjustment, also 3 phase which I found easy to wire to phase converter. This machine was USA made. These were well used but all three required less than $300 dollars in parts. The USMC is mechanical and requires good mechanical skills and a operator manual. All machines are industrial and have a very long life. The hydraulic machines are noisy, theModel C is quiet except when tripped. When I sold business I kept the USMC Model C The Fipi and the Schwabe are still in use in my old business.

there is needlbar.org (kens life)site about 29-4. Very good info. I also am working on a 29-4. Bent handwheel (fixed) bell crank work in progress. Clearances seem tight, screws are not chewed up, don't think I will to shim rack. Hook has little wear and picks up thread. However it looks terrible on the outside but good on the inside. There is also a facebook forum site 29k and others. 1mm shim stock was 63cents per inch. from NAPA. Trying for 5spi.

I have straitened needle bars and shafts on 29-4 and 45k. Singer steel is very ductile but strong. Similar to 1045 steel which was used in making wheels. My favorite hammer is a flooring hammer used to hit a nailer. For a surface I would use lead, a poundo board, or even a cheap cutting board. I use my 2" pad on my clicker.

The original clicker pad on my model C mechanical clicker was end-grain hardwood. Although it is serviceable I use 2x20x40 red poly pad. I think a hardwood stump would work ok. You could keep up the surface with belt sander.

Just for your info. These line-shaft clutches usually have a simple 3/8" leather belt as a clutch material. just a spot of glue holds them. We all are thinking about that 75lb. 3450rpm or 1725rpm pc. of garbage about 2 out of 10 have any control. However my wife loves her 206rb with that style clutch but she started working in the garment factory over 50 years ago.

I would really like to play with this setup. I would keep the clutch add a smaller pulley to motor, and add a hinge to the back of the motor. You may be able to use one belt to change speeds on the clutch which has 3 different diameters. I would add a smaller pulley to motor The top looks like plywood refinish with veneer or thin plywood. The machine looks pretty good. I would spray all moving parts with PB Blaster or similar. Do this multiple times and do not blow out with air ( just sends dirt into moving parts, some with little clearance) Now is the time to test for sewing. If it sews good leave it alone. If not y-tube is your friend, like Uwe Grosse, Wiz, and Cowboy Bob. Of course use this site also. Do not change the toothbelt just yet. Run the machine and see how easy and smooth it turns. An new belt may be a little stiff and may not show other issues. Adding a larger pulley at the handwheel will give you even more control and you can reduce tension on the drive belt. Finally this machine has high lift (1/2") and long stitch. If all goes well and you like it you may want to convert to a larger bobbin. Good Luck

Four things I would look at. Take up spring. Should release before take-up descends to bottom. Timing Adjust needle down a touch 1/32" , if it gets worse go up. Timing I assume lower shaft is keyed, I would see if hook is to far from the needle Thread release. Make sure thread is not releasing as feet go to second layer

ameriken online probably has your punches.

In my beginning years as a upholster we used cotton thread the size was 16-4 (about tex 105) and 24-3(about size 69) things were rapidly changing to nylon thread, staple guns vs spitting tacks. Most machines where 155 and 16-188.

My go to for small parts and tools is "THE WORKS" a common and in-expensive bathroom cleaner. It's disposable obviously. For larger projects and perhaps more gentle is electrolysis, many post on this on YouTube and other places. Probably very friendly environmentally as the water and the other chemicals are simple like salts or Borax.

Been there done that on a very nice 111w155 which I bought for $12 at the Mt Hope auction had bad belt. I would try one thing first. Change to 20 or 21 needle. Move hook as close as you can to needle. Make sure needle bar timing to hook is correct. If this fails go to Uwe Grosse he will come up on Google. Review his Consew/111w155 video. 50yrs ago I had to put a 111 on the bus 300miles. After that I made sure I learned how to adjust the machine. These machines properly setup will have 1/2" lift a long stitch and will do whatever you want, until you graduate to a big bobbin with reverse. Better pictures of machine might help so I might be able to see overall condition.

Well look at that ! This is not full grain "whatever that is" one A plated finished split with a plastic or acrylic coating two Top grain plated and finished. three The above cut on the belly, the wrinkles will always show up. four Final assembly may have ironed the boot and lifted the finish. five If expensive the price was based on marketing not quality.

I have one, quality Japanese machine. 3.5 stitch to inch. As good as Japanese Consew 206. Simple horizontal axis. big bobbin machine with pinon drive. But no clutch and if you get a thread jam you can spin the hook out of time. You will need to know how to retime. Hooks are cheap. You can sew with 207 thread top and bottom. Florida climate is bad for sewing machines as far as appearance, but doesn't affect performance. Machine I don't think has been made for years.

I did notice on the second video that as the stitching came off the double seam the stitch got shorter. This happens using a drop feed or walking foot machine. A compound feed machine usually won't do that. Many of those machines also have adjustment to alter the lifting height. For example we sew embroidery twill to backing and need triple feed to keep materials aligned. By simply adjusting the lift we can sew heavy leather. If you buy singer 111 or Oriental feet you will have a huge selection. If you buy Adler or Pfaff feet for those machine the prices are much higher, I am only speaking for the USA. You can buy knurled,smooth and teeth feet for the 111 style. I don't know your market but if you see something just ask for a opinion from our members.