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Hey all! This is my first post here, after searching for similar threads and coming up relatively empty. I just started out as a hobbyist shoemaker/wanna-be cordwainer a few months ago, and as such I eventually had to get an appropriate leather sewing machine, after using a Singer 99K for my first pair of boots and finding it troublesome to not be able to sew three-dimensional shapes. I recently acquired a Singer 29K72 for a measly $200, and it is in remarkable condition. The previous owner seems to have taken good care of it and oiled/cleaned it regularly. Nevertheless I also did so as soon as I’d brought it home and it operates smoothly. It will gladly make stitches as long as 4 mm, although I operate with a much higher SPI for shoemaking. However, I have run into a couple of small issues and was wondering if any of you have any suggestions as to how to rectify them. 1) The leading edge of the shuttle carrier is worn down a little bit. I have purchased a new shuttle carrier (and driving pinion) from College Sewing to replace it. The problem is the tiny set screw that holds the driving pinion and shuttle carrier in place: it just will not come loose. I have tried a variety of different flathead drivers, but none of them give me enough momentum to get the screw lose without stripping the very fragile slot in the screw head; since it is so small. It is also already slightly stripped from the previous owner fidgeting with it. I have applied oil directly to the screw, but it will not budge. Suggestions? 2) The user manual says the leading edge of the shuttle carrier should travel 1/3 of the way across the slot where the needle reaches its deepest point at each oscillation of the carrier. I have made this adjustment to the eccentric stud, but it seems to not want to stay adjusted to that point. After sewing for a few minutes, the shuttle carrier starts coming short of the slot for about 5 mm. The machine will still stitch, but gets prone to skipping stitches. Then I’ll have to adjust the eccentric stud again, but it will soon revert back to an incorrect position. Does anyone know why this is and how I can remedy it? When I first adjusted the eccentric stud, it was stuck, but some oil to the adjustment screw loosened it up and made it possible to adjust. Is it possible I have damaged something when adjusting it the first time, perhaps? There is some very minor slack to the shuttle carrier, but not so much that it would move that far on its own without the eccentric stud being adjusted. 3) The needle clamp position adjustment is stuck also. Loosening the screw does nothing. I have oiled it, but it won’t budge. This is the smallest issue so far since the needle is still centered nicely above the needle plate hole, but I’m dreading the day I have to actually adjust it and won’t be able to. The two first issues combined leads to the machine skipping stitches every 10-15 stitches or so, which is very annoying. When it skips one stitch, it will also skip the next…and the next, so I have to stop what I am doing, lift the presser foot and move the material back to where it first skipped a stitch before I can continue sewing. Mind you, I am making shoes where a lot of the stitching is decorative and therefore needs to be impeccable, which is difficult when you have to remove the material and move it around a lot.

Singer 29K72 for sale. Machine works. $700 OBO, Located in Hattiesburg, MS.