Shoe patcher machine

[Loudcherokee]

Hey everybody, 

Was browsing around on YouTube and keep seeing these things pop up, and was wondering what ya'll think about them? 

I'm happy saddle stitching my smaller projects by hand, but I do want to do belts and I cant imagine how long a belt would take to saddle stitch. 

Will these machines do belts? I keep seeing mention that the bobbin doesn't hold much thread, or you're limited to smaller thread and needles. I keep seeing #69 thread mentioned. Is that even appropriate thread for a belt? Specifically a rigid gun belt meant for every day carry? 

I did see one comment on YouTube that a guy is using a size 22 needle with 207 but there are no more details. 

LC

[Kcstott]

#69 is not gun belt sized thread. 138 minimum. not as heavy as the holster stitch but not far off either. 

[Loudcherokee]

2 minutes ago, Kcstott said:

#69 is not gun belt sized thread. 138 minimum. not as heavy as the holster stitch but not far off either. 

I've seen 138 mentioned as well for this machine. I wonder if the bobbin will hold enough of it to do a belt of say 46 inches. 

LC

[Wizcrafts]

The machine you are referring to is probably the venerable Singer 29 series shoe and boot patcher. The photo below is my Singer 29k71. This is a patch machine in my World. It sews embroidered patches over pockets on Biker's vests and jackets. It also resews shoes when the thread lets go around the toe box and vamp. It has resewn pull tabs on boots. It has sewn purse straps back in between the lining and outside layer on the narrow sides where no other sewing machine can go. One of the most unusual jobs I put it to work on was sewing around the top and bottom of hand made leather dice cups. I use it to sew long seams up the arm which it does well due to the 360 degree rotating presser foot.

One thing I never do with my patchers is sew belts, holsters, sheathes, or any other long or thick items. I have other machines that are built for those things. This machine is not for production. It is for repairs.

The bobbins this model uses are just under the diameter of a US dime (~5/8") and hold 3/16" of thread. If you load it with #69 bonded thread, it will sew quite a few small projects. But, if you load it with #138 thread, it will only sew about one long dress belt.

[Wizcrafts]

Here is a picture of the tiny bobbin used by a Singer 29k71 patcher. I've compared it to a couple of US dimes. The inside clearance is about the thickness of 4 dimes, or 3/16 inch.

[kgg]

1 hour ago, Loudcherokee said:

Was browsing around on YouTube and keep seeing these things pop up, and was wondering what ya'll think about them? 

If you mean the cheap Chinese patcher, which I do have one myself and not the real Singer 29K. They are a tinkers delight. It is fairly easy to change the needle to a 135 X16 industrial needle which does open up the selection of thread you can use. The drawn back is always going to be the size and capacity of the bobbin. The bobbin is really small. Some people have made major changes and some have had good success but it definitely would not be my first choice in the one arm bandit class of machines. 

kgg

[Wizcrafts]

Another concern with patchers is the stitch length. A pristine machine is able to sew 5 stitches per inch at about 1/8 inch, maximum thickness. As the thickness increases, the stitch length decreases. At its maximum thickness, about 1/4 inch, you'll be lucky to get 7 or 8 stitches per inch. The feed is totally performed by the teeth on the bottom of the foot. The harder the leather, the more pressure you must apply to hold down the leather as the needle rises on the take-up stroke. Increased foot pressure causes more drag against the steel throat plate, further reducing the stitch length. You might have to push or pull the leather to get 5 or 6 stitches per inch on tough jobs.

[Loudcherokee]

1 minute ago, kgg said:

If you mean the cheap Chinese patcher, which I do have one myself and not the real Singer 29K. They are a tinkers delight. It is fairly easy to change the needle to a 135 X16 industrial needle which does open up the selection of thread you can use. The drawn back is always going to be the size and capacity of the bobbin. The bobbin is really small. Some people have made major changes and some have had good success but it definitely would not be my first choice in the one arm bandit class of machines. 

kgg

Yes that is the one. Not as nice as that singer posted above. 

