Constabulary

I have a mechanics manual + a user guide - that should help you (direct downloads): Adler 30-1 Mechanics Manual Adler 30-1 User Guide

Thats a pretty basic statement. What are you going to sew with it - how thick? How much can you spend? You can get a lot of good information from this thread here: http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=25239 Just to give you and idea of leather sewing machines in general

GA5 is the modern coppie of the 45K. Toledos version is the CB 2500 http://www.tolindsewmach.com/cb2500.html

In general they did not use glue - this must be hardened oil or grease. I had a lot of that stuff on my 133K3 which I either scratches off with a flat screw driver or the cleaning solution washed it away after a few attempts. But sometimes I still find little spots but thats like gray hair - you think you don`t have them but suddenly it´s there.

Patchers are nice & versatile machines and they can be quite helpful but I still stick to my opinion that they are just repair machines (thats what they once where designed for) and not very comfortable for producing quality goods. But I would not miss mine though it does not see much use. It does not eat bread and it is "sleeping" thoroughly oiled under my table but I had situation I really needed it! It´s always good to have one - really!

Thats true but most used ones are cam driven and finding cams for special purposes is a pain and / or expensive. I´d love to own one that sews X boxes in 3/4", 1", 1.25",1.5", 2" and so forth but I need some 2mm x 16mm tacks with 42 or 52 stitches as well and it has to take 138 or thicker thread but these tackers cost at least 2500€ If some one has experience with such bar tackers I´d be happy to get some more information.

I´m not sewing holsters but when I look at other peoples holsters most are using much thicker thread than just 138, I think 277 or even thicker. It for sure is an optical aspect as well.

I always do that but sometimes the thread gets caught between needle plate and gear box but beside of that no problems.

I would buy it unseen for 50€ if it has a roller foot. Is it the one in the pictures above? Then I would buy it no matter what! If you can´t get it to work send me a PM - I can use the roller foot for my Singer 133K3 Where in the Netherlanders do you live?

Yeah - thats the point, my table is about 61cm and I have not used the original holes. Seems the table had more than 1 motor before I got it and I had mounted at least 3 different motors . I have learned from that and will never drill holes in tables again. I always use wood screws with hex head. This works fine since the modern servos are not very heavy.

I have no issues with this. I think the SR just has to be mounted behind the hinges of the machine, thats it - or not?

Yes, it holds the shuttle in place and makes sure the hook tip is in a certain position when it meets the needle. There should not be too much tension on the spring, it should just gently touch the carrier. You can also replace just the spring if the carrier is still good.

I had this issue with an Adler 30 I have restored but it was the original Adler shuttle that did not work (in both the Adler 30 and my Singer 29K71). I figured that for some reason the era where the spring of the shuttle carrier pushes against the shuttle was thicker than at my Singer shuttle. I tried to adjust the small shuttle carrier spring but had no success (still did not work in either machine). So I decided to grind down the era where the spring pushes against the shuttle and finally it worked in my 29K71 but still didn´t work in the Adler 30. It does not look nice but it works w/o problem now. Now I have the Adler shuttle in my Singer 29K and my Singer shuttle works in the Adler 30. But before you start grinding try to adjust the little spring a little bit or check if the spring has a little burr or so.

why not directly under the table plate - no space?

Cool old machine! I like it very much - will you restore it a little bit?

Ebay sellers often don´t know what they have. They have found machines in a barn or an attic or have inherited a machine or what ever and then they check Google images and at a first glance and w/o a detailed research a Singer 31K looks like a Singer 45k (kind of). Most machines are build for a certain application (a serger cannot sew 1/2 leather and so forth). They of course have a bit of a application range but don´t rely on private Ebay sellers and their knowledge. It is important that you know what you need and not what others "think" what they have.

