kgg

What beautiful piece of iron. None of the newer machines look that nice. kgg

I think a lot of people search the net for "the best leather sewing machine" reviews before buying. When you look at almost all of them they are nothing more then domestic machines being reviewed. This coupled with sales people not being properly trained that are dealing with mostly the domestic market and you wind up with members of the general public being mislead (insert non politically correct word) to say the least. kgg

Her writing the book is great but it has to be fully funded. Sounds like the book itself is done and the funding is to cover the cost of printing a certain number of hard copies. In this day and age I can't see why she doesn't just release it as a pdf or something where interested people could download a copy for a price. No relying on the mail or third parties yet providing 24 service. kgg

What I would do first is check and see if the shuttle gears are placed correctly and the hook is cycling correctly. Youtube video ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwaAFjj9468&list=PLQfkXK-k2GObuzXBR8wKzGMRfv2j5_i0C ) and since finding a parts manual for the 29k-4 is difficult I would look at the some of the parts manuals for a 29k-71 to help with showing how they fit together. kgg

Juki's are overall excellent quality machines but these are made for the domestic fabric side of the sewing hobby. These machines would not standup very long to the day in day out of a production setting. The max thread size for domestic sewing machines as well as these ends at V69 where as the industrial machines usually that is their minimum thread size. The machines you mention are drop feed machines being good at what they were intended for, fabric, and the very occasional sewing of very thin leather. If you need to sew multi layers of leather or even fabric you need at minimum a proper walking foot machine similar to a Juki 1181n or preferably better. Trying to in general compare a domestic sewing machine to an industrial is like trying to compare apples to oranges particularly the newer AL or plastic bodied machines. The older domestic Singers even though they were made for the domestic market would and have stood up better as they were constructed with better quality materials in a lot of cases then a lot of the now higher quality. Yes there are quite a number of people both the pro's and the hobbyists that have more then one machine each better or more capable at doing somethings then others. There is no one machine that will do everything you just got to figure out what machine will cover most of your bases. For thin fabric and 4 or 5 layers of 21 oz canvas or binding I like my Juki 1181N for those tasks. kgg

A couple of photo's would help to show what is going on. kgg

Have you tried to rotating the "Needle Bar Cam and Pulley Wheel". If you are sure you are 180 degrees out I would rotate the position of that pulley on the top main shaft as it serves two purposes. Allows the drive belt to be attached to the drive pulley, and determines the rotating relationship of the top main shaft to the shuttle shaft as it follows the groove in the backside of the pulley. Just remove the set pin in the pulley, slide towards the end of the shaft and rotate it 180 degrees and reinstall. kgg

I have used the both the older Reliable Barracuda and the older Sailrite LS-1 but have no experience with the new Sailrite® Ultrafeed® LS-1 PREMIUM Sewing Machine With WorkerB® Power Pack. The price of ~$1600 US for a semi industrial portable sewing machine is a little rich for my blood. That said if you are limited on space like on a sail boat repairing sail fabric which is what they were design to do or in a small apartment then paying the premium price maybe be the answer. If you like the Sailrite line of products and their service for an extra $200 you could get their industrial sewing machine called the Fabricator which I think is a clone of the Singer 111. For those prices and you have the space for an industrial machine you could get: 1. a Juki DNU-1541S (Price example: www.sewingmachinesplus.com/juki-1541s.php ) at ~$1800 which would have a better selection of parts / accessories and resale value then a portable machine. 2. a Consew 206RB-5 (Price example: www.tolindsewmach.com/consew-206rb.html ) at ~$1500 US which would have a better selection of parts / accessories and resale value then a portable machine. kgg

I would call Chris at Japan Sewing Machine & Supply Co. (Ph# (905) 764-0100 Address: 146 West Beaver Creek Rd Unit 5, Richmond Hill) he usually has a good selection of parts. I have bought several machines off Chris and his prices on new machines are really good. kgg

I considered one of those but decided to go with a heavier robust motor setup. Which I outlined in the topic " DIY Burnisher / Sander ". kgg

I would change the needle to a #22 as having a to small a needle will cause thread shreds, frays, or breaks at the needle. With what appears to be skipped stitches I would check for burrs along the top thread path (thread guides, tension discs, etc). I would re cut the piece as the resewing or trying to correct the problems areas will I think be noticeable. kgg

Another thing to check is the history of the machine. Was this a one owner hobbyist machine, how long has that person owned the machine, why are they selling it and was it a machine that was used in a factory environment at some point. I am wary of machines, no matter of what brand they are, that have been used in a factory type setting as they are usually run hard, put away wet and disposed of when about to require repairs. kgg

