I found an old leather sewing machine in my grandpas basement. I think, he got it from a friend of his, whos father was a shoe maker. The make is Singer. There is a brass plaque with the digits 29k8 stamped into it. I assume, this is the model?
I watched some instructional videos on youtube, but couldn't find anything for a 29k8. The biggest difference between the most helpful video I could find and my own machine, are the bobbins. The ones in the video had an eye on the flat side, through which the thread is pulled in the end. My bobbins lack this eye.
First the machine kind of worked, until I changed the lower thread. Now I can't even get the lower thread up. I'm doing it, like you would with a textile sewing machine. I think it was the same in the instrucitonal video. Also, the tension on the upper thread seems to be very high.
In your experience, is it possible to make a machine work, which hasn't been used for years, without taking it apart, cleaning it thouroughly and oiling it?
This is the video: