DominickTuroski

Thank you!

Hello all! I recently added to my lineup a singer 29-4. I've been after this machine for awhile and finally scored one for 300$ on craigslist. It was not sewing when I got it and I knew it needed repair. After an oil, the parts are actually moving very smoothly! The serial number seems to put this machine to be from 1910(?) which is a bit older than most 29-4's I've seen online so if anyone has more information on this model or can confirm it's age that would be great. The first question I have is about the walking foot/upper unit. On most models I see at least 2-3 dials at the top to adjust tension or pressure of then foot and thread. This model does not have an articulated walking foot, but rather it just slides back and forth, always applying pressure. (maybe something that needs to be fixed? or just this model?) I did take off the screw that adjusts stitch length on the foot and moved the bracket so I may have messed something up. Question 2: I want to replace the tension disks and spring, do I have to detach the front unit from the large arm to do so? Question 4: The needles that came with the machine were used with the large hole on the reverse side of the plate, where there is a space ground out underneath (both holes same size). Is the side with the small hole better to use top/back holes are both the same size, and have circular area ground out on the bottom. Front side has a flat bottom but a smaller hole. Question 5: The last part is unfortunately not an issue that can be solved with just replacing parts. It seems that the bobbin has worn down the arm surrounding the shuttle and has ground up metal letting the shuttle slip during movement (its the "click" in the video) I have a video operating it slowly showing it pop in and out of place. Anyone have ideas on solving this? Question 6: Currently the machine is not grabbing thread, but that is likely due to the shuttle hook being dull which I will replace. If anyone has suggestions on which to buy it would be appreciated, this seems to be a common problem. Thanks for taking the time to check out my machine and give any ideas! I hope to get it in use and sewing leather soon.

Only apply water before tooling. The oil is more of a finish and softener. The water should get you the moisture you need. Do not soak the piece, apply water to the surface sparingly using a sponge or spray bottle. You will learn the amount your leather takes after some trial and error. Do some good ol YouTube research and just type in "Tooling Leather" Bruce Chaney and Tandy leather have some great beginner tutorials.

Very admirable stitching

Thank you! As for the stamps I agree, I regret adding those. Trying to figure out how I want to border it.

The second photo is my first attempt on nicer leather. I then swapped the grass for rocks as seen in the first image

^ Also the stamping above the tree is not ment to be leaves, just a border. That picture isn’t finished either

I’ve been trying some figure carving these past few days and am liking it. I’ve been toiling leather for only about a year now. I’ve done some very simple Sheridan stuff and my own floral designs. I’m from Minnesota so I’ve been trying to adapt some of the traditional western carving to a bit more of a midwestern taste. I’m trying to tool the shoreline of Lake Superior specifically. I have been searching for reference images of rocks or water or beaches or anything like that being tooled. I’m pretty satisfied with the tree, I’m getting the hang of that, but the rocks and water are a bit off for me and I can’t find many good references. If anyone has reference photos of scenes they have toiled with rocks or water or any tips I’d love to see what you’ve got. Criticism on anything on this is welcome as well.

Most of this seems to be answered but I'll just toss in 2 more cents. Tandy should be perfect to start. I've been using their stuff for about 2 years now and most of it has managed to hold up. for single punches a good stitching awl can get a bit expensive for a nice one. I've managed to get away with a scratch/saddlers awl to punch individual holes, not poke through it. Don't get a round knife yet. Watch discontinued items at tandy, I picked up a belt end punch from there for like 12$ Wing dividers are a bit more versatile, and an overstitch wheel you can get pretty cheap and they are nice for if you are doing some hand sewing with different spacing than the chisel you may pick up. The process for that would be to set a line with your wing divider, go over that with the overstitch wheel to set your spacing then individually punch it out with a saddlers awl. Works for me, not for everyone. Great looking stuff! best of luck

Definitely a great buy

Tool rolls always work nicely, at least for tooling tools. I'll post an image when I get back to the bench of mine.

