Singer 29-3 Presser Foot Won't Rotate

[AlZilla]

I dragged home an old 29-3 that almost wouldn't turn, having sat for 3 decades.

I now have it spinning like a roller coaster and am awaiting a new belt.

I have 1 issue left - the rotating presser foot doesn't rotate. There is no thumbscrew above the ears as I think there is supposed to be and I'm confident nothing is broken off in there - I can get a probe in 7/16" and hi res pics don't look like there's anything down there.

It wouldn't move at all yesterday.  Today after liberal applications of WD40, PB Blaster and whatever else I had on hand, it turns about a 16th of an inch.  It does not come up against a hard stop in either direction, but rather a soft stop.  I think it's gunked as badly as the back end of the machine was.  It looked like a 300,000 mile engine back there and I really think it had been lubed with motor oil.  Just thick, black tar-like stuff caked everywhere.

So, my question is, does anyone think I'm overlooking anything?  I see how the head comes off and I may remove it so I can either soak it or tear it apart.

On a lower priority one of the ears is broken off and I'll be looking for a replacement.

The one on the left in the pic.  I'm angling for the one on the right, too ...

Thanks!

[Wizcrafts]

Remove the needle clamp and stitch regulator clamp and screw above it. Then unscrew the two top and two bottom screws holding the head to the body and carefully pull it away and down from the body, leaving the needle bar attached to the top arm. Clean every part in there. There is a roller that needs to rotate freely on the back of the long sliding bar. The rotating foot parts include a ring and a feed motion cam. Remove them and clean off any junk.

Now, examing the paddle spring on the needle bar. It sits above the needle clamp. It is supposed to hold onto the top thread as the needle does its up/down jog to form the loop for the hook to pick off. Those little paddles and the thin spring in the middle can get out of shape and cause binding. If there is any pressure problem with that spring the loop may dissolve before the hook can pick it off. Check (paddle shaped) springs are cheap. But, use a magnetized screw driver if you change it to a new one. Don't loose the two tiny screws. Also, keep them separated so you can reinstall them into the same positions they were in. The reason for this is that the factory usually files down the leading and trailing edges of the crew heads to prevent scoring the inside of the revolving head housing. If you replace them with new screws, get a narrow file to taper the edges after tightening them in.

[AlZilla]

1 hour ago, Wizcrafts said:

The rotating foot parts include a ring and a feed motion cam. Remove them and clean off any junk.

Wow, thank you for taking the time for such a detailed response.  I'll follow your directions exactly.  I'm thinking the above parts are entombed in dried gunk.  Unfortunately, there's a dearth of videos and exploded views of these old machines.  Guys like you are invaluable.

[shoepatcher]

You want to use a penetrating oil on it. WD40 is not it.   The best you can buy Is Kroil Oil.  But NOT CHEAP!!!

glenn

[AlZilla]

So, pics attached.  I think I'm looking at the top and bottom of a part the manual calls a "Revolving Bush" (8573) and it should slide out downwards and I'll need to remove the top pin in the (8675) "Foot Bar" which will come out with it.  The Foot Bar is not going to remove vertically up and out of the Revolving Bush I don't think. It looks like I'd need to unpin it and drop it out the bottom.

So, Experts, am I looking at this right?

Because that Revolving Bush is solid tight in the head casting.

My thinking is to let some penetrating oil soak down in there a day or two and tap it with a nylon mallet.  Good plan?

Thank You!

 

Edited September 13, 2022 by AlZilla
Got it wrong the first, second and third time ...

[AlZilla]

OK, I've got it back together and working.  Mostly just old, dried lube and a touch of rust.

For any future people who stumble across this thread with a similar problem, follow Wizcraft's advice above.

I found the below linked video after I had mine back together.  In this one he disassembles a frozen head.  In the one after, he reassembles it.  Would have been helpful to watch first...

Thanks to everyone who chimed in. I  learned a lot.

 

 

[shoepatcher]

Use a sized wrench instead of a crescent wrench.  Works better.

glenn

[AlZilla]

7 hours ago, shoepatcher said:

Use a sized wrench instead of a crescent wrench.  Works better.

glenn

You must be referring to the video.  I thought the guy was a little slap dash but for a newbie, seeing the head disassembled and put back together is great. Or it would have been had I found it before I got mine back together ...

But I agree totally, good wrenches and screwdrivers are essential.

[AlZilla]

OK, I have an odd problem.  The foot walks back and forth fine when the foot is uu but has maybe a 1/4 of play forwards and back if I reach up and try to move it..  I tried running various things through it today without thread and that's when the problem became obvious as the material would hardly advance.  The clamp is installed correctly, I believe, based on various pictures I see  online.  Too dark to go up there tonight but I can get one tomorrow.

The result is that at max stitch length, my stitch holes are about 12 to the inch.

Now - If I move the plate in the clamp from under the screw to the opposite side of the presser foot arm(s), it eliminates the play but brushes against the needle bar.

I hope I just have some bone headed thing put together wrong.

I know that's probably clear as mud ...  Maybe I can take a short video tomorrow.

Any ideas?

 

[Garyak]

Worn bell crank? 

[AlZilla]

24 minutes ago, Garyak said:

Worn bell crank? 

Well, I'll go look at parts diagrams and figure out which part that is.

Looking at videos tonight I also realize my foot isn't actually lifting when it comes forward. I bet that will tell someone something. I'm off to the parts diagrams ...

Thanks!

[Wizcrafts]

2 hours ago, AlZilla said:

OK, I have an odd problem.  The foot walks back and forth fine when the foot is uu but has maybe a 1/4 of play forwards and back if I reach up and try to move it.

