Pintodeluxe

I'm looking for a left side cover plate for a Pfaff 1245. It's the cover that you remove to access the needle bar etc. Does anyone have one for sale? I'm happy to pay for the part plus shipping. I'm also looking for a cover plate for a Pfaff 146/545 if anyone has one. Thanks!

The regular Consew 226 had the belt on the far outside (right side). The 226 R-1 model moved the belt to the inboard side of the handwheel. You can try shifting the motor left of right to keep the belt from hitting the table. On the standard 226 you look through a sight hole to see your stitch length. On the 226R-1 there should be numbers on the handwheel. Either way works fine, but sometimes you need a flashlight to see in the sight hole of the old 226's. A couple pictures would help us see what's going on.

Thanks for the link. Unfortunately it doesn't list 145 or 545 as compatible machines.

Hello, I'm looking for a side cover plate for my Pfaff 145 H4. It's the cover on the left side of the head, secured with two screws. I tried the cover from my 545 and it fit just fine. So my question is does anyone have a side cover plate for sale that fits a Pfaff 145 / 545? No current sellers on Ebay, and my local parts dealer went out of business.

As far as thread tension, I'd start with adjusting the bobbin tension. Set is for light, smooth resistance as you pull the bobbin thread. Then sew a test swatch and set the upper thread tension accordingly. If you see loose loops on the bottom of the swatch, tighten the upper tension. If the stitches look loose on top of the swatch, loosen the upper tension. Continue with small upper tension adjustments until the stitch is balance on thin material. I use cheap, thin vinyl for my test swatches. If the machine can balance a stitch on thin vinyl, I know it will look great in thicker leather. As far as loosening the pressure on the foot... loosen the knob behind the thread guide post on top of the machine. Is that the knob you're adjusting? It's on top of the machine, near center. If it's still marking leather, try a smooth presser foot. The ones with ridges on the bottom are more aggressive, but sometimes mark soft leather.

All my servos have a knob to adjust the speed. They are variable speed and easy to control. A test drive would tell it all.

The 206rb-1 will sew 20oz of leather. I think it's rated for 3/8" thick material, but tends to be one of the more robust upholstery class walking foot machines. I have one in my shop that looks like a time capsule machine. So shiny and pretty but it hasn't been used much. I guess I prefer the top-loading machines. My Juki 563 is the one getting used right now. Good luck with your decision.

Try Nickosew.com I've purchased 545 parts from him before. He has some machines that he's parting out. Good luck with it.

Unless servo motors improve greatly, I wouldn't want to be without a speed reducer. I'm happy with a speed reducer alone, but of course it depends on what you make. I use a box style reducer that mounts where the servo normally sits. The only negative is it's a little harder to turn the handwheel by hand. On the bright side, you don't really need to turn by hand because you can sew stitch by stitch with the pedal. I don't like the idea of the sewing machine deciding if the needle stops in the up or down position. I want to make that decision. And the upholstery work I like to do is MUCH less demanding than traditional leather work. I would think if you're making wallets, the speed reducer would be the way to go. Ask half a dozen people and you'll get six different opinions I'm sure.

So if I understand correctly, it's the servo pedal you need to switch over to hand controls. My first thought was the Sailrite servo that uses a foot pedal like a domestic sewing machine. It just has wires running to the pedal, no rods. So, I would think you could mount that over on the right side of the table and run it with your hand. Otherwise, I might look at a bicycle brake lever and cable to activate the servo. Another custom idea...Basically the short lever arm on the servo just needs to move down slightly to start the motor. I'm wondering if a simple handle/lever setup that pivots under the table would work? Seems like you could get some good leverage that way.

Sometimes it's just a tiny adjustment. Be sure to set the knee lift stop (near the front of the knee lift rod). If the stop is not set correctly, it allows the knee lift to move too far and it will bind up. Raise the foot with the hand lever, then try the knee lift. It should just go high enough to release the hand lever, no higher. Good luck!

I would hold out for a machine with reverse. If you plan to hand tie your first and last stitch, this feature may not matter for you.