Alex, you should probably first try to get some proper information about sewing machines in general before throwing good money after bad. Buying a sewing machine for leather can be tricky when you are new to this. In this thread WIZCRAFT once put together a lot of useful information: http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=25239 Arthur Porter (also a LW Forum Member) also made a good video about leather sewing machines: Take your time and read the entire thread and watch the video - it´s really helpful. When you find a machine on Ebay or local and you are not sure about it just post some picture or a link here and ask for opinions. When the machine is gone meanwhile then another one will pop up but just buying something "that just sews" does not make much sense.

I don´t like these cheap economic thread stands so I wonder if Singer ever had thread stands similar to these beautiful old Pfaff + Duerkopp stands? I know they had cast iron machine stands with SINGER letters in the legs.... Dump question from a "cast iron nerd", hum?

There are programmable bar tackers for different tack patterns. I´d like to own one but for the moment my Singer 3027G2 machine is producing the small tacks on flat materials. It is of course not as precise as a bar tacker but it works.

Oh yes, there are several! F.I.: too much space between hook tip + needle scarf, broken / worn hook tip (at last the same problem), needles not insert correctly, needle / hook timing is off, wrong needle system, needle bar too high or too low (thats more or less the timing), too thick needle for the thread (loop will not form properly), needle is deflected by the needle deflector... These are all reasons why the hook can probably not catch the loop. Or sometimes even a combination of two reasons.

Buying old patchers is often enough a gamble as some of the were made in the early 1900 already (Singer + Adler). So you can probably imagine that some will be quite worn. Better test the machines when you are going to buy one (especially from a private seller) and when they produce short stitches like 3.5mm or even 3mm when adjusted to the longest stitch length then they are badly worn and I would not buy them. New or like new patchers should make 5mm stitches (5 stitches per Inch). An acceptable / good score are 4.5mm - 4mm but if they are below 4mm I would not buy them. But it of course depends on what you want to do with them if you can deal with short stitches - okay - but keep in mind these are worn and parts are not cheap! I think Adler parts are even more expensive if available at all. The only web source for Adler 30 parts in Germany is WDN in Hamburg but check out the prices and I think you are done: http://www.wdn.de/artsearchresult.php?ARTIKELZAHL=30&KATEGORIE=6140 Singer 29K70, 29k71, 29K73 are the models you can get parts for w/o problem and the prices are quite cheap compared with Adler parts. These models are later models and therefore most of the times the machines are a bit more expensive. I have been looking for a patcher for a looong time. For me it was clear that I want a short arm model and parts should be available (in case of restoration) w/o making dozens of phone calls. So I came to the point that a Singer 29K71 would be the one! After a lot of research and hanging out on Ebay and other advertisings I found one on Ebay. The guy was 20km (or so) away from me so I visited him and bought it directly. The patcher was in considerably bad shape but it was a model form the 1960´s and I already knew where I can find the parts (College Sewing). It was a gamble but for just 40€ it was worth the risk. This is the result: http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=56079&hl=29k71

Honestly - I think this will cost more that the machine will be worth after restoration. It would probably be cheaper to buy another (complete) one for parts. I once bought a 29K71 (one of the last models Singer made) and I had to invest about 150€ or more - I think you will end up with 250€ or more if the parts are available at all. But I would understand if you take the challenge as I also like to restore "old cast iron" but keep in mind that it could become an expensive project.

I just stumbled over this one on Ebay - is this what you are looking for? http://www.ebay.com/itm/STANDARD-PRESSER-FOOT-SET-U192-U193-fits-JUKI-DU-1181-/290961604849

29x3 (332) and 135x17 (DPx17) have exactly the same length when you are considering Schmetz needles. Both are 38.9mm from top of shank to top of needle eye. 135x17 (DPx17): http://de.strima.com/135x17-ses-65-schmetz-sewing-machine-nadel-g02-1box-100-nadeln/item/682987/ 29x3 (332): http://de.strima.com/332-%28r%29-160-schmetz-sewing-machine-nadel-g02-1box-100-nadeln/item/682784/