I've been working with an older Adler 69 machine to do some low-volume sewing of small leather goods out if medium-weight leathers. I purchased the machine locally about two years ago for about $2250 all in with tax and local delivery, etc. So far I've been less than satisfied with it. Here's a summary of the various issues I've had (you can assume that I've tried all all of the self-help I could think of such as needle sizes/types, different leathers, adhesives, threads, threading, cleaning, oil, etc.) :
- Thread shredding: needle thread is shedding as I sew. It gets worse the longer I sew without stopping. In the worst cases it breaks. I've tried replacing the thread with high-end, brand-new #69 and it still does it. That last mechanic that I had take a look could not figure it out.
- Bobbin thread tangles sometimes when starting or stopping stitching.
- Stitch quality is inconsistent. Sometimes I get nice stitches (usually after I've been visited by a mechanic), sometimes the tension seems to waver causing needle thread loops to stand out on the bottom side (this is a more recent problem that I haven't been able to resolve on my own).
- When I insert the bobbin into the bobbin case and pull on the thread, the bobbin thread seems to have inconsistent tension, sticking and releasing. I can't see or feel any burrs or debris. No mechanic has mentioned this before. I don't know when it started.
- When it is actually sewing well, it doesn't handle sewing over transitions of material thickness very well. This has been the case from day 1, as I mentioned it to the sales guy in the showroom before taking it home. We thought it was a needle problem at the time. It will often skip a stitch or change stitch length when going over a particularly aggressive seam. This was surprising to me, as I've seen videos of less-expensive machines handling variations in thickness very well.
- Deep scratches have appeared on my aluminum bobbins, looking as if they have been marred by a needle. This might be more recent.
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And then are some things about the design of the machine that just sort of bother me:
- Would be great to have a larger bobbin
- I would love to have the presser foot operate by a knee lift rather than a dedicated pedal.
- Overall, the machine feels old and clunky. Are newer machines more responsive/fluid to operate or is this the nature of the beast when dealing with walking foot machines? I have an older singer 591 machine for garment sewing that is a dream to work with.
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I am relocating my studio in a couple of weeks out of NYC to rural NJ, where there will be a much smaller pool of mechanics who will be able to come service the machine. That said, it's hard to tell if the mechanics I've hired in the city have really been any good. Does anyone think this machine is fixable? I purchased it because a) it seemed to sew well in the showroom and 2) I really wanted to buy a non-Chinese machine.
Now that my business has picked up a little I'm thinking of trying to sell this Adler before I leave the city and upgrading to something more reliable/fun. But looking at the options, if I'm not interested in a Chinese machine, I'm not really seeing any used Adlers or Jukis in the $3-5k range for sale right now locally. Ideally, the machine that I purchased originally would just work as its supposed to! But I'm worried that I purchased a lemon and it can't ever really do what I want it to for a long period of time.
Please let me know if you guys have any advice. Thanks!
