gottaknow

Thanks Dave. I'm still using a lot of older machines. A few 50's, a lot of Singers from the 60's, and on up to a new Chinese Juki 2 needle that I estimate will last 5 years instead of being ageless. Factories will continue to use the old machines because they are near bullet proof and completely rebuildable.

No problem guys. I've always enjoyed helping others with their machine issues. I can't imagine having a machine that I couldn't use the way I wanted to. I also have issues with those that charge to repair industrial machines that aren't qualified. I've helped a lot of upholstery shops, drape shops, tailors, etc with their machines. A lot has simply been educating them and giving them confidence to handle their problems. A lot of these folks depend on their machines to try and forge a living. I was fortunate to apprentice in a factory with almost 400 operators and was trained by two masters of their craft. One of them is still alive at near 80 and will still come by the factory to bs with me. I still learn from him and I'm in my 50's. I've always told folks the only silly question is the one you don't ask. Regards, Eric

Sounds like Tom's working on Thanksgiving.

If your hook is advanced that little, it shouldn't make much difference. I usually retard the timing on vertical hook machines as a general rule to avoid the random knots from tightly twisted thread. (we use a lot of poly core cotton wrap thread). If your timing is that close, it should sew decent. You're correct in that if you remove your set screws from the grooves, you'll lose the convienence of removing a hook quickly, and it could slip out of time easier. If your bottom timing belt gear has the quick release, that will help. If you want to keep your screw in the groove, you can remove your hook and slide the drive gear out and move it one tooth, re-engage it and replace the hook like you did. That will give you a different range of adjustment. There are plenty of machines that don't have grooves at all on the hook shaft. Brother, Consew, Mitsubishi all have vertical hook machines with no grooves. The Brother does have 3 set screws, and even at that I've had them come loose. Some aftermarket hooks for the 111's and 211's don't bother. There are some obscure and often overlooked things that will break needle thread. 1) Your hook needs to be sharp. I use a very small Arkansas stone running it down the top edge and bottom edge only towards the point of the hook. A dull hook will not enter the loop cleanly and will fray the thread. 2) Remove your throat plate and inspect the grooves where the tab of the basket sits. If the machine has been run with the latch opener not adjusted right, it will cut groove in that notch in the plate. I use 400 and 600 grit paper to keep them smooth. 3) Check your feed dogs for any sharp edges UNDERNEATH. I capped that because you never want to sand down the teeth of your feed dogs. Run a thread down through the needle hole and give it a good "floss" test in line where the thread travels from the hook. 4) Vertical hook machines don't like to chain off the thread out the back of the foot without fabric. If you need to sew off the edge a bit, make sure you keep a little pressure on your material, but best to avoid it. 5) Use a length of thread to "floss" test all your thread guides. It's amazing how sharp they can get. Nylon thread is especially bad. I've seen it over time cut right through those case hardened guides. Best of luck! Regards, Eric

Feed dogs for the 111 and 211 are interchangeable, but the throat plate must match the dogs whichever machine they're on. Regards, Eric

See my post in this thread #21. There's a pic there as well. It sounds like your latch opener is not pulling the basket far enough for your take up lever to cleanly pull up the thread between the tab on the basket and the throat plate. Post #21 describes how to do it. Put some material in, open the slide and check the functioning of the opener. Regards, Eric

Here's a short video of the up close threading of the 211/111's and most of the clones. Don't be confused between the terms "check spring" or "take up spring". I use both terms, though the correct name is "check spring". The take up lever comes after the check spring. I'm old. Regards, Eric

I have had people ship their machine heads to me and I repair them in one of my tables then ship them back. I NEVER charge for that because I already make a good living repairing the machines in the factory. Freight for a 60lb machine can be expensive, but so can paying a mechanic that doesn't fix your problem. I also let the employees bring in their home machines which I also repair for free. I really don't like mechanics charging for stuff they can't fix. It sounds like Zina has a pretty good guy there and I'm sure he felt bad. Regards, Eric

I order Schmetz and Groz-Beckert needles from Universal Sewing Supply. I don't use other brands at all in the factory. I favor Schmetz for my lockstitch machines and GB for all my chainstitch machines, but either will work nicely for both. Regards, Eric

That's an older Efka control box, and there are plenty still in service. I'm currently using some 10 Efka motors and control units. The motor is a standard electrical motor and the air feature refers to the fact that you can control air operated devices such as presser foot lifts, air chain cutters, needle coolers and such. Efka also uses the term "air gap", which is really nothing more than the space between the clutch assembly and motor. They are well built, but like anything electronic it can fail at any time. The good new is, you can easily retrofit your Pfaff to use a newer servo motor and controller if something happens. Your speed control will be limited with the unit shown, but you should be able to sew at a slow enough speed with it for what you want to do. It won't go as slow as a newer servo unit. Don't worry too much about the motor set up, concentrate on knowing if the head sews good. That Pfaff's a decent machine, though original parts are usually more expensive than other brands. They are well built though. Regards, Eric

The 111 is a workhorse and we still use some of the 112's (a 2 needle version). I own a 111 and it's great. It's a compound feed so it will handle leather up to a point like a champ. I've hemmed my Levi's for years which is 8 layers of heavy denim. I've used up to a 21 needle, but it's really comfortable with size 14-20. For cloth, the 281-22 would be a great find for you. It will sew lightweight fabric with ease and because it's compound feed, lightweight leather. The difference is the 281-22 has a horizontal rotary hook and the 111 and 211's have a verticle hook which will handle more thickness. Regards, Eric

You want light pressure and sharp feed dogs. Dull feed dogs slip and leave marks, kinda like burning out with a car on pavement. You also want to make sure your feed dogs aren't too high and back feeding. The easiest way to check for back feeding is to take a piece of paper, unthread your machine and turn it over by hand in the operating direction (towards you). Carefuly observe the holes made in the paper after several stitches. They should be not be oblong at all. When your feed dogs are too high, as they rise they will move in reverse back towards you just a bit. You can see the paper move backwards as well. A good starting point is to have the valleys of the teeth even with the throat plate at their highest point. Since the 211 is a compound feed, make sure your needle feed and your feed dogs are syncronized. There's an adjustment on the right side of the upper shaft that changes your needle feed to match your bottom feed. You can use the same paper techique for this adjustment as well. On new feed dogs, lay a piece of 400 grit abrasive on your bench and lightly hit just the corners of the teeth. Don't sand down the teeth themselves. I have a set of rubber feed dogs for my 111, which are great for leather as well. I haven't ordered any for years. I wonder if they're still available. Regards, Eric

It's so easy to blame a machine problem on a bad part when most of the time it's an adjustment. Is there by chance another mechanic who knows industrial machines around? The folks who repair home machines simply don't have the kind of experience you need if that's the case. It's frustrating for you to have to pay someone and have it not work, when someone with the right experience could likely get it sewing good for you in no time. Of course it's really hard to tell without being able to see the machine. Make sure of that it's threaded right, that you have the correct needle inserted the correct way. In the near future, I'm going to be making some easy to understand videos on machine adjustment and repair. Hopefuly they'll be helpful for folks to take more control of their own repairs and adjustments. At least that's free. Regards, Eric

Zina, take a look at this video I just made while at work a bit ago. You will see on the hook on the right the amount of play. This is fairly normal for a used industral machine. I only replaced the left hook when I could no longer stop the large loops on the bottom of the fabric. Does the amount of play in yours compare with the hook on the right side in this video? There are other conditions which can cause what you describe. If the basket is actually hanging up and getting stuck at times, you'll need to replace both the hook and the basket. You wouldn't normally replace one without replacing the other. Regards, Eric

The drive cam in that machine is a solid chunk of steel. They really do have a distinctive sound. I also use the Juki 980 tackers which are easier to work on, but aren't near as cool as the 269's. Regards, Eric

They do wear out, but I've seen huge amounts of wear and have the machine still sew well. Usually you replace the entire hook assembly. The last I did was on a Mitsubishi. Here's the test I do. Remove the throat plate and grab the basket where the bobbin goes. Push down hard and rotate the basket around the inside of the hook. If it catches at any point, replace the entire hook. If not, keep it well oiled and make sure the latch opener is adjusted properly. What kind of issues are you having? Usually when they begin to bind up, you'll get large loops of the needle thread on the underside of what you're sewing. Regards, Eric

The 269 is about the best bartack machine ever built. We still use them for tacking heavy nylon webbing for tactical gear. They can be a bear to work on. I have a love hate relationship with them. Regards, Eric

I had suspected this was the machine head Singer used to produce their 2281F series which featured a crude needle positioner system (photo cells) and underbed trimmer. The head is identical to the D series. I have about 6 of the 2281F's and double checked that they are drop feed machines. Ok for woven goods, but not great for leather. Regards, Eric

Too much tension will at times "push" the thread out from between the disks. This happens more with heavier threads. For springy nylon thread, put a lightweight plastic bag over the cone with a hole in the top. This all but eliminates thread whip. Also, if you hear the disks click at all, your thread is twisting around itself and popping open the discs removing the thread. The click you hear would be the clump of thread going through the disks. As Wiz mentioned, make sure you've got some wraps on the thread before the tensions. Wrap the thread clockwise (asuming left twist thread) around the top post and the pre-tension guides. It could also be the tension release while the foot's raised going over thicker areas. If that's the case, adjust the lift so the disks open at a higher point. Regards, Eric

Singer made a bunch of variations on the basic horizontal rotary lockstitch. I'll look it up at work tommorow and see what I can find. The 281 series includes both drop feed and compound feed. They are work horses for medium/duty work. If you can find a 281-22, those are the compound feed ones. They work well with up to size 20 needle and will sew lightweight leather. The tension springs and take-up springs are not heavy enough for larger thread. Regards, Eric

If your foot's not contacting the plate, that could very well be your stitch length problem. Your presser bar may be hanging in the air or need to be adjusted so the lift mechanism has some space between it. Hanging feet (as they're referred to) will make your stitches shorter. Your foot should be tight to the plate and should firmly hold even a single layer of paper. I'd check this out before proceeding with replacing any parts. I've attached a pic of the stitch length adjustment for fun. Regards, Eric

Here's some information to consider if you're using a thread for the first time. Keep in mind that even if you've been using a particular thread, size, color etc., cones of thread vary. Sometimes within the same cone. I don't like to blame machine problems on thread, but there are times when one minute things are working great, the next not so much. Something I like to do when I'm using a new thread is check how tight it's twisted. The picture shows the exact method I have used for years and the problems that can arise. There are ways to overcome these to some degree, but sometimes you have to grab a new cone. We use up thread that's less than desirable on bobbins or loopers on chainstitch machines. Even using the standard "can I use this thread with this needle test" doesn't always tell the real story. If you have a thread you want to use with a certain needle size. Try it. See what it does. Don't lock yourself into a chart. Granted, there are some threads that simply won't go through certain needles. There are however, many shapes of eyes in needles. Different brands of needles have different shaped eyes. Whenever you're dealing with needles and thread, think about the loop that the hook must "pick up", You want the loop to be as consistent as possible to avoid skips, broken thread, and poor appearance. Increasing needle tension will make a loop smaller, loosening will make it bigger. Your bobbin tension will have to be adjusted accordingly. With thread that's wound too tight, this is a good way to make the loop more consistant. With a smaller loop, your timing must be more precise. You can also "retard" the timing of the hook, that is making it come in later to the loop, closer to the eye where the loop is more likely to be more consistant. You can also turn the needle slightly towards the direction that the hook is going to pick up the loop. Doing this presents the loop at a different angle. On thread that's slightly too small for a certain needle, you can actually wrap the thread one time around the needle before threading the eye. When trying new threads and needles, I always consider what my "loop" is doing. Getting used to this concept will allow you to expand your machine knowledge and what your machine's capable of. Regards, Eric

Increasing needle tension makes the loop smaller. This can also be helpful when using thread that's got a lot of body. Stiff thread forms a bigger loop which will flop sideways at loop taking time which can cause skips as well. I've got some illustrations I'll post later that help explain some common thread issues. Regards, Eric

I've used a size 16 with T70 and down to a size 12 with T40 on 211's. If you want to fudge down to a 14, you'll need to increase the tension of the thread to decrease the loop size at loop taking time. If your hook timing is retarded a bit, you can get away with T70 and a size 14. You may break some 14's. You'll want to decrease your stitch length as well so you're not stressing your needle. Regards, Eric

Yeah, I edited my post above to make it clearer, I hope...heh