Singer 29K60

[roxannelovelace1974]

I have purchased this machine. I am looking to use it for holsters, gun straps, and other small projects. Any tips and hints for this machine would be great as I am a beginner when it comes to sewing. I have been hand stitching all of my projects.

Thank you

Roxanne

[Geneva]

I am no expert on the 29 but I don't think you will like it's inability to sew heavy projects.

This machine will sew only 5/16th inch material possibly 3/8th's. Nothing heavier. It will not sew holsters.

[cdthayer]

You have an interesting machine and stand there. It’s only the second straight-leg 29-style stand that I’ve noticed, and I saw the other one just recently on that auction site with a 29K71 on it. Maybe there are a lot of them out there, but I hadn’t noticed them. Your machine looks like it’s a Centennial model, which means that it’s from around 1951. The stand doesn’t look like it was ever set up to treadle, but was intended for electric power only. The crank that would be needed for a pitman rod has been replaced by a straight shaft, and the dual-pulley flywheel will act as speed reducer from the motor to the machine.

CD in Oklahoma

[Constabulary]

As CD said - Its a post 1951 model. You can tell it by the oval metal tag. Singer has changed the tag from plain brass tag to one with ornamented border in 1951. So it actually is one of the "newer" machines. Looks like it has the original Singer motor and switch. For safety reason I´d replace all the electrical wiring if not the entire motor. But why not keeping the when it is working.

Not sure if this machine is sufficient for your projects. The presser foot has relatively sharp teeth which will most likely leave marks on the leather.

Geneva is right, this machine is not made for sewing heavy leather. These once were designed for repairing boots and shoes and other items.

[Wizcrafts]

The Singer 29 machines are known in the shoe trade as patchers. They are used to repair shoe and boot uppers, to sew patches onto vests, repair purse straps and even install zippers into leather garments. Because they have universal feed and a very long, narrow snout, a patcher can sew things over and onto a pocket without sewing it shut.

The limitations are the extra small bobbins and low lift of the presser foot. A Singer patcher's foot may lift up to 5/16" as it operates, but cannot sew that high. It requires some clearance to pull the material along and jump forward for the next stitch. Thus, I find Singer patchers are really only effective at sewing 1/4 inch of leather. One might be able to eek out a tad more on webbing, or vinyl that is slicker, by helping the machine feed the work. I wouldn't do this with any leather that is easily marked by the teeth on the foot.

While it is possible to load #138 thread into these "bigger" bobbin models, it only goes a short distance relative to standard walking foot machines. This size thread stresses the machine beyond its design criteria and will cause premature wear on the entire drive and take-up system. Replacement parts aren't cheap, nor are they made by Singer anymore. I find that the current offshore parts are not a good fit in my two patchers and require modifications.

To avoid wearing out a patcher, try to limit your thread size to #92 (T90) maximum. If you don't require any more holding power than 11 pounds per stitch, use #69 bonded thread, which goes much farther and creates less wear and tear of the machine.

[roxannelovelace1974]

I was hoping this would work out. I guess it may not for what I wanted it to. I have another machine that I was told also wouldnt work for holsters etc and it appears I am falling into ones that lack the ability. Unfortunately the ones i need are way out of my price range.

[Constabulary]

What other machine do you have? How thick is the leather you want to sew?

[roxannelovelace1974]

Brothers DB2. It was given to me when my uncle passed away. They swore it was able to handle leather.

[Constabulary]

The Brother DB2 is a high speed garment sewing machine. It may handle garment leather but not heavy leather for holsters.