I know my way around most hand crank and treadle Singer sewing machines, even OK with the older vibrating shuttle machines (never dealt with the ancient oscillating shuttles)

[jack_daniel@mastodon.social]

I know my way around most hand crank and treadle Singer sewing machines, even OK with the older vibrating shuttle machines (never dealt with the ancient oscillating shuttles).
Then I face my Singer 29k industrial, and WTFery abounds. What an amazing, and initially baffling, machine.
Clutter for scale.

[darkuncle@infosec.exchange]

@jack_daniel the other person I follow around here who has been working with (and restoring, if memory serves) one of these old machines at @ai6yr

[ajn142@infosec.exchange]

@jack_daniel perfect for stitching your finger to that pair of jeans… through the bone.

[stevebellovin@infosec.exchange]

@jack_daniel My grandmother had a treadle-operated sewing machine. My father retrofitted a small motor to it…

[ajn142@infosec.exchange]

@darkuncle @jack_daniel @ai6yr @TheJen will probably like it too.

[ai6yr@m.ai6yr.org]

@ajn142 @darkuncle @jack_daniel @TheJen Also @W6KME

[ajn142@infosec.exchange]

@jack_daniel or into the glove rather, since looking it up I see it’s meant for leather working, and that explains a lot!

[sasutina13@lgbtqia.space]

@jack_daniel That looks like it was made to sew leather.

A most excellent find!

[jhv@triangletoot.party]

@jack_daniel Solid looking machine.

[nazokiyoubinbou@urusai.social]

@jack_daniel

Clutter for scale.

Why does it use kind of, well, a spike for the bottom part? And so much room on the bottom too. I'm guessing this is for a special purpose?

[thejen@beige.party]

@ajn142
@darkuncle @jack_daniel @ai6yr

OHHH! She's a beauty! Yep, industrial sewing machines are a whole other animal. Have fun!

[ajn142@infosec.exchange]

@nazokiyoubinbou @jack_daniel b/c I looked it up yeah, that’s all about being able to maneuver the work around that bottom bit in ways that a standard machine can’t, so that e.g. you can stitch the sole onto the bottom of a pair of boots. Some of the diagrams show a wooden bench made to fit around that arm, so that it behaves like a normal sewing machine.

[xenotar@littleone.littlefedi.social]

@SteveBellovin@infosec.exchange @jack_daniel@mastodon.social My mother had one of those machines; my father used it to sew fishing bags and canvas satchels. I learned how to use it and would make small items, like altering jeans to keep up with the latest trends. I never really took to modern machines.

[nazokiyoubinbou@urusai.social]

@ajn142 @jack_daniel Ah, I see! I couldn't think of what it would be used for, but I was thinking like loose fabrics or whatever. Something like a shoe would absolutely need a design like this.

[blogdiva@mastodon.social]

@jack_daniel WAAAAAAAANT! that must go through leather and upholstery, like a hot knife thru butter

[drain@mastodon.social]

@jack_daniel a beaut, looks like it could sew through wood.

[curiousrobot@infosec.exchange]

@blogdiva @jack_daniel ok now y’all have me looking seriously at picking one of these up from the Habitat for Humanity. I have some shoe repairs I need to do…

[w6kme@mastodon.radio]

@ai6yr @ajn142 @darkuncle @jack_daniel @TheJen Jack, I'm probably the Old Singer Guy people are referring to. That's a completely bitchin' 29K! There are a few with a hand crank still around, but it's rare to see one still installed on the treadle base. I've dreamed HARD about owning one of these...eventually I'll come across a barn find and restore it.

I can't think of any machine from any era that's as cool as a 29. IFKYK

[screambiogenesis@mastodon.social]

@jack_daniel If anyone wants to see how it works (it's really cool!), this is a good video covering the same model save for being a tabletop instead of a treadle machine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VV_kzgR60v8