LC

[Loudcherokee]

2 minutes ago, Wizcrafts said:

Another concern with patchers is the stitch length. A pristine machine is able to sew 5 stitches per inch at about 1/8 inch, maximum thickness. As the thickness increases, the stitch length decreases. At its maximum thickness, about 1/4 inch, you'll be lucky to get 7 or 8 stitches per inch. The feed is totally performed by the teeth on the bottom of the foot. The harder the leather, the more pressure you must apply to hold down the leather as the needle rises on the take-up stroke. Increased foot pressure causes more drag against the steel throat plate, further reducing the stitch length. You might have to push or pull the leather to get 5 or 6 stitches per inch on tough jobs.

I may relegate this thing to smaller jobs, and figure something else out for belts and holsters. It seems rather limiting. Still useful to save some time from saddle stitching though. 

 

LC

[kgg]

Whatever the limitations are for the Singer 29k class of patchers the Chinese patcher is even more restricted. The fit and finish are typically poor at best. 

kgg 

[plasmaguy]

On 1/4/2021 at 10:22 PM, Loudcherokee said:

Hey everybody, 

Was browsing around on YouTube and keep seeing these things pop up, and was wondering what ya'll think about them? 

I'm happy saddle stitching my smaller projects by hand, but I do want to do belts and I cant imagine how long a belt would take to saddle stitch. 

Will these machines do belts? I keep seeing mention that the bobbin doesn't hold much thread, or you're limited to smaller thread and needles. I keep seeing #69 thread mentioned. Is that even appropriate thread for a belt? Specifically a rigid gun belt meant for every day carry? 

I did see one comment on YouTube that a guy is using a size 22 needle with 207 but there are no more details. 

LC

Hello LC,

I have a 29K60. I'm wanting to try 207 in my machine.  Have have set your machine up yet?

Wiz,

What size thread are you running?

Thanks guys,

Tom

[Loudcherokee]

1 hour ago, plasmaguy said:

Hello LC,

I have a 29K60. I'm wanting to try 207 in my machine.  Have have set your machine up yet?

Wiz,

What size thread are you running?

Thanks guys,

Tom

I have set it up, but have been having difficulty running 207. I can get it to do a half decent stitch with a size 24 needle and 207 in a single layer of 5/6 ounce oil tan but it won't stitch in a single layer of 8/9 ounce veg tan. Im still fooling with it but have set it aside for now due to the frustrations it was causing. 

LC

[Wizcrafts]

1 hour ago, plasmaguy said:

Hello LC,

I have a 29K60. I'm wanting to try 207 in my machine.  Have have set your machine up yet?

Wiz,

What size thread are you running?

Thanks guys,

Tom

Mine is a 29k71. It is a small bobbin machine. I use #69 thread with a #18 needle in this machine.

[jhrleather]

On 1/4/2021 at 9:22 PM, Loudcherokee said:

Hey everybody, 

Was browsing around on YouTube and keep seeing these things pop up, and was wondering what ya'll think about them? 

I'm happy saddle stitching my smaller projects by hand, but I do want to do belts and I cant imagine how long a belt would take to saddle stitch. 

Will these machines do belts? I keep seeing mention that the bobbin doesn't hold much thread, or you're limited to smaller thread and needles. I keep seeing #69 thread mentioned. Is that even appropriate thread for a belt? Specifically a rigid gun belt meant for every day carry? 

I did see one comment on YouTube that a guy is using a size 22 needle with 207 but there are no more details. 

LC

I make shoulder holsters and while I have a chinese shoe patcher I don't use it for stitching because the bobin is too small and while they are tough machines it wont handle large thread consistantly.  So I modified it and use it as a motorized harness awl.  Punch all the holes and saddle stitch.  Visualize stitching a 60 inch belt on both edges and using enough thread to never have to rethread he needles.