Gotta check out Don gonzales and bruce cheaney, they may be a bit more advanced but bruce has some really good beginner videos for sure. Springfeild leather company has some good tips and tutorials on their channel (kevin hopkins) but unfortunately the audio is a bit weird on those. Some are only in mono. Another is Harry rogers, who has some great stuff as well. But youll have to find them, as he has a lot of woodworking videos as well.

I bought the springfeild leather Dead Weight a while back and have been using it for all my tooling projects. It works really nicely. Just lay it across a part where you arent tooling (make sure it touches the leather AND granite to anchor for a small piece) and that will stay pretty dang still. http://springfieldleather.com/SLC-Original-Dead-Weight You could probably make one yourself, but honestly I think its worth it to just buy. Also be careful, if you get dye on your granite that can get onto the weight and then onto the topside of your projects. If you have a separate spot for dying thats not a problem then. I just get a bit lazy... Best of luck!

I got that same ebay set of tools, and there are maybe 3 tools that you could use in there. The pear shader isnt bad for beginners standards, and the small beveler if polished can be useable until replacements are possible. The small camo tool is okay as well. As for the knife cuts, just keep on carving and practicing. The flow will come. I am finally just starting to get the hang of my knife now and i've been going at it for about a year. A beveler would be the first tool to buy, once you get that you can do some decent figure carving. Make sure you know what tools to use for what part of the piece you want to carve. Best of luck! I'm sorry I can't really give advice on where to buy outside the U.S. but hopefully you can find what you need. You said it @ABHandmade that beveler Is such trash. Whole new world with even an entry level craftool beveler.

I've been trying to get the most out of my fiebings alcohol and oil dyes. The oil dyes work great. No mess needed. The color comes out even and clean, but may be a bit toned down depending on the color. This would be a very easy and clean option. What I like to do now which requires a lot of fuss is using the alcohol dyes and a lot of neatsfoot oil to make a really nice uniform dye and also really nice texture This is my process, others may have different opinions but this gets a really nice finish and color for me. (This is on just tandy craftsman oak veg tan so it works on even cheaper stuff) Also it can get pretty messy so maybe put on some gloves if you're concerned about that. First I slightly dampen the piece of leather. load up a sponge with water and just go over the piece once. Don't drown it. Next I use a piece of sheepswool and get that loaded up with neatsfoot oil. (sponge would probably work fine as well) Go over the piece with the oil, let it sit a few seconds and wipe off and work in the excess. On the same piece of wool, add some of the dye of your choosing. Remove a bit of it by just wiping on some scraps or paper towel, up to you, and go over the piece again with that dye/oil sheep wool. Work in the dye let it sit and then work wipe off the rest with a towel. If you want you can go over this with more oil and buff it out to get a nice waterproof finish or depending on how it looks just leave it. This has worked really well for me for british tan, oxblood, saddle tan, kelly green, navy blue, and even eco flo gel antique (with modifications to the process for the antique) The colors you chose may not work out as well on the leather because of them being lighter so probably test it out on some scraps first. Best of luck on the project, and show us some pictures!

It does seem like this is a water content problem, not the leather. I've been doing some tooling on just cheap tandy craftsman oak and been just fine. The beveling problem you have I've experienced and thats just a matter of making sure the leather is not too wet and that the beveler is going directly into the cut. It seems to be a little bit off the cut causing the ridge there. It also seems to be a bit muddy and dragging. If you allow the leather to dry a bit more the burnished effect will come through more clearly as well as not having the impressions be so defined. The beveling will flow. The swivel cuts dragging and closing is another example of the leather being too wet. Take this into consideration, but if you really think it is just a problem with the leather Herman oak makes some of the best oak tanned tooling leather in the united states. You can get it from a retail seller such as springfield leather company. They only sell up to B grade but thats only determined by bites and imperfections, all the leather goes through the exact same process. Best of luck!

Another person you may try to get in contact with is Wayne from Sew what Maryborough. He and his wife do sewing machine repair in Australia as well and may have an idea on where to source parts. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTgxgcI54ZS3g35dAPlyHgQ/featured You can email them if you go to the "About" tab and it should show the email there.

Could we see a picture of the hide? is it vegetable tanned, oiled, chrome. Calf can be used for final products as well as practice, the application is up to you. If we could see the wallet too Id be happy to give suggestions.

