Wizcrafts

I fixed you email addy.

Jerry; Does your machine have a long torsion spring along the back, with a thumbscrew adjustable sliding block on the head side of it? If so, check that sliding block to see if somebody has added material to the top of it. The top of the block makes contact with a lever, which is what determines the amount of lift of the foot as you sew. The lift is increased by moving it towards the flywheel and decreased by moving it towards the head side. There needs to be a little clearance between the top of the block and the lever that lifts the foot.

I think that the Leather Machinery forum might be a better place to discuss laser cutters. If there are no objections, I will be happy to move this topic to that forum. What say you?

Here are the Google search results for the complete term: vintage sewing machines forum

This matter would be better brought up in a vintage sewing machines forum.

Just rotate the pressure screw until the presser bar frees up and drops. The hole in the screw is sometimes bored slightly off center. Oh those Chinese!!!

It uses any of the following leather point needle systems: 214X2, DDX2, or 328LR

That's nice work Brian.

Cowboy Bob has all the parts you'll need to get this thread release working again. I got parts for my 111w103 from Bob a few months ago and the machine is working like new again.

When you lift your presser feet, whether by hand or foot, or knee lever, the bracket on the back is supposed to push the rod to the front. There it is supposed to make contact with the bent steel tab on the backside of the upper tension assembly. When that tab is pushed forward, the top tension disks will separate enough to let the thread flow past the disks with minimal tension. This is the expected behavior when you want to remove the material, or pull through freshly loaded top thread.

Lower the feed dog so that just tops of the teeth are showing top of the throat plate during the transport cycle. They need to be very slightly above the plane of the throat plate, but not that high.

Back off the foot pressure screw! That is way too much downward pressure for that thickness and density of leather. You only need to apply enough foot pressure to prevent the material from lifting as the needle ascends.

My solution is to lower the steel loop thread guide that sits just before the top tension disks. There is a small amount of slack in the mounting bracket, which can be used to lower it for a sharper angle to the disks.

This appears to be a phishing expedition, as were previous topics started by the same O.P.

I hand wheel all of my machines around turns and belt tips. The thought of hand wheeling a possibly sharp edged washing machine pulley doesn't appeal to me.

The -374 has a smooth feed dog, like the Cowboy and Cobra 441 clone machines. The -370 has teeth on the feed dog, like the stock Juki 441.

It took me one minute to get some search results and many more to read through patents from 1908 to understand them. A "Turfing" machine is a rug hooking machine. It is also referred to as "Tufting." You may get more details by reading through the Rug Turfing Machine search results. How this applies to the model 31 machine in question will only become apparent after you see it or a close-up picture of its business end. If the machine was factory customized for sewing rugs, it may not be able to do normal sewing without a lot of modifications.

The Pfaff 138 is the smoothest running industrial sewing machine I ever owned. I let it go decades ago and would not have done so if I had better hindsight. The only thing I didn't like about it was the limited width of zig zag throw it had. Perhaps somebody else would have known how to tweak that range for more throw.

Just the Pfaff 145 head sells for almost $600 on fleabay, so that is a great price. It leaves you a couple hundred to invest in having it professionally adjusted. Oftentimes, failure to sew is caused by somebody inserting the wrong needle, or a misaligned needle. Or, the needlebar could have been moved up from an unfortunate impact. Other times, the hook may have rotated out of time from a thread jam, or a safety clutch may have popped from a jam, if said machine is so-equipped. Anything beyond these could mean bigger problems. You will need the complete model number and sub-class to determine what features it has and needle system it requires. The official manual is available in PDF format on the Pfaff.com website.

You can probably buy a decent brand new bell knife skiver from Techsew, in Montreal. They advertise via banners on top of every page here. It would save you converting Canadian money into USD. Ask for Ronny. Note, there are two types of feed on these machines. One is bottom feed and the other is top and bottom driven. The dual feed is stronger, but more expensive. Most of the machines made today are clones of the Fortuna. The bell knife is pretty much standard across all brands. If you buy one for veg-tan, or other dense leather, the metal wheel is best. If you need to skive chap, upholstery or other soft leather, get the stone wheel. I have both for my Fortuna. The 2" solid foot is the one I use most of the time. I do use a roller foot once in a while, but it isn't as wide and leaves marks on the sides. Learning to use a bell knife skiver is definitely a hands on experience. No amount of book learning or watching videos will help you master these machines. However, videos can get you in the ballpark. It is all done by experimentation and learning from previous mistakes, or being lucky enough to have an in-person teacher.

Do you realize that the topic to which you replied today is now 10 years old?

You might want to think about changing servos to a Family Sew 550. I have that motor on my CB4500 and on my long arm Singer 139 walking foot machine. It starts at zero rpm and slowly increases with pedal motion. There is a knob on the front face of the motor that limits the top speed, or not. There are no sudden changes in speed.

If you have any further technical/operational questions about this machine, please post them in the Leather Sewing Machines section of the LW.N. That is the best place to obtain assistance with leather sewing machines and does not require every post and reply to be approved by a moderator to have them appear.

I will do whatever is necessary to keep the top thread inside the business area of the top tension disks. Sometimes the thread (usually black) is extra twisty and tends to jump up in the disks, causing a total or partial loss of top tension.* This results in lockstitch knots laying on the bottom. I have a couple of ways I counteract this. One is feeding the top thread under the disk position pin. Doing this keeps the thread well centered, but increases the top tension, so I back off the tension nut until the knots are in the middle again. Alternately, I reposition the 3 hole thread guide on top to a vertical axis, with the holes facing down. By choosing different exit holes I am able to change the lay of the thread inside the top tension disks. The lower the exit hole, the stronger the downward pull. Many of the manuals for older (out of production) industrial sewing machines were written before the advent of modern bonded nylon thread. Threading and tensioning was usually detailed using left twist glazed cotton thread that was extant at the time. * The opposite problem with twisty thread is when it twists around thread guides, posts, disks, or the thread spool itself and causes sudden infinite top tension.

Any sewing machine that is tensioned, and/or threaded incorrectly (top and/or bottom) will not sew proper stitches. Ditto for incorrect needle system, size and orientation. Your first step should be to search for somebody in or near your home town who has experience with industrial sewing machines. A good place to start is anybody doing boat or furniture upholstery work. Did you buy the machine new from an authorized industrial sewing machines dealer who is licensed to sell that brand name and service it? Most dealers will try to assist customers who buy machines from them. However, manufacturers and middleman importers/drop-shippers don't usually offer any end customer support. If you want help with that Jack branded from this forum, post some close-up small resolution photos showing the mechanism on top and in the bobbin area. You are about equidistant from Techsew in Montreal and Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines, in Toledo, Ohio. Both are professional industrial sewing machine companies that participate in discussions in this forum.