karmazine

Thank you for the tips... I spoke to Pfaff here in CZ. They both with Strima share funny pricelist. No whines, I am glad that someone still have the parts at all. Better high priced ones than nothing. But for now I will stick to DIY and buy only the essential/uneasy to manufature parts.

Thank you for reasuring..

If I didn't annoy you totally with my silly questions: How easy should this machine go handcranking it with no threads/materials and feet lift up? For now it is sprayed all over with WD40 (to dissolve all the remains of old oil) and It rotates fine, but If I spin the wheel it stops almost instantly. I am used only to the Singer 66 which spins at least one, maybe more revolutions if I give the handweel a strike. I think this should go similary nice. Or the aditional friction of the compound feed, etc. eat it? No moving part feel like blocking/grinding. I plan to let it sit for while, maybe spin it a bit with the motor and flush/change the oil for real oil and grease.

I understood partly but now I finaly got how you meant it. I thought that the spring attached to the arm cover is more important than really it is (not at all). I was thinking about attaching the chain or steel bar directly so I was a little bit confused by your sugestion of changing the whole arm. I understand that the time this repair (welding of the broken cover) kills is not worth it, but I like welding and take this as a challenge and possibility to learn a bit about welding cast iron. If I succeed I have a new ability and a bonus is that assisted lifting for which my wife would surely be grateful since she is tiny. If I screw it I can always revert to linking it directly as you proposed. And I can skip the hand lifter — it is not necessary. Manufacturing of the angled linkage (your pic 2) is no problem. I would not be hunting for it if it was the only part missing. Since there were more I was tending more towards sourcing the donor machine or used parts. I was too naive to think there could be enough of them floating around.. :-D Now I know I was wrong. The machine is possibly much older than I thought. Again thank you for your replies and patience! If you in the future come into (unlikely) situation of needing something from my home bannana republic, let me know.

Thank you for the info. I am more used to welding, but not much on cast iron. Some variants are almost unweldable (high graphite content, so only brazing possible). I was hoping someone (you! ) had experience or information about it. If the iron is bendable, it is for sure weldable. I was also thinking about welding the lowest spot of the "valley" created by the grinded bevel with TIG, and contiue with nickel electrodes, but it is usually done on engine blocks and similar complex stuff. So for now I am up to grind all the paint with wirewheel and pre and post heat it in the electric furnace and use just the nickel stick electrodes. The crack is clean "snap" with no bends, and even if it warps during the proces, It is no big deal since the linking part is the lever with ball joint on each side which should take care of possible slight missalignement. So the only concerning part is that the crack goes thru one of the mounting holes. I think welding over the mounting hole and re-drilling is safer and more clean way. Broken part of the bed extension is visible on the attached photo. I think I will leave it as is and drill a new mounting hole as close as reasonably possible to the corner/crack. Maybe even three bolts should hold it enough — only stress is during maintenance when using the massive hinge to inspect/service the lower parts which is not that much often done I think.

You mean 91-010 738-45? That is the one from 545 H3 catalogue

Sorry Trox, I forgot to reply to all of the hints.. You mean that 31-010 735-15 ? It is from the 345 catalogue, I dont get it.. OR you mean Lshaped bar tension release linkage: 91-010 738-45 ? Since it is not in the 345 catalogue, I looked this up from the 545 H3. That is wrong?

Hello Tor, Thank you very much. I did not wanted to push you into complex reply (or into anything at all! It is your kindnes that no one can demand.). I am very grateful! In your former post you were asking if I have 345 H3 parts list it seemed to me that you do have a different parts list than me (I thought that what I have is standard 345 non H3 specific list). Therefore it seemed to me that I am reading data from "wrong" document. Because the Poles are "sewing superpower" (at least compared to the Czech republic) I expect at least one of the two companies could have something. I have been told they both specialize in old machines. But situation when I buy costy parts that do not fit at all is obviously not desirable. Of coarse — my machine = my risk. I uderstand that for that antique machine I would be lucky to get anything at all. I am not hunting for original/new parts. Donor machine is ideal if it contains enough usable parts. I am more than ready to adjust or even manufacture many things. The foot/presser hand lever is ok, I plan to cut it with laser from sheet metal. Much easier would be to get its photo and dimensions. I think I will be able to get dimensions from Pfaff 545 (hopefuly H3) which owns my online friend. Even easier it is with the tension release pin. I only need the dimensions, and even If I do not find them I can try it longer and grind. KGG> Problem of comparing H2 vs H3 parts is a bit complicated. Since we do not have 345 parts list specific to respective H models I have to stick to 545 and other models parts lists where I can look up the part numbers of the particular H model. I would be easy in person, but that is something I can only dream about.. :-D My current understanding is that H2 has lower lift, so the lifter handle (91-10 735-15) and Lshaped connecting part 91-010 738-45 (both from pfaff 545 list) will have different dimensions since the feet lift is different. The H2 I was offered is relatively far away from me. And most important it is 335, not 345. So for now I would only possibly use the arm cover (91-10 617-75/995) and the bed extension. Since I do not need to keep everything original I will try to weld these two parts. Some of the other parts could be found usable in the future, so I am still considering buying the 335 H2 donor (I would also feel a bit guilty to salvage parts from machine head which works nicely, but that's life... :)) Thank you for the pictures. There are few minor different details, but your machine looks very similar to mine. The binder adendum is also useful. Plan to try it in the future, but first I want to run the machine as is. Thank you again!

