soman2

Recently and reluctantly I parted ways with my 29-4. It was made in 1916 one of 4000 made in lot and was in overall good shape although it had a lot of paint overspray on it. It had one broken tab on the leg which I was able to fabricate and braze as a replacement. I sandblasted the frame and sprayed it with DTM semi-gloss black which mimicked the original finish. I spent several hours gently removing the overspray and all the decals were still there. The machine worked flawlessly and was the centerpiece of my collection and quite a conversation piece also. A good friend of mine had an old Adler that was close in looks that finally gave out and was too expensive to have parts machine to fix it. Knowing that I had a full working 29-4, he asked if I would considering selling it. Since I did not use it and my wife was not all that happy with this monster in our den on display and Paul in need of one in his business, I decided to sell. He had a few machines lying around his shop and we agreed on a deal. I accepted 2 singer's with cabinet, 2-1950's Kenmore's a 29-4 base and $600 cash. He was happy with the deal and everybody won and my wife was glad to clear out the den .

Rodney in Ponchatoula,La.

manicmike

Mine's very rusty and I don't know if I'll ever get it working but I'll give it a red hot go. Only paid $150, though. This much rust has to be worth at least that

To answer your other question, straight stitch with walking foot.

soman2

The 2 wings just above the needle bar controls the direction of the foot. You have 360 degree of rotation and this allows you to backstitch manually. We have sewn together 2 pcs. of 1/8 leather as if it was cloth. A first class piece of machinery.

The other Rodney

Candace

So, it would likely repair saddles and tack equipment also? Are needles still available?

soman2

The 29-4 was referred to as the cobbler/harness maker machine. In that era, a lot of shoe and leather harnesses were in need of repair. Unlike like our modern day disposable society back then everything was made to last or repair. Look at a Wal-Mart Singers-do you think your great grandchildren will be using it in 2114?? NOT!!

Rodney

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Macybaby

The main drawback is height of foot (from what I've read). If you can fit it under the foot, the machine will sew it, but it's not got a lot of clearance. The needles are not all that long (especially compared to the spears that came with SteveH's Polytype) so they aren't meant to go through a big thickness.

I could see doing a lot of harness repair with this - but there are areas of a saddle that would be too thick to fit underneath. I have also read that the teeth can be rather aggressive, and leave chew marks on some leather.

I'm looking forward to using DH's machine, and seeing what fun I can have with it. I think it will be really neat for dealing with canvas and tight corners and fun stuff like that.

ThayerRags

I would say that it is a 29K. I don’t believe that the 29-4 ever had the adjuster for the take-up lever. I have two 29K70 machines, and one of them has had the Driving Lever replaced with a non-adjustable lever. It still works alright. That’s not a user adjustment. It was set at the factory. But a 29K70 originally had them.

Of course, I guess the machine shown by the OP could be a 29-4 with an upgraded Driving Lever....hmmmm

Also, I don’t believe that I’ve ever seen or heard of a 29-dash machine with any higher number than 29-4. Since the machine was modified considerably in the submodels after 4, I wonder if there were any of the upgraded models made in the USA? I hadn’t thought about it before, but now I’m curious....

CD in Oklahoma

ThayerRags

The removable bed tip (where the shuttle & bobbin goes) is a pretty good indication of a newer machine than a dash4 too.

CD in Oklahoma