Singer 29k-58 project

[Andy132]

Well,thats frustrating,typed out a lengthy reply, included a couple of Emojis and it wouldn't let me submit. So I'll have to start all over again.

Did I mention I'm not tech savvy??

[Andy132]

Thanks for the reply.

It helps put in context what other people's experiences are with part fitment.I agree with buying all the parts together to aid the chance of matching.

That is what I did when purchasing,even though the small rack looked fine I bought both pinions and both racks as I know from mechanical experience with motorbikes and cars,etc,over the years,that they will generally wear together,and are best replaced as a set if finances allow.

That's why it was so disappointing when I received them, that teeth dimensions are all over the place.

I thought when he assured me all parts were sourced ftom Taiking in Taiwan,that the parts would be a matched set.Not so!

I understand that going from Singers version of imperial to metric would involve some discrepancies,but I would expect the teeth on the pinions to match the racks,coming from the same supplier.

The racks slide fine in the grooves,the issues are all with the teeth spacings on the pinions,(although the small rack is lousy too if you can see it in the photos).

Unfortunately,given the intricacy of the pinions, there's little I can do about the teeth.

I'm fortunate that my brother is a fitter and turner/machinist, and has his own lathe and mill,though they are grossly oversized for the gears.

We will try and skim a small amount of material of the underside of the drive pinion to stop it binding on the drive bush. The only other option is to try and drill the hardened casing on the backside,and thread and install a grubscrew to hold it to the shuttle drive shaft.

I will stick with the "old" short rack,as it still seems in serviceable condition and is far better quality than the one I was sent.

But what to do with the following pinion???

I have been thinking,given the light usage forecast for the patcher,that we may be able to mould some shim stock between the rack and the following pinion - to take out the slop.

But again,given how small they are,this may not work.

The other option is to keep buying pinions and hope one fits eventually.

Before I bought this machine, I had never seen a patcher up close in person. I was so used to the size and bulk of the 132k and 133k that I thought it would be similar.

It surprised me with how delicate it seemed, I guess thats the price to pay for getting into tight spots?

But like all of these vintage machines,its a thing of beauty and engineering marvel and I intend to see it through.

Regards - Andy.

Ps: I don't blame you for holding onto the parts,haha.

 

 

 

Edited October 14, 2024 by Andy132
Bad spelling

[Tastech]

@Andy132, I too have a thing for singer 29k"s .I have 5 but not a 29k58. I have a couple of 29k53"s . One was a paddock find that i was going to use for parts for  a machine i have had for 40 years  . It was seized and rusted solid but everything was there so i worked on it and got it moving . I then fully stripped it down to bare metal , painted the body and Mirror polished all the working bits and now it works perfectly and surprisingly tight for a 100 year old machine . The original intention was to use the gear box in original machine that has been waiting 10 years for a pinion gear .  After about 2 weeks of getting the old girl going i found the parts i needed for my original machine in England so i got them , 2 weeks later i sourced another set of gears and pinions from a member of this site from Canada ( thanks Joe ). So after 10 years of searching the world for pinions for a 51 they all appeared within 6 weeks of each other . Gears for a 53 are different to a 58 to 71 .Old sewing machines can be a test of your patience at the best of times so hang in There . I have a 29k13 that needs a rack . I know one will turn up so i am not concerned . I also have a pfaff post bed with a problem in the bobbin shuttle but i am doubtful of ever find one , but you never know .

[Northmount]

On 10/13/2024 at 12:12 AM, Andy132 said:

I see from some posts I read this Morning,that Glen,aka Shoepatcher, may sell parts. Are you able to contact me please Glen if that's the case?

You need to tag a member by typing the @ symbol followed by the members name.  Pick the name out of the popup box.  Like this:

@shoepatcher  Now Glen will get a notification.

When resizing photos, size the longest dimension to be 800 pixels.  The last series are too small for any detail.  So on your phone, pick the next higher size setting and try it.  Or use a web based app that will let you pick 800 pixels.

 

[Andy132]

Thanks Northmount.

I just tried it and see what you ou mean with the popup box. Cheers.

I'll try again with the photos,I zave tried a coiple of online photo resizers, I think I used the compress feature or the smallest picture setting in the hopes of getting it to work.

I'll keep experimenting with that.

I take it that the longest setting refers to the width?

[Andy132]

G'day Tastec, thanks for the reply.

Wow, I admire your dedication to the cause,you have a level of patience that has always been at odds with my personality type.

I have started to accept this is going to be a longer term project than first anticipated,all good.

If the brothers milling machine was smaller,we might be tempted to have a crack at making some gears- just for the challenge. He has an index head he made years ago for it.

He's made some larger gears  on it but the mill weighs about 4 ton's, probably overkill.

A little jewellers mill would be more in line.

Can I asked what you used to strip the paddock find? Elbow grease or do you like the electrolysis method?  Yes, I live in hope that someone has a hoard of oem simanco parts tucked away,looking for an owner.

