Uwe

Here's the video I made about how to remove the hook on an Adler 167 and how to reinstall it. It's really not that hard and should take less than ten minutes with some practice.

That side seam looks indeed like a candidate for a rare post bed or a super rare up-the-arm cylinder arm machine. That budget and location puts you in the ballpark of some great made-in-Germany vintage post bed machines like the Pfaff 1295 and the Durkopp Adler 268. I sold a Pfaff 1295 some time ago and made a demo video for it (throat plates are hard to find for these machines, other common parts are readily available. Presser feet are plentiful and affordable.) : I still have two Durkopp Adler 268 walking foot post bed machines, one single and a double needle. They are perhaps my favorite vintage walking foot post beds - glorious machines from a time and place where engineers ruled. Highly recommended and worth about $2K for a head (table and servo motor adds about $300.) Parts availability is generally good for these machines (except for the main shaft, of all things.) Lots of presser feet options for the single needle version. My single needle 268 is partly disassembled right now for cleaning. Below is a picture of the double needle Durkopp Adler 268.

According to the Singer 136W110 manual (136w110.pdf) the machine is designed to use 16x226 needles There are currently three listings on Ebay for that size: There may be other suitable needle systems that share key dimensions. I checked my vintage needle stash, but not a single pack on 16x226 turned up. Lots of close calls as in 16x257, 16x287, 16x231, and the like, but no direct match. My Organ Needle reference booklet of sewing machines and needle systems shows the Singer 136W110 with Organ needle system PFx34P and an equivalent of 16x2NW. I have some 16x2 leather point needles. They also have 0.065"/1.5mm shank diameter (and 1.33"/34mm needle butt-to-eye distance). Those packages in turn list other equivalent needle systems one could search for. It's like some game where one clue leads you to the next one. I think a bit wiggle room inside the needle bar shaft pocket is okay as long as the inside walls are straight. The needle is going to get pushed against on side the wall anyways by the needle screw and be held in place. Some needle bars don't have a hollow shaft at all, but rather have a open valley cut into one side for the needle to rest against while being clamped in place. Changing the needle bar would be a last resort. You much more likely to find a workable modern needle system. Rather than making a needle bar from scratch, you'd be better off finding a suitable replacement from another machine. Many needle bars share the same diameter and only vary in length. Cutting off a too-long needle bar at the top is considerably less work than making a whole needle bar from scratch. Removing (most of) the post may well be required to get the needle bar out, not fun.

The numbers in the photo above match the numbers in the parts list for the Singer 45K21-25-63-78 (45k21-25-63-78 Parts.pdf), so perhaps you can use that document as an initial reference for your machine, at least for the hook area. I've not come a across a parts list for an actual 45K53. I do have a sizable (if unorganized) stash of Singer 45K parts. I'll check to see if I'm harboring any of those suspects.

On these machines you can remove the hook and put it back in without changing the timing of the hook (so no need to re-time the hook unless you want to.) Even if you get the machine going as it is, it may be a good idea to take the hook out periodically for a proper cleaning underneath. I have a double needle Adler 167 that's due for a lot of things, including a cleaning under the hook. If I find time over the weekend I'll make a short video to show how the hook comes out and goes back in.

We can't really make meaningful recommendations unless we know roughly where you live and what your budget actually is. If your budget is less than $1K then you're plain out of luck unless a minor miracle happens on your local Craigslist. Can you show us a picture of the type of seam that the other machines won't sew well? Industrial sewing machines are often one-seam wonders, which means they're great for exactly one type of seam or sewing operation, and a compromise for everything else.

You gotta work on your googling skills, it makes life easier and you don't have to rely on others to google things for you. Do an image search for "mitsubishi straight stitch sewing machine" and look for one that looks just like yours, then follow the trail. Took me less than three minutes. It's apparently a Mitsubishi DB-130E

