Nickosew Patcher Is It Supposed To Look Like This.

[MoMatt]

Hi all, is the needle supposed to hit the side of the bobbin cover and bend slightly? With the bobbin cover open the needle would actually hit the bobbin shuttle if the slightly off center hole in the cover didn't direct it away.

I am using 92 thread and 110 and 120 needles. It sews fine in thin leather, 2 soft 3 oz pieces but in hard leather or even two very soft 5 oz pieces the needles break. They break in the top piece before it gets to the bobbin cover. Any suggestions are sure appreciated.

I did not buy this from nickosew. A factory that sewed school or sports patches on ugg style sheepskin boots bought it in 2011. It didn't work for them (he didn't elaborate) and they only used it once. I believe it, the needle box from nickosew only had one needle gone. I'm trying to get it figured out.

Thanks Matt

[Wizcrafts]

The needle clamping block is movable sideways. Loosen the upper screw (the one above the needle screw) and push the clamping block whichever way centers the needle in the hole in the throat plate. Then lock down the upper screw.

[MoMatt]

Thanks wiz, that fixed that, appreciate it. The only manual I have is a poor scan of a singer 29.

Any ideas why a 120 gros Becker new leather needle will sew two 4 oz pieces perfectly, or one 7/8 oz piece but if I try two, (less than 1/4 inch thick and pretty soft) the needle will break every time on the first plunge in?

[Wizcrafts]

Thanks wiz, that fixed that, appreciate it. The only manual I have is a poor scan of a singer 29.

Any ideas why a 120 gros Becker new leather needle will sew two 4 oz pieces perfectly, or one 7/8 oz piece but if I try two, (less than 1/4 inch thick and pretty soft) the needle will break every time on the first plunge in?

You're welcome!

As for the needle breaking in a 7-8 oz piece, could the leather possibly contain untanned or raw hide areas? I have encountered this is some 10 - 12 oz Latigo I bought a year or so ago. I was cutting the back to get my straight edge and the blades kept hitting resistance and breaking in a certain area. After slicing it through with a head knife I discovered what I can only describe as rawhide in that section.

FWIIW: I have 2 patchers. One is setup with #92 thread and a #19 or 20 needle. The other uses #69 thread and a #18 needle. The #18 gets deflected every now and then by differences inside of layers, or the leather itself. The #20 needles rarely deflect, but I keep them centered in the hole in the plate. Before centering, the needles broke more often.

If centering your needle in the hole in the throat plate causes skipped stitches, try adjusting the timing of the shuttle. It is adjusted with a large flat blade screwdriver through the removable cover plate on the lower right front side of the body. There is an eccentric screw that connects the mechanism in the head to the long arm that moves the racks inside the gearbox. Once direction retards and the other advances the timing.

Loss of the loop at the eye of the needle can be caused by a weak or broken/twisted check spring on the needle bar, just above the movable needle clamp bracket. Unfortunately, checking this and replacing that tiny paddle shaped spring requires removal of the needle bar from the head. There are a few ways to do this, none of which are much fun.

Edited January 4, 2016 by Wizcrafts

[MoMatt]

Thanks Again Wiz. I'm still puzzled by the needle breaking, I've tried different leathers and didn't see any sign of the rawhide. Maybe I have too much tension on the thread, I turned that adjustment until the knots on the bottom were no longer visible, but maybe I went too far.

[Wizcrafts]

Back off the bobbin tension until there is just a slight resistance and a smooth easy pull. Back off the barrel adjuster inside the trapeze shaped lever on top and sew some test stitches. Adjust the top tension disks to position the knots. Add another couple layers of leather and screw the barrel adjuster in to add more lift to the take-up lever. This should raise the knots in thicker leather. If not, add more top tension as needed.

[MoMatt]

Wiz, I sure appreciate you sharing your experience, thank you. I just noticed something else I'd like to solicit your thoughts about. When the presser foot is rotated around the needle bar the point of the needle wobbles. I can only get the needle centered in the hole in the bobbin cover in one location of the presser foot rotation. There is no play I can feel in the needle bar, but it's gritty at one location when rotating the foot and at that location it moves the needle about half the needle diameter. Of course the bad spot is the position I want to sew 90 percent of the time 90 degrees to the machine. Probably moving the needle out of vertical enough to break the needles in thicker material.

[Darren Brosowski]

Ouch,

That would suggest that something is out of round. If it is just the rotating block then it should not be too expensive to replace but if the whole head is out of alignment then you have a more expensive problem. OTOH it could be a bent needle bar.

Check that the four bolts that hold the head in place are tight before you do anything.

If the screws are tight then I would suggest finding a mechanic who knows 29k's intimately and preferably with experience on the Asian machines. Bob Kovar may be your new best friend.

Wiz, I sure appreciate you sharing your experience, thank you. I just noticed something else I'd like to solicit your thoughts about. When the presser foot is rotated around the needle bar the point of the needle wobbles. I can only get the needle centered in the hole in the bobbin cover in one location of the presser foot rotation. There is no play I can feel in the needle bar, but it's gritty at one location when rotating the foot and at that location it moves the needle about half the needle diameter. Of course the bad spot is the position I want to sew 90 percent of the time 90 degrees to the machine. Probably moving the needle out of vertical enough to break the needles in thicker material.

[MoMatt]

Thanks Darren, I'm a bit discouraged. I wanted one of these machines and thought I'd be safer buying a new copy than a worn out singer. It foes have a great servo motor and stand at least.

[Darren Brosowski]

Sorry, I generally give a worst case scenario as things are rarely that bad.

If the problem is minor then you are going to be happy but if it is major you were prepared for it.

Ship it off to someone like Bob Kovar and get an opinion based on the machine itself as we can only speculate.

Thanks Darren, I'm a bit discouraged. I wanted one of these machines and thought I'd be safer buying a new copy than a worn out singer. It foes have a great servo motor and stand at least.

[Constabulary]

Good clear pictures of your machine situation are always helpful. You never know if someone sees something you have overlooked or we can compare how it is set up.

Usually a needles brakes when it hits the needle plate.

Your needle plate has 2 different sizes of needle holes, try the larger hole and try to center the needle or set it a bit more left instead of centered.There are also 2 different needle plates available one with smaller and one with larger holes (both have 2 different size needles holes for different size needles) No matter what I sew I`m always using the the larger hole. The plates work for 29K71 and 29K73 and their clones.

82234 NEEDLE PLATE MEDIUM / COARSE SINGER 29K-71

82235 NEEDLE PLATE FINE / MEDIUM SINGER 29K-71

or the needles brake when it hits the hook or the hook grabs the needle and brakes it (I heard of the 2nd issue but never have seen it happen). In both cases I´d say the machine is not well timed. Check the 29K71 / 72 manual for timing your machine.