shoepatcher

Hooksetz, There are no generic throat plates for Adler shoepatchers. I have looked for years and want to build some for sale when I retire in a few months. Not all parts for the 30-1, 5, 7, & 15 are still available. I have been told a throat plate for a 29-4 will fit an Adler 30-1. Believe it or not, I have never tried one to see if it will fit. I hope to remedy that in the near future. I have a lot of genuine Adler replacement parts and screws available. Throat plates are not one of them. glenn

Finally found my 1900 29K parts list. The 29K8 was set up to sew waxed thread. It had a heavier tension spring on top and in the bobbin case to handle the thicker thread. It also had a different throat plate. Other than that, same as the 29K1. By the way, your machine is missing the stop screw in front to lock the feed foot as to direction! glenn

Stor, I have and original parts list for the early 29K's from 1900. Let me see what it say about the 29K8. We know it was built at the Kilbowie plant. glenn

send this question to Steve at Gateway Shoe Company. I think he can help answer your questions. glenn

Thank you. Great work on the history and emblems. I retire in 2 months. This machine is on the shelf for restoration. Unfortunately, so are about 50 other shoe patchers! glenn

Scarlett, If you are in the US, I would call Weaver Leather and ask to speak to Allen Burkholder. He is the best man I know to work on Adler 205-370's since he has been working on them for over 20 years and rebuilt 2 of them for the company I work for. He knows the machine cold.. glenn

Give Shoe Systems Plus or Gateway Shoe a call . Gateway is in Illinois I believe and Shoe Systems is in New York. Both deal in Shoe repair equipment and should be able to help you. Also, Harris at Pilgrim Shoe which is in your home state. Glenn

First of all, machine as a single needle is not threaded correctly. As it comes off the tension discs, it goes over the little pin. Put the thread under the pin. I would look at getting a single needle thread controller and take up spring instead of the double ones that are on the machine. I plan to pickup a used 767-65-FA-273 long arm Adler. I want to convert it to a single needle machine so I know what you are going thru. glenn

Indi, Send us a few pics of some sewn items so we can see what might be the problem. glenn

Send us a few pics of the machine. It is probably a clone of a name brand. that way, we may be able to get you a manual. glenn

Setting the stitch length to the correct length of stitch is not that hard. There are two set screws in the stitch length indicator wheel. Loosen both screws and you can rotate the stitch length wheel. Set the machine itself to 5 stitches per inch. Then loosen the wheel and rotate until the number 5 shows up in the hole indicator. Now the stitch length will correspond to the number in the hole indicator. That number may not be true so always check your stitch length on scrap. The Singer 111W152-157 were all walking foot machines. Fun to work on. glenn

I would buy the Pfaff. Generally speaking, it usually is a smoother machine. If you can sew on it before purchasing, do so. I have had Adler, Pfaff, Juki and Singer. I still believe the Pfaff are the smoothest machines. Bobbins are the same size in the Pfaff and Singer machines, bigger in the Consew 206. The ultimate choice is yours. If you get the Consew, that means getting a table, stand, motor, drawer, thread stand and light. More money there. Just my opinion. glenn

Grey. That was probably the original color. I always try to match the originally color when restoring a machine. glenn

It has to do with restoring the "figure 8" on the end of the bell crank. The lobes wear down on each side and that causes the stitch length to shorten. If someone is a competent welder, the lobes can be welded up with a Tig or Mig Welder and reground with a Dremel and you are almost good as new. I have 30 plus bell cranks from Adler and Singers that have to be welded and reground on the lobes. That is a project for when I retire. That is normally the only thing to go wrong with a used bell crank. glenn

Check out Miami Sewing machine web page. The have a lot of reconditioned and rebuilt machines and are in Florida. glenn

This machine looks like it had trimmers for thread cutting at one time. Uwe, like you, I believe somethings are not quite right on this machine. glenn

Like a Pfaff 1245, the 545 will sew a maximum thread of #207 top, MAYBE in bobbin as well. I always used #207 on top, #138 on the bottom. The maximum lift of a H4 High lift machine is 14mm. You could probably sew up to 3/8" thick of leather but that is a softer leather like chrome tan, not veg tan. That machine will handle #24 needle no problem. I have sewed with #46 thread and down to a #16 needle. Hope that helps. glenn

ObjectMaker. Call Ryan at Neal's Saddlery because he may be closer to you than Bob at Toledo Sewing. Ryan is the importer for the Cowboy brand of sewing machines and he may have something for you. I would look at the 3200 machine that he carries. Both men are great to deal with. Take samples if you are going to test items you will be sewing. glenn

Bonding on thread is a clear polyurethane that locks the spun fibers into a much stronger bond for sewing. If you have ever stitched with non-bonded thread, you will know what I mean. No nearly the strength and it frays like crazy. I simply do not use it. Only used in certain applications where the thread might be stronger than the material you are sewing. Trust me, always use bonded thread whenever possible. glenn

I would also check the to see if the feeding is the same on the inner and outer presser foot. Sometimes, one foot is slight off, i.e. one foot rises higher than the other which can make a difference in stitch length. glenn

Chayse, With the threads at 3/16" x32, you should be able to find grade 8 bolt on line that you can cut an make a spool pin out of. I know I could make a hell of a lot of spool pins for $97.00! As to the tension assembly, you need to determine what the threads are on the tension assembly stud. I believe Consew made a copy of the 305-64. Maybe a 754 model bracket. I know I have seen clones out there somewhere. glenn

This Chandler 305-64 was made in Japan after Chandler, which had been the Adler distributor in America lost that distributorship. They went to Japan and had the machine knocked off. It is a copy of a Adler 105-64. As to the missing spool pin on top, you should be able to get one from Bob at Toledo. Probably get you one from a Cowboy. I believe this pin is only a pressure fit and not threaded. Hope that helps. glenn

Catskin, I just saw the manual you got on an earlier post. That is a Fipi side arm clicker. Contact Manufactures supplies in Missouri. They can help you. glenn

Catskin, Been a while. You can get a 5 horse rotary phase converter from Grizzly Tools for 995.00 plus shipping. 1-8005234777. That should be more that plenty for your machine. Want to see pics when it is finished. glenn

Clicker beds are rarely wood anymore. Most companies have gone to Polypropylene. They come in different colors which correspond to the hardness. leather us usually cut on the red boards which is about a68 on the harness scale. We use the white boards at work. it is a little harder because we cut foam, plastic and carbon fiber. You can get different thickness. If you need a thick board over 2", they can be glued to plywood. Contact Manufacturers Supplies in Missouri. They sell clickers and boards. glenn