Shoe Patchers?

[Cajunsavage]

Hi, I'm looking to buy a shoe patcher. What is a good brand at a great price

[Wizcrafts]

Here are some new patchers from our advertisers, at great prices. Most are available in short or long arm, at different prices. Some have the small bobbins, others are larger.

• Cowboy
• Cobra
• Techsew

Other dealers who frequent and contribute to our forums sell both new house brands and used Singer and Adler patchers. You'll have to contact them and ask. Almost every industrial sewing machine dealer in the USA has at least one fully functional patcher for sale.

[Constabulary]

The most common patchers you can find in used condition are the Singer 29K and the Adler 30. Both have several subclasses with slightly different features and / or technical differences. But there are too many subclasses to mention them all. There are of course several other brands but most of them are discontinued and / or you will have a hard time finding parts for reasonable prices.

I also have been looking for a patcher for quite a long time. For me it was important that it has a short arm and that I can find parts for them w/o making phone calls all over the world. So I had to choose between Singer and Adler but the short arms are harder to find on my side of the pond. I have been looking for an Adler 30-15 first but never found one for a reasonable price. So I ended with a Singer 29K71 and I´m more than pleased with it. The machine was cheap but I had to restore it from the core but it was worth every cent.

In case you are buying a used Adler patcher parts will cost you an arm and a leg (in case you will need some).

F.i. a needle bar for the Singer 29K71 is about $40 and a needle bar for an Adler 30 is about $360 (but depends on exchange rate and where you will buy it) - thats totally nuts!

If you are buying a used patcher always test sew them and I would not buy one of these machines if the stitch length is shorter than 4mm (approx 6 SPI). But it of course depends on the price and condition - when the machine is cheap and you like to restore them - why not. This still could be a good deal. When new they produce 5mm stitches (5SPI) when adjusted to the longest stitch length. So when they produce stitches shorter tan 4mm you can be quite sure that some of the internal parts are worn and in case of an Adler patcher parts will cost a lot of money.

My personal recommendation for a used patcher is the Singer 29K71, 29K71 or 29K73. Why - because parts are available for reasonable prices from most known dealers and even on Ebay. The 3 mentioned are the latest models Singer made but they are also discontinued. But they are now built in China and are sold under different brand names (see links above). So parts will be available almost for ever I´d say and I think thats a good reason for a used Singer patcher with a K71, K72 or K73 subclass. There are also some other older Singer patchers that can use the parts of the later models but thats a trial and error.

I have to admit that I´m a bit Singer crazy but thats because the unbelievable availability of new parts even for machines that were built in the 1930´s (yes the 1930´s!!!). For me sustainability is important and I like the idea of keeping old machine working and yet I´m on the right track with this. All used machines I have restored are working very well - but thats a different story.

The advantage of a new machine is that they will work out of the box (most of the times) and you don´t have to spend time for replacing parts or even restoring it. The advantage of a used machines is the much lower price but you probably have to replace some worn or missing parts. Patchers are very simple machine and when you can repair a bicycle then you can repair a patcher too.

Personally I prefer used machines!

Juts my 2 cents.

[Constabulary]

Just for the case you are interested this is my 29K71 restoration:

http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=56079&hl=29k71

[coryleif]

I've been looking, too, so I'll just jump in here as well...

Here's what I've learned so far (searching for a long-arm, big bobbin patcher):

Looking at new patchers is slightly more puzzling than figuring out which 441 clone is "the best." At least with the 441s (represented here), they're all made in the same country. With the patchers, you occasionally hear grumblings about metal-shavings-filled machines coming from the land of yellow stars (both the eBay primitives and Singer clones).

In a perfect world, we'd all be able to buy a Claes, 'cause those look the business.

http://www.cl-maschinenbau.com/leistungen/claes_kl_8346.php?lang=en

Sadly, they'll run you around five g's, slightly less expensive than a new Juki 441. I do not run a busy shoe repair shop (or any shop), so buying one would be insane on my part.

I asked my local dealer (a sponsor, but not a vocal one) about getting a used Adler 30-70. He said (1) they are rare, and (2) parts are impossible to get, so forget it. He suggested a Singer 29K. I see the 30-10 more often:

http://www.floridasewingmachines.com/product/adler-30-10-long-arm-19-patching-leather-shoe-repair-industrial-sewing-machine/

http://www.atlasortho.com/Adler-30-10-Patcher-Rebuilt_c_3945.html

...so people can get parts and are working on them)

I agree with Constabulary above: owning a nice Singer 29K72, 73 would be awesome. Do I have time to rebuild one right now? No. And I don't know if bigger ones are as plentiful as you would think. I talked to another of the LW sponsors and he said if you plan on using it for a while, go with a new one -- they're a little nicer than the vintage patchers and new parts do not always fit the old machines.

China vs Taiwan? Has Chinese manufacturing improved in the last few years, or is it the same ol' nationalist argument? Of course every dealer claims they have the best machine, and there will be a range of quality w/in a branded model ... so are we hearing about lemons, or typical attributes?

Right now, I'm looking at Landis's Singer clone:

http://landisusa.com/us-en/29-73.html

...which, of course, they claim is superior to the Chinese clones...

And they themselves look to be made by Taking in Taiwan: http://www.taking.com.tw/htm/product/2971.73-2971lb.73lb-7a-810.20.htm

They also have a slightly longer max stitch length and lift, which might come down to metric/standard approximations and how you see a range of maximum thickness in the 441 clones -- 3/4"–7/8" ... it depends how you set it up.

So my question is (finally): does anyone have experience with a Landis/Taking patcher? And, is Taking making these for Techsew?

In the end, maybe just base your purchase on who is the nicest on the phone and which machine has the coolest paint job. They're all fine, I'm sure.

Anyway, I should get back to sewing ... so I can justify buying another machine.

cory

Edited June 5, 2015 by coryleif

[Cajunsavage]

Thank you very much for the help. I'm deciding between

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=121507025958

Or

Singer 29k71

[Constabulary]

uuuuh - impressive price and it is even motorized. But be aware that you are importing this machine directly from China.

This is more or less a clone of the 29K71 it only seems to have a stitch adjuster of an earlier model everything else looks like a 29K71.

[coryleif]

Well, it sews "cylindraceous articles" ... that's good, right?

[Darren Brosowski]

If you want to buy a 29 direct from China then just go down to the nearest casino as you have more chance of coming out ahead

[Gregg From Keystone Sewing]

Adler 30 parts are available, I've yet to see one that is discontinued. Expensive, yes. For sure.