Don't feel bad about getting the thread size conversion wrong. I've been trying to wrap my head around it for years. Since the best way to learn something is trying to teach somebody else, I'll have a go at it. The Adler 267 brochure lists the specs below, which is probably where you saw the "30/3" The basic problem with thread descriptors results from the fact that while we intuitively think about thread in terms how thick the thread is, the official classification numbers either state the weight of a fixed length of thread (Ne or Number English), or the length of a fixed weight of thread (Nm or Number Metric). The tex number is the somewhat official system, and it's also based on the weight of a fixed length of thread. The Nm numbers usually include some indication of how many individual strands make up a thread. The "30/3" in our example means that the thread is made up of 3 individual fiber strands, and each strand is 30 Nm. So the total thread is really 30/3 = 10 Nm. It may feel like we should multiply the numbers (three strands of 30), but since it's a length measure, the resulting length of fixed weight of triple-spun thread is one third as long, not three times as long. That's also why 30/3 (30/3=10) is really of the same Nm length class as 20/2 (20/2=10). To further complicate things, the material of the thread impacts how thick it is, even with the same classification numbers. Most folks here use Nylon or Polyester, which I would put in the synthetic category. Corespun means the fiber strands that make up a thread are spun around a solid center filament core. Just like it's nearly impossible to convert a car's gas usage numbers from mpg (Miles Per Gallon) to l/100km (liters per 100 kilometer) in your head, the thread conversion can be tricky. I just now stumbled across a website of Ruoss-Kistler, a Swiss thread manufacturer that goes into the science of thread making in great detail. Un/fortunately it's in German. Among other great info, they have this conversion table with formulas: So our example of 30/3 thread should convert to tex as follows: tex= 1000/(30/3)Nm = 1000/10Nm = 100 tex (slightly heavier than the Tex 92 thread you can actually buy here in the U.S.) The heavier duty Adler 267-74 with the "10/3" spec calculates like this: tex= 1000/(10/3) = 1000/3.33Nm= 300 tex (slightly heavier than the Tex 270 thread you can actually buy.) In the real world, a well adjusted Adler 267-373 really does happily sew Tex 138 Nylon thread all day long, and perhaps even Tex 207 thread with careful adjustments and operation. There you have it - way more info than you asked for. But a least the whole European thread size thing is clearer in my mind now. And none of the above really tells us how thick the thread is, which is what we really want to know.

Used machine and parts availability depends a lot on where on this planet your are located. High-quality used Pfaff and Durkopp Adler machines that are somewhat rare here in the U.S., are very common in Europe and other parts of the world. You can save a good deal of money if you can make do with a cylinder arm machine, which are much more common and affordable. It really depends on the design of your bags. If you really do need a walking foot post bed machine, wait a little, make some more bags and save up money for a good one. In the 70's and 80's a good industrial post bed sewing machine cost as much as a small car. Today they cost MUCH less than a small car.

I'd venture to say that how a machine is adjusted has a bigger impact on the user experience, smoothness of operation, stitch quality and reliability than any one particular clone vs OEM part. A well adjusted clone is likely to perform better than a poorly adjusted original Juki. I highly doubt than anybody can really tell simply by sewing with a well-adjusted machine whether it has an original Juki hook or an aftermarket hook installed. Of course no amount of adjustment will overcome a cracked casting, a rough bearing, bent shaft, or an off-center hole. Staying with the big clone brands like Hightex/Cowboy, Typical, Keestar etc. will give you a good starting point. U.S. based dealers and their respective brands get a lot of attention here on LW, but there may also be good local dealer choices in South Africa that avoid a lot of shipping expenses and time zone headaches. Having access to a good local mechanic is priceless. Instead of "upgrading" perfectly good parts with OEM versions, I think you're better off investing your money in accessories like edge guides, presser feet, and throat plates that suit your work and improve your user experience.

Yes, very similar.

Just a visual for after that Ebay auction expires:

Congratulations on your newfound machine bounty! The whole lot was worth exactly $500 a few days ago. You may get more for them individually if you market and present them properly. Tip: don't tell potential buyers you got the machines practically for free.

If that Chandler C-75 is indeed a Mitsubishi DU-105 with a Chandler badge stuck on it, then it would be a good candidate for $300, provided that all it needs are adjustments and wear parts. That design shares great deal with the Seiko LSW-8B (Consew 339RB) and those machines are workhorses in my experience. They survive decades of hard work outside their specs with little love and even less oil. If that Chandler C-75 is not a close relative of those machines mentioned above, I'd stay away simply because it's apparently as rare as a spotted pink elephant and you won't be able to find parts unless you know who actually manufactured that machine. I still want to see a picture of a Chandler C-75.

Do you have any pictures of that Chandler C75? Nothing comes up online for that model (not for a Mitsubishi LU-105, either.) A single letter can make a big difference in those model names (DU or LU?) I'm just not sure which machine we're actually talking about here.