If you are threading it past the tab so that you hear a click, then the check spring assembly isn't functioning properly. The thread should never be able to pop out of the check spring like it did in your video. You're on the right track replacing the whole tension assembly. They're really easy to swap out. Good luck getting the old girl sewing right.

69, 92, 138 weight thread should sew fine.

Looks like you didn't click the thread past the little pointed tab on the check spring assembly. Sooner or later the thread pops out and tangles on knobs nearby. If you did thread it correctly, then the check spring assembly isn't doing its job. The replacement tension unit should solve that.

Might need a few drops of oil from above. Sometimes machines do this temporarily, if they've been sitting unused for too long. Other times you have a bent part. More times than not, a liberal oiling will free it up. One quick test to rule out the feet as a potential source... Remove the feet and re-test the lifting action. If the problem remains, it's the articulations in the head at fault.

Look for a video by Ewe here or on YouTube on the Consew 225 adjustments. It should be similar on your machine. Basically you'll turn the handwheel until the needle arrives at the material. Then loosen a screw at the top rear of the machine to equalize the feet. All this assumes the internal belt replacement went off without a hitch.

So the main problem you're trying to fix is the loose stitches on the bottom of the sample, correct? Maybe I missed this in an earlier post, but what weight thread and what size and system of needle are you using? Whenever I setup a machine for the first time, I use 92 thread and a #19 or #20 needle. Needle system is 135x17 or 135x16 for leather point. Upper thread tension/resistance will feel pretty firm. The fact that the the upper thread tension would be enough to deflect a needle doesn't sound unusual to me. Normally you'd pull thread through the hole in the presser foot, which will prevent that from being a problem. Try putting it all back together, and just use the hand lever to lift the foot. Eliminate the knee lift as a potential source of the problem. Heck, even user error can cause the loose stitches. When I first started using an industrial machine, I had a bad habit of riding the knee lift. This releases upper tension as you sew, which is obviously not helpful. Keep problem solving. It's usually something little and inexpensive to fix.

There is a screw at the top of the machine, near center of the head. It's sort of behind the top thread guide post. On some machines like a 226 it's a knob, but I think it's a recessed screw on the 206. It acts on a spring bar to alter the foot tension. Look at your machine from the back, and you'll see which screw articulates with the spring bar.

I think a Consew 226 is a good choice, so long as a small G style bobbin isn't a hindrance to you. For small projects it would work fine. Add a Juki LU-563 and a Pfaff 545 H4 to the search as well. Old school big bobbin top loaders are the machines I like best. There's a ton of iron in these machines, especially the older Juki's. They must have built to incredible tolerances because they sure are smooth.

Just keep buying bobbins, and get a batch that are the same fit. Toss the outliers, as those will be maddening. Otherwise, invest in a few boxes of pre-wound bobbins.

I use 3/32" foam core piping for small upholstery projects and throw pillows. It looks pretty nice in leather. It holds a line much better than the soft ropes. I've also experimented with empty piping (no cording inserted). I took apart an antique chair cushion, and it was built with empty piping. It looks pretty good, but I found it a little difficult to follow with a cording foot. Even my 3/16" foot wanted to wander a little. I'm sure it will take some experimenting to find what works best for you.

I checked with advertisers and members on this site first. After striking out there I found one at Nickosew. Should be up and running soon. Thanks for the suggestions and leads.

Thanks Constabulary, I'll look into that link. Not sure if my Paypal converts dollars to Euros. I haven't done that before. Also, the Ebay description says it's for a Pfaff 141. I'm in the Western U.S. Thanks again for the link.

If it were a 563 with reverse, I would actually keep the Juki as my primary machine. For the price, you can do no wrong. However, with a small bobbin and no reverse it would have limited utility in my shop. I'm a sucker for top loading machines like the Juki LU-563. I've put mine head to head against a Consew 206rb-1 and a Pfaff 545 H4 and the Juki seems more capable in thick leather. Of course I have a speed reducer on the Juki, and not on the others so it wasn't a fair comparison. However, it surprised me the Juki surpassed even what a high lift Pfaff could do.