Leather sewing machine — Singer 29K4

Leather patcher for shoe and leather repairs. The slim arm reaches inside narrow or tubular items, and the upper feeding foot rotates so the seam can change direction without turning the work. Hand crank and treadle.

Singer 29K4 with hand crank and treadle stand

Singer 29K4 with hand crank and treadle stand




Location

Textile room

Access

Free use, first come first served, no logging. Get the crank, treadle and shuttle demonstrated first.

Needle

29 × 4 (leather, cutting point)

Bobbin

Singer 8604 — marked bobbins and needles in a drawer

Help / faults

Slack #textilrummet

Good to know

  • Straight stitch only.

  • Small bobbin — check it before a long seam.

  • No documented thickness or thread limit — test the full seam on scrap. The foot may mark the leather.

  • No 29K4 manual exists; instructions below are from the related Singer 29-4 manual. The 29K71/72/73 manuals are for different machines.

Safety

  • Fingers clear of needle, feeding foot, crank, belt and treadle.

  • Feet off the treadle while threading, changing needle or shuttle, or cleaning.

  • Never force the wheel or pull the work.

  • Don't run a threaded machine without material under the foot.

  • No pins, buckles or zips in the needle path.

Needle and threading

  1. Needle: needle bar fully up, loosen the lower clamp screw. Insert fully, long groove to the left. (The upper screw adjusts alignment with the shuttle — leave it.)

  2. Upper thread (manual Fig. 9, p. 8): guide in the oil cup → behind the guide pin → tension discs → wire eyelet → take-up lever front to back → down the hollow needle bar using the notched threading wire → needle eye left to right. Leave ~75 mm tail. Remove the wire before turning.

  3. Bobbin and shuttle (pp. 4–7): raise needle and foot, swing the needle plate open, remove the shuttle. Thread through the edge slot, under the tension spring, through the delivery eye. Refit and close the plate. Don't force it.

How to use

  1. Check needle, belt, stand and drive. Clear the treadle area.

  2. Fit needle, thread, load shuttle, close plate.

  3. Get the correct crank direction shown to you — the manual's "toward you" is for a different wheel position.

  4. Scrap under the foot. Turn one cycle by hand to bring up the bobbin thread; tails behind the foot.

  5. Lower the foot, sew slowly. Let the foot feed the work.

  6. Changing direction: stop, lift the foot (needle in the work for a pivot), turn the feed handles (pp. 11–12).

  7. Finish with the needle up, raise the foot, pull the work back, cut leaving tails.

Adjustments

  • Stitch length: loosen the thumbscrew on the feed bar — down = longer, up = shorter — and retighten.

  • Tension: upper tension nut right = tighter, left = looser. Leave the shuttle tension alone.

  • Foot pressure: just enough to feed reliably.

Troubleshooting

Problem

Action

Skipped stitches

Check needle type, condition and orientation; rethread.

Upper thread breaks

Check the whole path, needle/thread match, tension.

Lower thread breaks or tangles

Check bobbin winding, shuttle slot, spring and delivery eye.

Loops / unbalanced seam

Rethread, then adjust upper tension in small steps.

Short or uneven stitches

Check support, foot pressure, regulator screw.

Stiff wheel or jam

Stop, remove loose thread. Still stuck → get help.

Maintenance

  • Brush lint from the shuttle area; wipe the outside.

  • Oil the points in manual Figs. 10–11 (p. 9) with sewing machine oil; wipe excess, sew scrap. No kerosene or benzine.

  • Timing, gears, take-up and needle-bar alignment: maintainers only.

  • Parts suppliers used before: Indukta, ACG Nyström.

  • Maintenance and repairs log

Specifications



Model

Singer 29K4

Type

Single-needle cylinder-arm lockstitch patcher

Feed

Revolving upper feeding foot (universal feed)

Needle

29 × 4 (leather); 29 × 3 round point for cloth

Bobbin

8604

Drive

Hand crank and treadle

Documents and links