I just contacted a lifelong friend - he's dad has been a sewing machine mechanic for over 60 yrs,old school. He's winding up but has alot of bits and pieces,though he's mostly been dealing in the Chinese/Taiwanese stuff for quite a while now.

My mates going to ask him if he or any contacts might have some hidden away genuine parts about. Live in hope!!

As a matter of interest to those with these patchers, the freeplay in the shuttle drive from gear slop is around 1.5/2mm ( not sure of imperial without converting), is that excessive for stich pickup or am I being paranoid?

I see your up in Canberra Tastec, I was just over your way, slightly east a week and a bit ago,nice part of the world.

Regards - Andy 

 

[Northmount]

4 hours ago, Andy132 said:

I'll try again with the photos,I zave tried a coiple of online photo resizers, I think I used the compress feature or the smallest picture setting in the hopes of getting it to work.

I'll keep experimenting with that.

I take it that the longest setting refers to the width?

Pictures may be portrait (taller than width) or landscape (wider than height).  So the longest dimension depends on the photos orientation.  Which ever side is longest - set it to 800 pixels.

 

[Tastech]

@Andy132, A couple of things .

With the photo resizing i use this method . Take a phone photo and send it to my email . before it send it asks me what size . small ,medium , large ,actual. I choose medium or small for this forum . I then open the email on my desktop and save . then post from there . Its a bit of a chore but it works .

With the stripping down of the machine i follow a standard process .

WD 40 to loosen all parts 

Remove everything ,taking photos as you go .

Degrease everything with an alkaline degreaser . Its a pink liquid i get from repco .

With a wire wheel on a bench grinder to remove as much rust and crap as possible . for all the bits 

For the main body and painted parts i use a paint stripper . available at bunnings .

Wash down the body with soap and water and a wire brush  after paint stripper 

With a wire wheel on an angle grinder clean up the main body and lager parts . i use 2 types of wire wheel , a cup type and one with the bristles on the out side of the disc . Wear eye protection , gloves and an apron because wire bristles fly off  and and can fk you up big time . and hold on tight .

I then acid bath everything for a couple of hours . The acid i use is phosphoric acid . I get it in 1 or 4 litres from a cleaners wholesaler around the corner from my shop . for the main body u use a big tub that will submerge the whole machine body including the hand wheel top rocker and housing . you may need about 1 litre of acid just for this and the rest is water. for the nuts , bolts and gears i put them in a smaller container  and do them separately. it take about 2-4 hours to strip the rust . remove parts and wash with water and scrub the black residue with a scotchbrite scourer . allow to dry and wire wheel everything again . I go the extra mile and linnish and polish most of the parts so they look sexy . After the acid bath you will notice instant oxidization but the wire wheel treatment stops it . Its best to paint the same day or the next .

Work on the main body parts first and get them undercoated and painted . while the paint cures for a week or so work on the other bits .

everything comes off pretty standard but you do need the right size pin punch to remove the ends of the shafts and a gear puller. don't use a hammer to bash things off .

with the treadle frame it's just so much easier to pay $100 and get it sand blasted .

Apart form the disproportionate amount fairies, Canberra is a nice place to live 

Tas

 

 

[Andy132]

Thanks NM, the pwnnies finally dropped.

That makes sense to me, I'll try it out.

[Andy132]

Cheers Tastec, that's another way for me to try the photos.

I tried an app yesterday and before I knew it,they had all of the photos in my phone on their site, including some banking ones and rego shots.

Information they really didn't need to have,but that's the slimy nature of the tech world,so I wiped the app.

That's a complete and thorough road you've taken on the clean up, I was pretty happy with the results from electrolysis and Scotch Brite.

The first few bits flash rusted pretty quickly after I washed them down which defeated the purpose,so what I started doing after the final bath was taking it straight out and up to the shed.

Wiped it down with an old towell and hit it with the air compresso,then the heat gun. Wiped it down with some acetone and out in the sun and no more flash rust.

An hour later,gave a coat of etch primer.

Your method sounds more what I'd do if I was seeking the best result for a showroom finish though. Very precise and no corners cut, I applaud you.

Truth is, I'm a bit rough at times...

I have the wire wheel on the bench grinder,agree there is nothing like it for getting the metal work back to its prime.

The cloth wheel would be great for the final polish,need another grinder.

Thought about the sandblasting for all of the trellis work and table,it was gonna be such a mongrel job to get with wet n dry and wire wheel.

But after the results of the electrolysis on the other bits, I was so impressed with the results,I did them to. Can't believe how much elbow grease and cursing it saved me.

Took everything right back to the bare cast. All I had to do was remove each piece about 3 times,gerni it with a bit of wire brush and it was all gone.

Your caution on the wire wheels in the yngle grinder take me back a ways to 19 year old me,  Restoring an old Holden ute,had it flipped on it's roof so I could derust the floorpan, using your weapon of choice,had the goggles and ear muffs on but nothing else in the way of protection.

Remember sitting down afterwards with my house mate helping me pluck out the strands that impaled me all over,ha!

I guess regarding Canberra- Politicians,say no more!!

Thanks for the effort in your reply.

Regards - Andy