Singer 29-3 Presser Foot Won't Rotate

[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.