suem Report post Posted November 28, 2010 When my 29K 72 arrived the front tensioner was completely gone (pin disks, spring, nut, all of it). With some hunting located the parts in Britain..so now I've got the tensioner but from reading in here and looking at some pictures....the top of the head on my 29k72 doesn't seem to have the "t" that rises above the head that apparently has something to do with the darning function. I probably won't use the darning a lot but I like my toys to be fully functional. I look at manuals (though at dmittedly for some earlier models) and nothing seems to be mentioned about extra equipment for darning it sounds like all of them should be able to darn, period. This picture shows the t shaped object that pokes up on top of the head area...mine doesn't have that...if it has to be there can that be added easily? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kevin Report post Posted November 28, 2010 This is not actually the answer to your question BUT, if you want to darn or zig-zag, just run a loop of cord or leather from the last section of the arm that goes up and down on top of the machine around the take up lever for the presser foot. This takes a bit of trial and error to get the length just right, but when you get it right, as the arm lifts up it picks up the presser foot and releases the thread tension so that you can manipulate your materials where ever you wish. This method has served me well on three different long arm machines, but I have not been as successful with my 29-4. Good luck, Kevin Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wizcrafts Report post Posted November 28, 2010 When my 29K 72 arrived the front tensioner was completely gone (pin disks, spring, nut, all of it). With some hunting located the parts in Britain..so now I've got the tensioner but from reading in here and looking at some pictures....the top of the head on my 29k72 doesn't seem to have the "t" that rises above the head that apparently has something to do with the darning function. I probably won't use the darning a lot but I like my toys to be fully functional. I look at manuals (though at dmittedly for some earlier models) and nothing seems to be mentioned about extra equipment for darning it sounds like all of them should be able to darn, period. This picture shows the t shaped object that pokes up on top of the head area...mine doesn't have that...if it has to be there can that be added easily? Bob Kovar may be able to get you a darning T-nut assembly. Send him an email, to: sewmun AT aol DOT com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cdthayer Report post Posted November 29, 2010 ....the top of the head on my 29k72 doesn't seem to have the "t" that rises above the head that apparently has something to do with the darning function..... One of my Singer 29K70 machines is missing the darning tension assy. It's been broken off, with the end of the stud still in the head. My other machine has the darning tension assy still on it. Neither of them have the "T" that you're talking about, and the 29K70 User Manual doesn't show or mention the "T" in the illustration and text about threading the machine for darning. I've never tried darning with my machine, so I'm not familiar with how it works. May be time to experiment with that.... Maybe your 29K72 didn't require the "T" either? CD in Oklahoma thayerrags.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
suem Report post Posted November 29, 2010 One of my Singer 29K70 machines is missing the darning tension assy. It's been broken off, with the end of the stud still in the head. My other machine has the darning tension assy still on it. Neither of them have the "T" that you're talking about, and the 29K70 User Manual doesn't show or mention the "T" in the illustration and text about threading the machine for darning. I've never tried darning with my machine, so I'm not familiar with how it works. May be time to experiment with that.... Maybe your 29K72 didn't require the "T" either? CD in Oklahoma thayerrags.com My thoughts as well. I've got four or five 29K books and part printouts that I've found and not one of them shows that t thing in the picture. When mine arrived the front tensioner (used in darning) wasn't present at all replaced that. I think it will be of limited use but I like all my toys to work all the way as they're supposed to...heaven knows could have a use tommorrow for it. I haven't seen or read anything that indicates differences in any of the production runs...so that's a mystery to me anyway. Maybe that t thing was an add-on accessory (?????) thanks for the responses. If you're interest in purchasing the parts I can send you the url for the british web store I found them in (shipping is 15 bucks, the parts were about ten total=thirty bucks and they would not ship cheaper (agggh) no one in the US seems to carry the post part of that assembly I checked a number of places over here first). As for that screw part being left in the head there are "broken screw" remover thingy gadgets you can get at autozone or harbor freight. You basically drill a hole, put this gadget in there that self threads opposite your threads and you twist it out like a regular screw, I know there are other ways. I had an old pfaff with a screw broken off in it, very easy just used a titananium drill bit and "very carefully" drilled into the broke screw till it literally fell apart and I was able to yank it out of there. I'm sure others on here can give you a dozen ways to get that out of there if you wish. I found the post part unobtainable in the US you can get the rest, the disks the spring the knob but the post no one had except this one place in britain that had them in their web store (mis labled but the part number was right and when it showed up it was the right part). Sue. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Constabulary Report post Posted July 30, 2014 I´m pulling this old thread again because I don´t wanted to start a new topic for the same problem. I´d be interested how darning with the 29K works - I tried to find information but can´t find any. I unfortunately cannot tell from the picture in the 1st post how the "T-Thing" looks like and how it is working. So I hope someone can enlighten me. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wizcrafts Report post Posted July 31, 2014 (edited) Okay. The photo in the OP is of my 29k172. I posted it on LWN the day I got it home, in 2010. Let me post a close-up of the head, showing the darning attachment in good detail. The way the darning works is when you rotate the T handle sideways - (there are full and half steps on the ends) - the take-up action of the needle bar forcibly raises the presser foot off the material. This allows you to move the leather freehand to place stitches where you want them. If you use the half cutout side, the foot is only lifted a small amount, whereas the full rounded side lifts it way up. You can pull the leather a longer distance with the full lift side, like for skipping a dee ring. When the foot bar lifts up, the top tension is released. Edited July 31, 2014 by Wizcrafts Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Constabulary Report post Posted July 31, 2014 I see! That make sense! With other words this is an extension nut / coupling nut and a T-Bar with a threaded lower end that is screwed into the nut, right? Or is there a spring inside the nut that prevalents the T-bar from moving? This is at least something I could imagine. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wizcrafts Report post Posted July 31, 2014 Yes, the T-rod is mounted inside a spring loaded barrel, which is secured to the foot lifting block both over and under. That is how it releases the thread tension when "T-lifted." Unbeknownst to some owners of these machines, one can re-route the top thread through the fixed front tension disks to do darning with no loss of tension on the upstroke. Normally, those disks hold the bobbin loader thread. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Constabulary Report post Posted July 31, 2014 aaaah - okay! I can imagine 2 ways of how the spring is installed inside. One where the round vertical bar goes through the spring and one where a smaller spring is below the bar. Not sure if I described it well - you know what I mean? Any chance that you could take a few pictures of the darning device when not installed? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wizcrafts Report post Posted July 31, 2014 (edited) I use the patcher every day. Maybe this Sunday I can sneak into the shop and disassemble the darning unit. I just bought a 29K71 that has a bar bent to 90 degrees on top. It is spring loaded and rotates in or out of line with the knuckle on the needle bar. Edited July 31, 2014 by Wizcrafts Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