A factory spec 29k only has enough slack in the feed motion cam to allow it to rotate over 360 degrees and cause the feed motion ring (which it revolves in) to move up and down. The stitch length is entirely dependent on this part having nearly zero free motion without binding. Replacements are available from the usual aftermarket sources.

Make sure when you test for slack that the movable stitch regulator bracket and thumbscrew are in place somewhere along the extended arms above the foot.

[AlZilla]

21 minutes ago, Wizcrafts said:

A factory spec 29k only has enough slack in the feed motion cam to allow it to rotate over 360 degrees and cause the feed motion ring (which it revolves in) to move up and down. The stitch length is entirely dependent on this part having nearly zero free motion without binding. Replacements are available from the usual aftermarket sources.

Make sure when you test for slack that the movable stitch regulator bracket and thumbscrew are in place somewhere along the extended arms above the foot.

These terms are confusing me a bit.  Do you mean the bell crank and the ring slide bar with the cam roller and stud? 8559 and 8562?

Edited September 16, 2022 by AlZilla

[Wizcrafts]

14 minutes ago, AlZilla said:

These terms are confusing me a bit.  Do you mean the bell crank and the ring slide bar with the cam roller and stud? 8559 and 8562?

Yes. I don't have nomenclature handy unless I did up a manual. I use common names that we use on Leatherworker.net. Sorry for any cornfusion.

[AlZilla]

5 hours ago, Wizcrafts said:

Yes. I don't have nomenclature handy unless I did up a manual. I use common names that we use on Leatherworker.net. Sorry for any cornfusion.

No problem at all, just want to be sure I order the right things.  In fact, it's a manual you posted I'm using!  I can see where those parts could be my trouble.

Thanks for your help.

[shoepatcher]

The Bell crank made today is for the later 29K models.  The one you get today will not fit your machine without a lot of grinding.  Just so you know.

glenn

[AlZilla]

19 hours ago, shoepatcher said:

The Bell crank made today is for the later 29K models.  The one you get today will not fit your machine without a lot of grinding.  Just so you know.

glenn

Well, that's discouraging.  But, I can grind. What part requires grinding? Hopefully its not a curve or, worse an inside curve.

Thanks

[Constabulary]

I once "implanted" a modern bell crank lever in a ancient 29K1.

Maybe this thread is helpful

 

[AlZilla]

8 hours ago, Constabulary said:

I once "implanted" a modern bell crank lever in a ancient 29K1.

Maybe this thread is helpful

 

Very, very nice.  Thank you for posting a link to your old thread. Looks like a fast easy adaption.  I'm headed to ebay today to get the parts.

[Wizcrafts]

In my previous lifetime I owned a very old Singer 29-4 patcher. It suffered from short stitches (~8/inch) and I started investigating why that was. It didn't take long to realize that the feed motion crank had too much slop.So, I disassembled the head and extracted the feed motion crank. It has a protruding "puck" on one side that moves inside the ring that moves up and down. My crank had about 3/32 inch of slop. I had some bronze brazing rods and a torch that I used to build up the density on the puck. Then I used a sander and a file to reduce the size until I got the best fit without binding in the feed motion ring (whatever). My final step was to polish it to a shine using green rouge on my buffing wheel. The results were amazing! I was getting over 5 to the inch instead of 8!

If you can braze bronze rod and file and polish the puck to shape, you can restore the full stitch length for the cost of the propane and a brazing rod.

[AlZilla]

17 hours ago, Wizcrafts said:

If you can braze bronze rod and file and polish the puck to shape, you can restore the full stitch length for the cost of the propane and a brazing rod.

I can braze but I've ordered the parts and they'll be here in a week or so. I don't have any shoes waiting to be patched so I can wait.  It's lifting and walking, it feeds nice and if I manipulate the foot back and forth while hand cranking it (without thread yet) I can get about 6 stitches per inch.

I've learned a lot about these machines and I'll be on the lookout for more ...

[Ole South]

If the bell crank and feed motion ring don't entirely fix your stitch length, check for play in the Needle Bar Driving (or Lift) Lever (the thing that looks like a old fashion bridge truss that rocks back and forth as you sew).  Specifically, at the handwheel end.  Index your way around as you turn the handwheel alternately pushing and pulling on the rear of that lever or have someone press down(flat hand) firmly on that end of the lever as you sew.  Too much slop or improved stitch length as pressure is applied indicates you have wear there. I've had machines that the guide follower bearing (or Cam Roller) had seized and worn a flat on that bearing. Conversely, well used machines may have worn down the outer dimension and/or the guide it rides in.  You can't do much about the guide but the follower bearing can be replaced.

Thickness of the material sewn will also shorten your stitch so test with a folded piece of canvas or denim to reduce your variables.

[MikeRock]

South, how much play is too much?  My 29-4 has between 0.025" and 0.030" play all around the whole handwheel rotation.

God bless

[Sham]

After I bunch of hassle, my 29-4 still isn’t stitching right, I know the new bell cranks won’t fit, I did the brazing, maybe the motion ring is worn too, I don’t know. 
what about a new motion ring and compatible bell crank? Would that work?

[Ole South]

(@Sham)New bell cranks can be made to work (as can motion rings) it just takes a lot of hand-fitting, grinding/filing and polishing. But before all that...what are the stitch issues you are experiencing? I.E.: length? Missed stitches? Looping? (Sorry if you posted symptoms, I didn't see any in this thread)

(@MikeRock) I will check 29-4, 29k-30 & Adler 301 (where are you measuring your play?)