Uwe

The machine may not be the limiting factor, it may be you. No matter what machine you get, you have to understand how it works and use it correctly. None of the machines discussed in this forum are the kind where you step on the pedal and it will simply do what you want it to do. I'd say you have to figure out how to use the machine you already have before you buy another one. Buying a different machine will not solve your sewing problems, it will only change them.

I made another trip to UofM today. There it was - a perfect tall BioFit task/shop/sewing chair, no wheels, like new, $20. Now it's here, next to my blue chair.

Here are all the Durkopp Adler 467 manuals from Nick-O-Sew and my own archive, just to make them easily accessible in one spot and to add them to the LW archive. Durkopp Adler 467 User Manual: Durkopp-Adler-467-Operation-Instructions.pdf Durkopp Adler 467 Parts List: Durkopp-Adler-467-Parts-List.pdf Durkopp Adler 467 Installation Manual: Durkopp-Adler-467-Installation-Instructions.pdf Durkopp Adler 467 Service Manual: Durkopp-Adler-467-Service-Instructions.pdf

The back on a sewing chair is useful to lean back and admire your handiwork, or to lean back and let out a primal scream, depending on how things are going.

My favorite place to shop for high quality chairs and stools is my local University of Michigan property disposition (https://www.facebook.com/umpropertydisposition/). They often have high-end lab and medical stools and chairs that cost several hundred dollars new, for under $30. My favorite tall $25 chair from that place is this one: You can convert most rolling tall office chairs to sliders, to keep the chair from moving while you sew: As for items available for purchase new, Amazon is great resource, examples:

If reading a manual stops somebody from thinking, then they weren't doing a whole lot of thinking to begin with. But in reality the unthinking and uncurious masses just want to be told what to do. An original manufacturer's manual is one of the very few shared truths left out there. Most people would agree that the manual describes how the manufactured intended the machine to be used. Once you understand how things work then you can add variations and improvements to suit a specific situation. You'll know exactly what your are doing differently, and you'll know why you are doing it differently. If you don't (want to) understand how things work, then simply sticking with the manual is a workable approach. It sure sounds like the very same needle has been in that machine since the dearly departed mechanic's last visit years ago. The machine may be threaded perfectly. The thread breaking issue may have nothing to do with the threading path. A few close-up pictures sure would help diagnose the problem.

I cringed almost through the entire video. I wonder if that video is where that whole wrap-it-around-the-tension-disc-pin nonsense started. According to Youtube statistics, over 29,000 people may now believe that's the proper way to thread that class of machine. I've yet to find any evidence that manufacturers ever recommended this practice. That tension disc pin is indeed only there to keep the tensions discs from rotating, as @SARK9 said. And then Mr. Levy pulls the bobbin thread up through the presser foot hole, just to add to the confusion and to untangle the mess a few stitches later.

Nice looking stitches! You did a great job bringing this machine back from the semi-dead. And you're now well equipped skill-wise to keep it running for decades.

I also make flatbed attachments, including one for the Adler 69 class of machines. The UT069 is available in my online store: https://uwe.store/products/ut069-flatbed-table-attachment-for-durkopp-adler-69

I'm not aware of any flatbed machine that is designed to cover thread sizes 69-277 well, or at all, without major adjustment gymnastics or premature parts failure. One approach is to simply ignore the specs, install a 200Nm/#25 needle and some size 207 or 277 thread and put the pedal to the metal. One tarp shop I'm working with has apparently been doing just that for decades using various single and double needle Consew 339 machines - nobody ever told them "you can't do that!" Your Cobra 4 comes close, though - it will cover thread size range 92-277 (and higher.) [Shameless self-promotion alert!] A decent flatbed attachment like my UT441 is a good occasional or long-term solution in my (decidedly biased) opinion. It's plenty big for wallets and belts and installs in about a minute or two with a little practice. I'm also working on a small, modular flatbed (or huge flat-top throat plate, depending on how you look at it) for folks who just need a small-ish flat work surface for wallets etc., or have a short-arm 441 class machine (e.g. Cowboy CB-3200.) The UTP441-66 will measure about 6"x6", but currently exists only in my CAD program: [End of shameless self-promotion]

Time to post some detailed pictures of your machine. I'm just guessing what you are looking at. Your machine may be very different from mine. Oil lines material is probably available at any hobby store that sells model airplane stuff. Also, spend some quality time reading the topic below - it's a somewhat cautionary tale that goes into great detail about the DA 467 oiling system.

It may be a Frobana, just a different model from the more common design. At least this defunct Kijiji ad in Calgary showed a very similar machine and called it a Frobana. Do you have any more pictures? How do you know it's Swiss made?

So, I'm curious, does your feed dog move when you turn the hand wheel with the timing belt off? If yes, then it does not really matter exactly in what position you put the timing belt back on (because, technically, that belt would not be a timing belt, just a drive belt.) The hook will need to be timed no matter what. It appears that the DA 467 does not require top/bottom shaft synchronization at all, since feed dog movement can be adjusted individually (sections 3.2.3 and 3.2.4). The feed dog movement is driven by the same eccentric on the top shaft that also moves the rocker bar (needle and feeding foot). Hook-to-needle timing is of course also adjustable independently. I've actually not yet adjusted hook and feed timing on a DA 467 myself, so can't really speak from direct experience on that particular machine. One quick glance at the underside of my grimy project Durkopp Adler 467 tells me that this is not your typical vintage mechanism.

The Durkopp Adler 467 Service Manual ( 467_service_instructions.pdf ) may help you get started on the right path. Alas, that manual does not have a section on how to replace timing belt or how to synchronize top and bottom shafts. Often there are some markings that need to line up. I'll have to check my 467 to see if I can find some.

It would look very cool and, unfortunately, it would also be uncomfortably cool. Resting your arms on that steel top as you sew may get uncomfortable quickly because the metal will quickly suck the heat out of your forearms, making them feel cold. Just like a tile floor feels colder under bare feet than a wood floor because stone is more thermally conductive and quickly cools off your skin from near 100˚F body temp to 70˚F room temp. This will not be an issue if you're sewing in a place where the ambient temperature is close to 100˚F.

[edit] D'oh, of course that's just what brmax said earlier. Oh well, one more time:[/edit} The Singer 153W101 has come up in several topics here on LW. The search engine on LW is not super helpful at times. I always use a site specific Google search to find topics and posts on LW. Try googling for "site:leatherworker.net 153W101"

I suppose the problem could also originate in the arm when downward pressure is applied to the feed dog (which is relieved when you raise the feet). Perhaps try raising the feet and press down on the feed dog with your thumb and see if the groan/bind manifests (remove the needle for this test).

Post some close-up pictures of all the linkages involved (external and internal) in lifting the foot. Max lift is normally when needle is at bottom dead center, but your bind appear sto start much earlier. Since the problem disappears when you raise the feet, the source of the problem is very likely found in the parts that move when you raise the feet. Put the machine in the position where it starts to bind, then raise the feet and closely observe all the linkages moving. I have a strong feeling that something will be moving away from something else, changing from touching to not touching (other than the obvious feet moving away from the throat late.)

I'd check for walking foot lift linkages touching the casting. I made some annotated pictures for previous topics on foot lift related binds. I don't know if your 335 with the bind problem is a modern casting 335 or a vintage casting. They have very different casting and things may look quite different. The pictures below are of a Singer 111W155 machine, but they illustrate the concept of the two types of potential binds due to out-of-range linkage movements.

The whole thing should fit in a Yukon, perhaps with some disassembly. Personally, I'd be tempted to say "Just the head, Ma'am. Would you mind dragging that sagging table, rusty legs and infernal clutch motor to the curb on trash day?" If that free head is worth bothering with, you can probably justify a few hundred bucks towards a new table and servo motor. If that's not in your budget, then industrial sewing machines are probably not something you should get involved in.

The Sailrite type design moves the hook axially during zig-zag, which also avoids the particular timing challenges illustrated earlier:

I took a closer look at my Singer 143W2. My machine is a 4-step variation of the basic zig-zag machine. The real world vertical hook-to-needle position correlates closely to the concept graphics I posted earlier. My personal hook timing procedure for any lockstitch machine where the hook makes two rotations for each stitch: 1. Bring needle to bottom dead center position 2. Rotate hook tip to 60˚ (10 minutes on the imaginary clock face) before reaching the needle, tighten hook 3. Move hand wheel to line up hook tip with needle 4. Adjust needle bar height so that hook tip is in the middle of needle scarf (use near-center position for zig-zag machines) 5. Adjust hook-to-needle distance if need be I have yet to meet a machine that will not make a stitch after doing this. It's a great starting point for machines where you don't have a service manual. It avoids all that annoying measuring-needle-rise business. Here's a video showing a close-up of this zig-zag hook timing business after the procedure above.

That Singer manual conveniently make no mention of the zig zag position for hook timing. I burned a little midnight oil contemplating this zig-zag hook timing business. In order to visualize what's going on, I modeled it up in my CAD program to see how things line up. To my surprise, things didn't line up the way I was expecting them to. Since the needle rises steadily after BDC while the hook rotates along a circular path, the timing changes a little or a lot, depending on which side of the center position the needle is located during zig-zag. The images below are color coded to make it easier to reference center and either zig-zag position of the needle. The needle positions show the horizontal zig-zag at vertical position at the moment the hook meets the needle. The green needle indicates the center position. The yellow needle represents the early zig-zag position (he hook arrives at the needle earlier than in the green center position.) The blue needle represents the late zig-zag position (the hook arrives at the needle later than in the green center position.) It turns out that the yellow early and green centered needle positions are nearly identical in terms of where the hook meet the needle - near the top of the scarf. This is because between the yellow and green positions both the hook and the needle are moving in the same vertical direction - upwards. The blue late needle position is the critical one - timing changes drastically and the hook meets the needle at the very bottom of the scarf. This drastic change is due to the fact that hook and needle start moving in opposite vertical directions after the center position - the needle keeps moving upwards but the hook starts to move downward again after the center position. So, to make sure the worst-case zig-zag needle position is timed correctly, I'd verify the late (blue) zig-zag position. The early and center needle positions will very likely be fine if the late zig-zag position is timed so that he hook meets the needle at the lowest allowable point of the scarf. The picture below shows the front view of the hook that is rotating counter-clockwise behind the needle. The center and zig-zag needle positions are shown in the vertical position at the moment the hook tip meets the needle in that position. This image is a view from a different angle that shows where the hook meets up with the scarf of the needle at the different zig-zag positions. Center green and early yellow positions are nearly identical. The late blue position is very different. Going through this exercise helped me understand how this zig-zag hook timing thing works. Hopefully others can make sense of it, too.

@Gregg From Keystone Sewing already uploaded those manuals in your own topic. You have to follow your own topics!

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