Sounds like an older one. Like with any used machine you have to go over the machine visually for sighs of worn out parts or poor maintenance as well as listening / feeling for rough operation. Also in the older ones don't forget to check the timing belt as it maybe worn out or dry rotted. kgg

I also think that is a good price for the Singer as it does look in pretty good shape from the photo. If you take a look at the topic "How Singer 29K's should operate" it may help you when you go and see the one you are interested in. The one in that topic with the link to a video is of a 1998 Singer 29K and it is not as nice or smooth as my other 1949 Singer 29k. HowSinger 29K's should operate. kgg

I wouldn't hesitate to take a good used Juki over a new clone. Most of the new clones in this class are of the older Juki LS-341 even though some even call their clone a LS-1341 but in reality??? Photo of Juki LS-341: http://www.nickosew.com/details.php?id=508 Photo of Juki LS-1341: https://sewinggold.com/product/juki-ls-1341s/ Buying a brand name like Juki down the road will be a better investment, parts and accessories are readily available, resale is higher and it is easier to sell when you want / need to. Juki parts are guaranteed to fit Juki machines. kgg

Your right the smaller bobbin shouldn't be a problem. I would be more concerned at the choices of thread sizes the DSC-245 can accommodate. kgg

I thought it was the DSC-246 and the DSC-246-7 that took the double capacity bobbin. kgg

I made a simple gauge using my 3 D printer which actually works, surprised the hell out of me. I tested it against some veg tan leather that was factory tagged with the size and weight of the leather before I bought it. This probably is not an option for most but I think any of the hobbyists gauges really are only for edge measurements so even your inexpensive slide type like Tandy's Leather Thickness Gauge ( https://tandyleather.ca/products/leather-thickness-gauge ) at $4.09 CA would probably work just fine. The only drawback with calipers is you have to figure out how thick an ounce of leather is when measured in mm and divide your measurement by 0.4 as I think an ounce of leather is about 0.4mm. kgg

The main drawback is the max thread size as I read the spec. to be from V33 (Tkt 80) to V69 (Tkt 40) and as usual with the Juki's they rated their max needle size for one thread size above at a #21 needle which could technically accept a V92 (Tkt 30) thread. Also I read the spec as having a small bobbin. I would look for in the Juki's an older Juki LS-341 or LS=1341. kgg

I missed that one and with the OP being in Canada they are $53.99 CA at Tandy. Much more reasonably price then the buckle guy price of $96.05 or $122.59 CA. https://tandyleather.ca/products/pocket-leather-gauge?pr_prod_strat=description&pr_rec_pid=4527302475907&pr_ref_pid=4527285600387&pr_seq=uniform kgg

You can get one like you have shown from the buckle guy for $96.05 US ( https://www.buckleguy.com/tg-25p-leather-thickness-gauge/ ) there is also a video of their gauges on youtube of them gauge having both measurements: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjJVqhBJW2E kgg

I would assume the stroke, type of sewing (leather or fabric) and the thickness of the material would be major factors in selecting the needle system. Too long or short a needle would cause the hook to miss properly picking up the thread. The thicker and tougher the material would require a larger diameter needle to prevent the needle from bending, deflecting or strikes. To allow for proper needle to hook clearance I think most sewing machine manufactures give a clearance range to best accommodate needle sizes within a needle system that the machine was designed to sew. Like the Juki DNU-1541S needle to hook clearance is range from 0.02mm to 0.05mm. Being able to fine tune the clearance could be a real benefit if you were only using one size of thread and needle with a certain type and thickness stuff. The problem is if you change the needle size you could get strikes or skipped stitches. For domestic machines I think a bigger problem would be if you set the hook clearance for a needle with a scarf and then changed to a needle without a scarf as the hook would always hit the needle shaft where the hook thinks the scarf should have been. Going the other way probably would be a problem. kgg

I think the portable walking foot machines like the Sailrite and others, as they have pretty rough feet, would probably leave marks. Since you are in Europe I think finding a Alder or Juki would be easier in the Brand names or one of their clones. What country are you in as someone maybe able to direct you towards something available in your area? kgg

Totally agree, Chris has good prices on parts, machines (Juki and clones) and servo motors. I have bought my Juki's 1541S and 1181N from him as well as his clone version of the Juki LS-1341 and have always been pleased both the price and service. Seems on high, high end of pricing. I run 550 watt brushed servo motors, the ones with the little round speed dial, on all my machines with no problems. I think most of the brushed servo motors are probably made the same and probably in the same Chinese factory just with a different branding name stuck to the side. I like the simplicity and proven tract record of the brushed motors. kgg

You forgot "Tinkers Delight" as you did make some changes to get it motorized. kgg