Welcome to LW, Laether! Those Pfaff 145 are great machines and fairly easy to maintain. Here's a video I made recently about the safety clutch on the Pfaff 145 and 545: Here's a video that goes over the walking foot timing for the Pfaff 145/545 and many similar machines. And one about how to insert the bobbin on a Pfaff 145:

Material cost of the PLA filament was about $1 per part. Flexible rubber-like filament would cost about $4 per part and requires a heated base plate. @koreric75 Fusion 360 is a great industrial strength CAD program that you can use for free as a hobbyist or small business. It's a very powerful system with lots of features, but the learning curve is steep and long. You can sand, file, saw, drill and Dremel these parts like most plastics - if you go very slowly. Friction heat will melt the plastic again and gum up the tools. Machinability also depends how dense/solid you print the part - the inside can be nearly solid, or just a light, hollow lattice support structure.) These corner supports are almost solid plastic to make them strong. I had to file the first corner support a little because the outer radius wasn't quite right. I then adjusted the CAD model and the second part slid right in place. For this particular part, a wooden piece made with a router would have accomplished the same thing. @dikman GrabCAD is just the first CAD community I connected with. I had downloaded a few other sewing related models there and John Saunders of NYC-CNC had mentioned it on several occasions. I'll have to check out Thingyverse, too. @Constabulary It took about an hour to print per thingy. I'm not into guns but, yes, you can print mold dies for making various wet molded leather gear. @RockyAussie I'd have to sell quite few more sewing machines to make room and money for a bigger 3d printer, the next step up is ten times more expensive. I'll be busy making small parts for a while.

There are just four obvious bolts to remove on the top: The black dial knob can stay on. It has a spiral shape on the underside that pushes a spring loaded pin as you turn the knob. The pin may make a popping sound as you lift the top up. Below is a close-up of my bobbin winder unit. It may just need cleaning or the little black rubber ring may need to be replaced. The rubber ring on the bobbin winder presses against this disc in the picture below to spin. The position of the disc is adjustable on the shaft if need be to make better contact with the bobbin winder wheel. This disc has no other purpose than to drive the bobbin winder wheel - not much can go wrong here if you adjust its position. Clean the driver disc with acetone to make sure it's not slippery. When putting the top back on the pin shown below needs to go into this oblong slot under the black knob. Turn the black knob (clockwise to the right in the picture below) until the slot is totally open (spiral curve all the way down), otherwise it may be hard to align the spring-loaded pin above to rest against the spiral curve. Hope this helps!

I finally got a 3-D printer (Cetus 3D) a few weeks ago and I'm starting to make a few useful things. Today I printed corner support inserts that were missing from a used table top. It worked out quite nicely and the inserts fit perfectly. I designed the part in Fusion 360 and printed it using a hard plastic material. You can also print with flexible, rubber-like plastic filament to closely match the vibration damping properties of the original rubber parts. Printing took about one hour for each part. Not exactly fast, but way faster than ordering something online. I uploaded the design to GrabCad in case anybody wants to experiment with it: https://grabcad.com/library/corner-support-sewing-table-1 I'm rather excited about the possibilities this cheap at-home 3-D printing makes accessible. Here are a few pictures:

The backside seam actually looks like I would expect it to look. It may not be the way you want it to look, but to a degree this is just how this class of sewing machines work. The side where the needle enters the material generally looks nicer and neater than the side where the needle exits the material, especially with leather. Factors like material, thread size, needle size and the shape of the needle point (regular point or various leather cutting edges) all influence how this looks. There is no absolute "correct needle", there is only "suitable needle for one particular application and combination of thread and materials." The knot does actually get pulled to the middle of the material, so that's technically correct and what you want. The pucker or flattened mound you see on the backside is a result of the material getting torn and pushed outward as the needle exits. When the needle retracts again, that exit wound closes up to some degree but often leaves a little mound behind, depending on material. How bad that "exit wound" looks depends on many factors. The type of leather makes a big difference, too. Some leathers are supple and stretchy, other are hard, dry and brittle, depending on leather quality (whole grain vs. bonded leather), age and tanning method. Using synthetic Vinyl material, this seam would would look very different on the backside since that material is much more elastic. Making leather seams look as nice and pretty as vinyl seams is not easy. If you're expecting a leather seam that looks perfect from both sides like a hand-stitched saddle stitch, then you will likely be disappointed, depending on the materials involved.

Nice work on the edge guide install! I'm glad to hear you found my video useful. Is your Yakumo made by Nakajima? It looks identical the ones sold in the U.S. as a Chandler 305-64. I wonder if Chandler sourced the machines from Nakajima, too. Some design elements look very similar to an Adler 105-64, but the casting is very different.

Nope, the Pfaff 195 is one of those does-not-exist manuals (until somebody finds one and scans it to PDF.)

Start with the Pfaff 145/545 manual (Pfaff 145 545 User Manual.pdf). The head should be nearly identical. Very often, if it looks the same, it works the same way.

According to the subclass decoder section in the Pfaff 195/595 parts list ( 595 parts list.pdf) , your machine is a version for medium duty materials (B), very high foot lift (H4), for fabric (S=Stoff=fabric), and 8mm stitch length (N8)

This really belongs in a different topic, but short of making your own slotted feet with a Dremel, the closest ready made product I've come across is this 13246 Presser foot + 13249 Feeding foot set available from Kwok Hing: