Uwe

I noticed these notches on the bobbin basket on my new-to-me Adler 67. My Consew 225 has similar notches on bobbin basket. I previously assumed these were defects or damages of some sort. Now I'm wondering if the notches serve a purpose, but I can't think of one. Does anybody know if these notches are supposed to be there or if I should go shopping for a new bobbin basket?

I picked up this nice Adler 67-GK373 yesterday and as I was going through it I notice a missing screw on a clamp piece. Turns out the screw is missing because the thread inside the hole is stripped. It's supposed to be an M5x12mm but with a finer pitch than the normal M5 (0.8) (Adler part number is 993 91 101 7, I believe). There's a second, identical screw that holds things together adequately for now and the machine actually works just fine, but I'd like to fix the thread and put that second screw back in place to keep it working fine. I'm sure I'm not the first one to encounter a stripped thread on a sewing machine. Replacing the actual clamp part is an option I suppose, but it seems to involve taking apart a good portion of interconnected parts in the machine, which I'm trying to avoid. I'm considering tapping the hole for a slightly bigger size screw or using one of the thread fix approaches (e.g. Loctite thread repair kit) If anybody has done this type of repair before, I'd love to hear what works best, as I'm trying not to screw this up (pun alert!) on a nice machine. Here's an annotated picture of the part that's in trouble:

I had my first two sightings of a Durkopp Adler 969-ECO for sale in the wild this week, both run $12,650 - ouch! One is on Ebay and the other on the Weaver leather website.

I ordered one of these for my machine from Kwok Hing a while back and got a few extras. This kit consists of the Kwok Hing KG1245 suspending edge guide with the matching KB09 adapter bracket for installing it on Pfaff 335, 1245, 1246, 1525, 1526, 335, 591, 2545, and a various other Pfaff machines. These edge guides are very nicely done and work well. I put my extras on Ebay and made a how-to video for installing this guide on a Pfaff 335. You can watch the video on Youtube. On modern (white) Pfaff 335's the back cover gets in the way and a small portion needs to be cut off. Not ideal, but not hard to do, either. Price for the kit is $75 for fellow LeatherWorkers ($85 in my Ebay store if you prefer) and includes free shipping within the U.S. I'm set up to take credit cards through my photography business. Send me a PM if you're interested or have questions.

It might make a difference depending on whether you go backwards first and then forward (e.g. at the beginning of the seam), or forward and then back (at the end of the seam). Reversing a machine is not exactly the same as turning the piece around stitching into the same holes, because when reversing you're only changing the direction of material feed, but you're not changing in which direction the knot is tied (which gives you the slightly diagonal thread orientation). The pictures don't look all that bad for the most part, really. I'm guessing some folks wished their machine backstitching looked that good. I often leave a longer thread dangling so that I can manually pull the last stitch tight or pull the knot into the hole. Also, the second time the needle goes through a hole is different because there's two threads in a knot already in that hole - it gets tight especially with thick thread and hard leather. The needle has to somehow go around (or through) that knot, and exactly how it does that is not so predictable or repeatable, even if your machine reverses perfectly into the same holes without thread. Getting a good looking backstitch by machine may be matter of luck to some degree even if it's perfectly adjusted. It also looks like you might be pulling the piece out before the last stitch was pulled tight. It's probably good practice to allow the thread take-up lever to go all the way past the top after a stitch (so it can tighten the knot) before you stop to pull out the piece. In my experience reversing with the machine is rarely "pretty." I tend to finish my seam ends by hand if I care what they look like (especially on the back side). Lastly, I found the sharp knife-edged leather point needles tend to partially cut the thread when stitching into holes again that already have thread in them - the sharp tip edges cut thread just as well as they cut leather.

The problem with the many "Call Bob" answers to question is that they don't really contribute to the knowledge base on this forum and that they create a Toledo-centric view of Leatherworker.net, which is really a resource used worldwide. Once Bob retires, all the "Call Bob" answers will cease to be meaningful.

Forgive me for over-analyzing this, but I just had to figure out how this works and why the two belt tips turned out differently in my video. Normally, you want to turn your piece while the needle is in the DOWN position. For this belt tip application with a ridged presser foot you want to turn the piece when the needle is in the UP position, coming down for the next stitch hole. After looking at the video a few more times and thinking about how it works, it occurred to me that it's important to keep the back of the presser foot pointing toward the previous stitch hole. I didn't do that when I was sewing the red bridle tip (I turned the leather one hole too early, and too much), but I WAS doing that when I was sewing the tooling leather tip. Perhaps this little diagram helps illustrate what I am talking about:

Hmmm, let's try this again with a slightly different link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I55V6FboCeE You can also just go to Youtube and find my channel by typing UweXY in the search box. The public videos will be listed there.

I was curious about the belt tip and corner thing and tried sewing a few sample belt tips. I don't normally do belts, and I don't claim to be an expert at this. It turns out the ridged harness feet can indeed sew a tight corner without leaving extra impressions, but it depends on how you move around the corner. I did the variations by accident, actually, and I'll have to watch my own video again to figure out how I did it, haha. Here's the video in glorious 1080P: https://youtu.be/I55V6FboCeE

I'm glad to hear the edge guide worked out for you. I tried a few sample stitches with the different presser feet on my Adler 205. The difference is what I would call subtle, especially with 415 thread I have in my machine. I'm guessing smaller thread would lay deeper in the groove and not protrude above the leather at all. I can definitely feel the difference when I run my finger across the stitch line. The ridged stitch line feels considerably smoother. I'm not sure the pictures I took do the difference justice. In the pictures, the right (or top)-most stitch line is done with my regular presser foot without the ridge at the bottom. All the other stitch lines are done with the ridged harness presser foot from Weaver, some without thread and different stitch lengths so you can see the groove impression the ridge makes. The leather is two layers of 6oz Horween Cavalier.

Ebay is your friend if you want options for sourcing sewing related items like bobbins and such. Some folks are more comfortable with a phone call, and buying things without ever seeing them. If you're going to tinker with the machine and do your own work, a good manual is essential. The best ones I came across for the 225 are the original Consew 225 Manual and the Navy repair manual USNavySinger111WConsew225REPAIR.pdf for the 225 class of machines. Here's a handy parts chart for the Consew 225: 225 parts.pdf

Getting your stitches to perfectly align with a groove you cut ahead of time with a separate tool may be very tricky and take a lot of practice. The point of the groove is generally to have the thread not lay on top of the leather where it may get rubbed and wear more quickly. The thread laying in a groove also looks a little cleaner. I have presser feet for my Adler 205 that have a ridge at the bottom which makes a groove impression (not a cut) in the leather as you sew, and the groove is always perfectly aligned with the stitches and the thread that lies in the groove. Here are some pictures of my ridged presser feet ( One from Toledo Bob, the other from Weaver Leather, both are narrow harness feet). There are also presser feet with a slit in the front which may make it easier to line up the stitches with an existing, pre-cut groove. This one made by Kwok Hing also has a built-in guide to follow the material edge:

SARK9 - those are super nice speed reducers you made - well done! I made a speed reducer similar to DannyGray for my Adler 205. It works well and no machining required, but the SARK9 version looks way nicer and is much more compact and easier to adjust. Alas, my particular configuration of the stand did not lend itself to using the compact version the machine came with when I switched to a servo motor. Here are some pictures of my speed reducer, made from parts sourced on Amazon.com and my local Home Depot:

The end user should not be in charge of quality control. Parts with oval holes that should be round should never leave the factory.

They're not plated but rather solid metal as far as I know. I made some adjustments to the images to make the markings more visible, which also gave the images a more chrome-like look.

I've ordered presser feet for my Pfaff 335 from Sharp Sewing on Ebay and directly from a manufacturer Kwok Hing in China. Both sets of presser feet fit very nicely on the round presser foot bar and are of what I consider nice quality. There are only a few manufacturers of aftermarket presser feet, which are then resold by many resellers/suppliers. Some parts have markings that identify the manufacturer, which is generally a good sign, I think. If you make something and you don't want people to know that you made it, you're not super proud of your work. If the supplier is large enough (e.g. Weaver Leather), they may contract directly with a manufacturer (usually in China) to make custom parts for them which only they will sell. I've ordered a few original Pfaff parts that were missing on my 335 machine from AAAsew.com, which is based in Canada. Their online ordering does not work well, but I managed to order hard-to-find OEM parts from them for a reasonable price twice in the past. The suppliers advertising on this site might be a good resource as well, since you can actually talk to them on the phone and ask about fit and finish, and origin of the parts. I'm attaching a few pictures of my presser feet so you can see the markings. The left foot is from Kwok Hing - they either put their part number on parts or a logo that looks like a K and H overlaid on top of each other. I don't know who makes the right foot in the pictures - all I know is that Sharp Sewing sells it.

Just an update on my flatbed table attachment for my Adler 205. I sanded the whole thing down to make smooth, rounded edges and painted it white. It installs in under a minute and is remarkably solid when attached to the cylinder arm by two countersunk screws, earning it a perfect score on my UCI scale (Uwe's confidence indicator)

Thanks Constabulary! I do plan to paint it, either white or a hammered gray to match the machine. The brushed aluminum surface is actually too shiny and scratches quite easily. The next version will have a plywood support plate and a painted or anodized metal top surface.

I was working on the flatbed sewing table attachment for my Adler 205-370 today and thought I'd share a few pictures from that project. None of the commercially available table attachments appealed to me so I decided to make my own, spending more effort and money than I probably should. It's all aluminum, made from two sandwiched aluminum plates that mount to the cylinder arm using existing threaded holes intended for attachments. The support plate is 5/8" thick. I made a CNC pattern and cut the plates using a WaterJet machine at my local TechShop. The project is not quite finished yet but I like where it's heading.

Having seen the nice LED sewing lights that are available for many newer machines, I decided to try and retrofit my Adler 205 with a homemade LED sewing light. I used two LED light bars and a small battery case that holds three AA batteries. The installation is mainly via tiny magnets that I glued to the plastic drip tray. It makes for a nice, shadow-free light that is super bright. It only adds about 1/4" under the drip tray, so it doesn't get in the way. The pictures are of the working prototype. I'll work with it for while to check if there any usability issues that require modifications. As usual, I hope the pictures tell much of the story.

Good point carlosbruno, the wheels don't lock as they are. On a smooth tiled or linoleum floor the table would move quite easily. A carpet keeps it in place better, but not as solid as fixed legs or locking wheels. I may go with a hybrid solution, having wheels on just the heavier side, and regular feet on the other. I can still move the table around by myself easily by lifting just one side a little bit. This hybrid approach has the added benefit of allowing quick leveling of the desk on uneven surface like my slate tile floor.

Looking the last post had a few synapses firing and I realised I had these moving dolly wheels I got a Harbor Freight Tool for $3.99 which would work nicely on my latest table. Twenty minutes later my table was mobile The height change is minimal, if any, from the previous round metal feet pads. I'm not sure the wheels earn me any style points, but it'll surely be easier on my back when I need to move the machine.

Just a little update on my sewing table project. I've installed my Consew 225 in it with a new Consew CSM1000 servo motor I got on eBay. I've been meaning to try a motor that has three separate parts - the motor, the controller, and the speed input. This allows putting the speed input on a movable pedal assembly with a wire connection instead of having it attached to the table directly with a fixed rod connection. It worked out quite nicely. All that's missing now is drip tray , a knee lift mechanism, and a bobbin winder.

Here's my sewing machine related Ikea hack for the day. I've been using the $10 Ikea Jansjo LED lights on my sewing machines and had the weighted bases left over. I had also ordered some threaded 1" plastic balls on Amazon, which turn out to be super useful for a whole bunch of things. The weighted base makes it stay put, the ball holds the 4 oz. spool in place so it doesn't go bouncing about when it gets light toward the end and also makes sure the thread doesn't snag as it unwinds. The wire is stainless steel welding wire. A coat hanger would probably work, too, but that's not my style, haha. Hopefully the pictures tell some of the story.

Thank you Bob!