Charles1

Sorry to hear that your efforts ended up with you offering to sell not just the machine but also the key to what I take must be a storehouse that offers a lifetime of excitement and joy. I have one of the same model three-thread Puritans in my basement. I bought it many years ago from the person who once owned a shoe/boot factory in Montreal Canada and who kept it as one of the machines that he did not sell when the factory closed. He had another Puritan that was custom made for his factory and that he did not want to sell. It did not look like any of the normal Puritans in that it had a cylinder arm. Sadly, when I spoke with him some years later, he had disposed of it and a lot of other machinery and parts either as scrap metal or as rubbish sent to rust away in a dump. At the time of that later visit he still had a few machines - including a bell skiver that he would sell. The Bell skiver was bought and it has been put to productive use in my son's shop ever since. I took the Puritan that I have apart, cleaned and oiled it, freshened up the outside paint, polished that wonderful Puritan badge and then other priorities took control of my life. All of the working parts were in good shape but two things were missing - one screw for attaching the wax pot (an odd thread pitch as I recall) - and one of the parts at the bottom of the wax pot where I believe the threads come out. The machine came with needles and awls installed and while they might work for a test, they should be replaced. At the time when I put the machine away I had not gone the next step of ensuring that everything is properly timed, and I had not tried to get it to sew. So the machine head now sits on a shelf where I store some older machines - waiting for a time when I (or someone else) will hopefully do the rest of the job that must be done to get the machine doing what it was designed to do. At the present time I am not ready to sell the machine - let alone the key to my basement.

For anyone looking for the answer to the questions raised here, see this thread: http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=53693. Glenn gives a full and satisfactory answer to all practical questions. Thanks Charles

Glenn: Thanks, immensely. That's what I needed to know - and what I was hoping to hear. Charles

I made a typing mistake in the above. What I meant to say was: So, that suggests, even if you have a 195 H3 machine with a "B" designation, you can not sew any thicker material than you could sew with a 195 H2 machine with a "B" designation. Both the H3 and the H2 machines would only allow you to sew "medium weight material".

Glenn: Thanks, immensely for the prompt and very useful guide to the codes on the Pfaff machine model plate. Since I do not intend ot use those machines to sew 3/8", an issue might arise only in areas where seams overlapped - and experience will tell what the machine can do. Even so, I wonder if you can give a few more clarifications - just to satisfy my curiosity if I do approach the limits with the 335 H3 and 195 H3 "B" machines when sewing some types of leather that have not been a problem on my 545 H3 "C". I'm asking because I have recently acquired a 335 H3 "B" and a 195 H3 "B" to use in conjunction with the 545 H3 "C" machine. What is the maximum needle and thread size? Is it different on the "B" and "C" machines? If the "C" machines can use heavier needles and thicker thread, can you modify a "B" machine - say by putting a larger wheel on the machine or by using a speed reducer (to increase the torque) - and by increasing the size of the needle hole in the feed dog (and repositioning the hook if necessary), so that the "B" machines will accommodate the same needl and thread and the same thickness of material as the "C" machine will handle? Is there much of a risk that by pushing the "B" machine towards the performance of a "C" that you would damage to the internal parts of the "B" machines that have been replaced with stronger parts in the "C" and "D" machines? Can you reduce or eliminate the risks when you push a "B" machine to sew what you really should be using a "C" machine to sew ... by sewing very carefully and at a much slower pace in those circumsttances where you might be approaching 3/8" inches in particularly hard leathers? I know that it will require just getting on with it and seeing what will work, but guidance as to the potential pitfalls would be helpful. Thanks. Charles

What thickness of leather can a Pfaff H3 "B" machine sew? The way in which Pfaff designates its machines is rather confusing to me - particularly with respect to the designation of H2 vs. H3 machines that bear the designation B vs. C. In another thread, shoepatcher said, on 19 Feb 2014 - 1:59 PM, said: From both the Pfaff 195 and 545 parts manuals, I see that H2 means "7 mm. of fabric clearance". While the 195 parts manual does not show an H3 designation (even though there are 195 H3 machines), the 545 manual shows H3 as giving "11 mm. of fabric clearance". So I presume that a 195 H3 would also give 11 mm of fabric clearance. So, I conclude, H3 machines have quite a lot more clearance than H2 machines. That appears to say that H3 machines can sew thicker materials - but if one considers the "B" or "C" designation as well as the H3 designation, you are led to the conclusion that (despite its greater fabric clearance) an H3 machine might not be able to sew any thicker material than an H2 machine. H3 machines (both 195 and 545) can be designated either "B" or "C" - and the manual indicates that that the "B" or "C" means that they can be set up either to sew "medium-weight materials" ("B") - or medium-heavy materials ("C"). So, that suggests, even if you have a 195 H3 machine with a "C" designation, you can not sew any thicker material than you could sew with a 195 H2 machine with a "B" designation. Both the H3 and the H2 machines would only allow you to sew "medium weight material". So that raises a very practical question. Assuming that you find a 195 H3 machine that also bears the "L" designation (i.e. it is for leather) what thickness of leather can you expect to be able to sew with a 195 H3 "B" machine? ... and what thickness of leather can you expect to be able to sew with a 195 H3 "C" machine? Does the thickness that you can sew depend on the hardness of the leather? ... and can you do anything that is simple to modify an H3 "B" machine to make it perform more like an H3 "C" machine ... that is, can you change it easily so that it will sew a greater thickness of leather? Thanks

What thickness of leather can you sew? The way in which Pfaff designates its machines is rather confusing to me - particularly with respect to the designation of H2 vs. H3 machines that bear the designation B vs. C. Given the fact that this thread is a bit old and it is about a Pfaff 335 machine, and the fact my question applies more broadly to the model designation of other Pfaff machines as well, I have deleted the detailed question from this thread, and started a new thread that deals with the thickness of leather that Pfaff H3 machines can sew ("What thickness of leather can a Pfaff H3 "B" machine sew? ") .

Thanks, Greenwood. I'll contact Singermania.

I recently purchased an old Pearson #6 (The British United Shoe Machinery Co. Leicester England) that needs to be cleaned up and tried out. The shuttle appears to be in rough shape. Rather than lay out the many dollars that are required for a new replacement shuttle (quite a bit more than I paid for the machine), I'd like to try to repair the shuttle - to make it useable at least until I can test the machine. I am contemplating this approach since I can see that the shuttle was previously repaired by welding brass (I think) onto the steel body of the shuttle and then filing the material to provide a working shape. Those repairs were done a long time ago because the shuttle has clearly worn down since then. The point needs to be restored and I suspect that the back needs to be reprofiled - the previous repairs appearing to me to be have been done very roughly - possibly having been ground too much while removing the brass - thus potentially causing some significant changes in the shape from the original profile. As well, while the thread tension spring is in place, the spring at the bottom of the shuttle (the one that presses on the bobbin) is entirely missing, so I'll need to make one of those springs as well and then rivet it in place. What I would appreciate are quite a few pictures of a very good shuttle - taken from many angles - so that I can see what shape I have to produce as I add welding material to the shuttle body - as well as in making a spring to replace the missing one. I would also like to get a relatively precise measurement of the overall length of the shuttle from the back end to the tip of the point to give me a proper length to work to. If any of you could help by providing photos or the measurement, that would be very much appreciated. Thanks Charles