Hm, for me it turns out a nice darker shade, but it was pretty pink with a light coat. I like to put the oxblood on and then go over it with a brown antique for some minor tooling, it comes out with a very nice deep burgundy color.

Well I got some size 69 bondend nylon thread, and size 110 Schmetz leather needles. I was previously using Organ/Consew needles size 135x1 They don't say leather but they seem to do the job. Once i threaded it up and put in the new 110 needle, it made holes, fed, frayed the thread, sewed a few stitches with 1 strand then broke. I tried a few more times same thing. I then put back the old organ needle in and it sewed just fine. I would prefer to use the Schmetz needle as they seem to be higher quality/better design but so far not working out. I may have to mess with some tension stuff. Any recommendations? Oh also, the Schmetz needle is ground flat on one side while the current needles are round all around on top @Wizcrafts The needle seems to work for you?

Ok so i took another look. The pin is for sure missing, so i think i may just get a new tension unit as theyre fairly cheap. But i dont think whatever is supposed to opperate part 43944 is working. The piece is there but it doesent seem to move to release the disks. Heres a video of the cycles. Let me know what you think https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XwIBnAma1VLcS-491sgDZHp_p60VHita/view?usp=drivesdk

Appreciate all the help! I definitely need to get some new thread in it sounds like. Ill see what i can do with getting a pin in there. Ill let you know how it goes. Super excited to have this machine working in good order.

So i bought this old machine, ild cobblers hammer, overstitch wheel and 3 bevelers for 200$ (bevelers arent too great, but after sharpening they may be good to go. Thats a seperate thread) anyway it seemed pretty good. Machine came with a treadle base, not the original but it worked ok. It also came with a motor 1/4 the size the machine needed, but i wasnjust interested in it working mechanically. Anyway, since i've never restored a machine i gave it to a guy who oiled it up, messed with the tension, fixed up the motor to get it in working order and just checked it over. (80$) he also threw in 100 leather needles whoch was awesome. not really a full servicing but what can you do. I was looking to do a bit myself and i started running into the problem of thread snapping a lot. The thread i use is original that came from the drawers of the machine. At first i thought it was just too big, so i put in some tiny stuff from a singer 15-91. That snapped almost instantly. I messed with the tension quite a bit and it can sew pretty well, but i really want to get it to work with the treadle. The tension disks are not opening at all, or at least to the eye. I checked inside and the pin seems to not be in existence as well, so thats probably been worn down. It may just be a matter of replacing the tension unit. If so let me know if its something a newbie could do reasonably easily. I plan on downloading the manuals this weekend and taking a closer look. My ideal setup would be getting it to work with the treadle. Any ideas on improving that usage? Probably going to get a rubber belt since the leather one is slipping quite a bit. Right now im putting in 2 layers of 6-7 ounce veg and oil tanned leather and its handling it pretty well with just turning the wheel. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VboOT5FwWgQRcsynLtgT7SOKo1Gx0Qnc/view?usp=drivesdk https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fknjVXb9fJx94O8kmUFCu--ylvoeBtUD/view?usp=drivesdk https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Nx50fNK8_cO7n2cLZcOsXr4pG3EVyMJP/view?usp=drivesdk

Well the florence crown i was looking at didnt work out. Previously i was looking into a cobblery shop that had some extra machines and they finally got back to me. I was in search of a singer 29k (any version) turns out they had a long arm varient! Unfortunatley that came with an 800$ price tag. Not bad for the machine but waaay outside my range. Anyway, they also happened to have a singer 31-15. From what ive found it can handle leather just fine. It comes with table and motor for 200$ which seems like a steal if it works. (They say it does) Anyone with experience want to weigh in? Threads? Needles? Threading? Known issues? Im planning to sew wallets and maybe the occasional 7 ounce belt. I searched the forum for singer 31k and 31-15 but no luck so it seemed alright to start a new topic. Im going to check it out on tuesday, fingers crossed it goes well! Happy holidays everyone, thanks for all of the help. Heres to leatherworker going strong in the new year!

checked out ismacs, pretty good info on the company but not much on the models.