Hello, @Trox I googled 345-H3 specific parts list for maybe an hour and nothing.. Only thing I found other that I already had is 345-6 parts list from 1955. It shocked me a bit, I thought this machine is from the 60-70ties. Tomorrow I have appointed phonecall from two parts dealers from Poland, so I am at my wits end: I do not know the exact part numbers I need. I do not mean to push you, it is your free time to spare here on other people's problems.. ...But the H3 parts list and/or advice would help me a lot! Also I have possibility to buy used but fully working Pfaff 335 H2 for very modest cost (210 Eur), but I think it is to too weak for leather and the number of usable/interchangeable parts is limited. Sorry again for being annoying. Thank you!

Muhehe. Thinking about which part of this missmatch is worse... ;D

Sorry, my error > wrong translation. I meant grease. Its called vaseline in my native language.. :-D

Hello Trox, Thank you for the reply! I was out and had only a few minutes in the workshop to take the pictures and go. I had the subclass list but only in text form and less detailed. I try to decipher the 913/52, it should be hidden in the new pdf somewhere. Anyway, I saw the machine only few minutes today, but found out that the feed dogs are definately not from the binding version (they have ribs, and number 44080 C). As always it could be usefull to double check if and/or to what extent the machine relates the name/type plate. Someone could swap part in the past. The part list I have is originaly from your upload here (I think. filename 5ao8mf6d ). It seems to be general, not H3 specific. The parts around the lifting lever that I need are not there at all. Could you please upload it too? Photos attached. If you need me to shoot something specific I can take it tomorrow. Thank you!

Wanted to avoid too lenghty post, so I divided it. Could you please someone ( @Uwe @Trox, ...) check for me that I am hunting for the right parts? A) I am missing the presser bar (hand) lifter and attaching screw. I understand its sizing depends on the H2-H6 model, but there was only one option in the 345 parts catalogue. B) Lifting lever bracket which connects the bar to the lever which undo the hand lifter AND pushes the pin to release the tension (this pin also needed) is not in the 345 catalogue, I found it in the 545 catalogue, the H3 version I hope should fit... ? C) I do not have the lip on the lower cover: 91-014 031-05. I think it is not necessary, only aesthetics? D) The arm cover and bed extension are broken. If I am not able to buy replacements I consider welding them. I have stick electrodes for cast iron or maybe is better to brass braze it to introduce less heat / warping? Since both are easily undoable from the machine I can pre and post heat them. Thank you very much!

Hello, I am a newbie to the forum. Thank you for inviting me in. I appreciate this forum for a few years reading many helpfull stuff here and learning, but I joined only now when I bought out this Pfaff 345. I literaly saved it from the forge at the scrap yard. It sews, but now I am in the process of cleaning and finding what parts are missing. The code plate puzzles me. I get what H3 and CLN means, but the rest is unclear. It seems the low feed dogs are only going forward and backward, not up/down which leads me to think it was for binding with the binding attachment. Also the needle inserted is Nm100 which is way too small. I plan to sew leather in the future, but for now this size suits me well for fabric use. I understand especially considering the bigger lenght of the needle that the risk of breakage is higher. I guess the factory where it was used did no leather (they sew blankets) so they adjusted the hook to this size. 1) For future readjustment: did I got it right that I need to undo the shaft(s) below the hook to get access to the screws which holds the hook, and then replace shafts + readjust the gears? 2) Regarding cleaning: I used regular motor gasoline. It was so dirty I seems right to spray it and brush the loads of dirt and dried oil away. It is almost not rusted, I found a little bit of rust on the shaft entering the casting (from behind the head, where the linkage to the feed arm goes). Thinking of using wd-40, spinning it, blow air to get oil+rust out and then lubricate with sewing machine oil. For now I am not willing to take it apart fully to clean perfectly. 3) I found some specification on viscosity of oil and penetration of the vaseline in the old Pfaff manual. They rarely show that info on the currently made sewing oils (why not?!). Most sewing techs here says oil viscosity does not matter much. I always spend loads of time searching. So I have three oils: one very thin for overlock, one a bit thicker for very old interlock and now something in between for the newest KM-640. I plan to at least google the vaseline specs, since its viscosity and other properties could affect the easiness of the machine operation. Too sticky stuff is not good here I guess.