Singer 29-4 Stiching

[Hipshot]

Hi Folks

I'm knew at leather work and the leatherworker net . I have only done some repair work on my own tack , hand stitching on saddles , headstalls and halters . I took a Singer 29-4 from a friend in a traid and it looks and works great , but the stiches are to close . I've tried moveing the stitch regulater up and down but that doesn't seem work . Does anyone have a suggestion . I also took a Landis #1 in traid and it works great ,but I would like to get the 29-4 going for some lighter work .

[Wizcrafts]

Hi Folks

I'm knew at leather work and the leatherworker net . I have only done some repair work on my own tack , hand stitching on saddles , headstalls and halters . I took a Singer 29-4 from a friend in a traid and it looks and works great , but the stitches are to close . I've tried moving the stitch regulator up and down but that doesn't seem work . Does anyone have a suggestion . I also took a Landis #1 in trade and it works great, but I would like to get the 29-4 going for some lighter work .

I corrected your spelling in the quote. You must have been tired when you typed it. That happens to me too.

I have owned several 29-4 Singer Patchers and I can tell you that if moving the regulator down doesn't increase the stitch length, on material less than 1/8" thick, the puck inside the rotating feed driver is probably shot. It could also be due to the pressor foot teeth being filed or ground down, or too much top or bottom thread tension. One of the machines I bought had a worn out driver puck and I had to braze bronze onto it and reshape it to restore the normal range of stitch adjustment.

The puck is inside the bottom rotating ring, on the round head of the machine. The butterfly knobs are on that ring. The puck moves inside a channel in the ring, as it goes up and down. A pivot point inside the ring assembly allows the pressor foot to go forward and backward, with the up/down motion. As the little round shaped puck wears out, the stitch length becomes shorter and shorter.

[amuckart]

Wiz is, as usual, spot on with is explanation for the likely cause of your 19-4's problem.

Some time ago a bloke by the name of Ken Jerrems wrote a document detailing how he went about correcting this exact problem on a 19k13. The doc was originally posted on the needlebar.org website, but after finding it on google but not being able to get to the actual doc with the lockdown needlebar.org has seen, I made contact with Ken and asked for a copy, which he kindly emailed me.

I haven't yet seen a better explanation of the working of these machines, or how to shim up the common wear points in them, than that document and after reading it, I got his permission to put it on my website - along with the A4 PDF engineering drawings he made of the shims and parts he manufactured to get his machine going.

It is linked from the bottom of this page:

http://alasdair.muck...singerpatchers/

Enjoy.

[Wizcrafts]

The brass shims are a temporary fix for a worn out drive puck. It is best to have a welder braze some bronze welding rod onto the puck, then reshape and polish it for the best fit at all normal angles of deflection, as the drive assembly moves up and down. This will add years of regular service to the machine, well beyond the life of a brass shim (brass is a soft metal). I did the task myself with a propane torch, fitted with a "hot" pinpoint nozzle, not the spreader nozzle. Clamp the part in a big vise, apply the flame directly to the worn puck until it turns red, then touch the end of a bronze welding rod to it. Do this to apply an even layer to the puck. Let it cool, then try it for fit. If it is too large begin filing away weld until you get a good, but tight fit. Buff the puck to a high polish with a buffing wheel and compound, until it fits into the ring without slop or binding. Slightly round the side edges to allow it to rotate inside the ring, 360 degrees. This will yield the maximum possible stitch length, for many years, before the bronze wears down.

Steel weld would be even better, but is a little trickier to shape and polish.

Edited June 7, 2010 by Wizcrafts

[amuckart]

The brass shims are a temporary fix for a worn out drive puck. It is best to have a welder braze some bronze welding rod onto the puck, then reshape and polish it for the best fit at all normal angles of deflection, as the drive assembly moves up and down.

You are right, that's absolutely the right way to do a permanent fix. Weld & grind is how I'd do that fix too.

Ken's document is still useful in that it explains the failure modes, and ways to at least work around them for people without access to welding/brazing kit though.

[Hipshot]

Thanks for your help . I'll have to work on it . Thanks for correcting the spelling . I wasn't tired I'm just a bad speller . My computer goes into convulsions every time I hit spell check .

[Wizcrafts]

Thanks for your help . I'll have to work on it.

You're welcome Hipshot! Let us know what you find after you disassemble the head and pressor foot drive assembly.

Once you build up all clearances to factory specs the machine will do a fine job on most projects under 1/4" thick. Just remember, the machine was made to sew boots, not belts.