Search the Community

Hi from Canada. This is my first post on this exceptional site and I'd like to see if anyone can help me restore my old Adler 67-GK373 to reliable operation. First off, I bought this as a refurbished machine way back in 2009 from a large dealer in Montreal. Although I had no sewing experience, I wanted primarily to make tarps for myself but also desired to have a machine that could sew leather straps for camping bags in the future. The Adler manufacturer reputation, the model 67 specs and price seemed right for me so I followed the dealer's advice and bought it. At first it sewed ok but not perfectly; there always seemed to be some minor glitch which was disturbing but that I accepted for my own use. These were problems like skipped stitches which increased so much in reverse operation that i stopped using that feature. I made several tarps each with it's own set of flaws and sometimes I'd try "to really solve the problem this time" but never did. I downloaded several Adler 67 Operation, Service and Parts manuals, studied them and fooled with various settings and needles and have ended up with the current situation where it now won't sew at all. I've just replaced the hook and bobbin cover assembly (Hirose components), feed dog and needle plate (China) and added some missing(?) but "Genuine Adler" parts to the upper thread tension system. I've discovered that I cannot be at all certain I actually have an Adler 67-GK373; even though labelled on the front as a "Chandler", it has an escutcheon plate on the back that says Adler 67-GK373 and an obscure number on the inside of the main casting that I labouriously decoded as "067 140131", which or may not be the serial number. According to specs the 67-GK373 has needle system 134-35 but came with DPx17 (135x17, SY3355) needles; I currently have Organ needle DPx35R, size 20 PD installed and loaded with Bonded Polyester Left-Twist size 138 upper thread and same thread but size 92 in the bobbin. Due to file size constraint, I've only attached four pictures but I have several others if I can get them to upload. The following 2 pictures illustrate the unacceptable type of stitches I'm now getting. Top of material: brown thread is 138 bonded polyester upper, gray thread is 92 bonded polyester in bobbin; sewing started at "S" and finished at "F": : Bottom of material: This photo shows what it used to do! Gary Any assistance will be greatly appreciated! Gary

Hi all, I was doing some spring cleaning/maintenance on my Cowboy 4500 today. I got everything dusted and cleaned, back on, put together, and oiled. I turned it on to test without a needle/thread installed and it ran great, the only problem is it runs so great that it runs even when I'm NOT pressing on the foot pedal. I don't think I changed anything, but I suppose it's possible I may have bumped or adjusted something unknowingly while moving the machine. -I can push lightly (about half way) on the pedal and the machine will work normally with the speed reducer function. When I let off the foot pedal, the machine will stop as expected. ***The problem comes when I push all the way down on the foot pedal and then let off, the machine keeps running (needle, feed dogs, foot moving etc.) like it's on the slowest setting. It also makes a fairly obnoxious squealing noise while moving very slowly. I tried moving the link on the chain up and down to change the amount of slack and tension- that doesn't seem to be it. If it's too tight it will run too fast and I don't get the speed reduction. Too loose and it doesn't matter. I even had the chain completely unhooked from the pedal and it kept running. I've narrowed it down (I think) to the black plastic arm on the servo motor that is attached to the foot pedal by the chain. It's not going all the way back up to stop the movement of the machine. I can gently push up on it momentarily with a finger and the machine will stop normally. If I let off the pressure with my finger, it will keep running. I also can apply a little more pressure and the whole black plastic arm will "click" or "snap" back up to a locked position and the machine will remain off. It will start up and run normally when I press the foot pedal, but again when I put it all the way down and release it will not stop completely. I have to manually push this arm up to stop it completely. Again, that's why I thought it might be the chain tension, but had not luck when moving the link and tension. Is there anything you can think of that would fix this? What could I have done to cause it? Could the problem be coming from something else? This machine is only 2 years old, hasn't seen excessive use, and it is well taken care of. I bought it from Toledo Sewing Machine and have never had any problems with it before. I'm really hoping I don't have to replace the motor since it's so new. I took the cover off the servo motor to see if there was anything obviously wrong and couldn't see anything. I'm not super mechanically inclined, so I thought I'd start here with the experts before doing anything. I didn't want to start chasing one problem and create a handful of others. Any help you all could provide would be greatly appreciated. Fingers crossed it is something simple and I can get it back to normal. Thanks in advance, -Hannah