Adler 30-1 now working--lessons learned

[Rance]

Well, I think I got all my problems resolved.  My machine seems to sew quite nicely in a variety of materials.    I'm posting this primarily for future readers who may encounter similar problems.

I knew absolutely nothing about industrial sewing machines when I ran across this one.  My machine was in worse shape than it appeared and evidently had been partially disassembled and put back together incorrectly at some point in its past.  It had also been stored in a wet or humid environment.   I lucked out because it was basically in good condition with little wear.  Had that not been the case I discovered that Adler parts are fantastically expensive and getting this critter operational would have cost far more than its worth.   Also, there's precious little factory information available on 30-1 machines.   The 30-10 mechanics manual is readily available but its not identical to the 30-1.    I've attached a 30-1 parts diagram for reference, originally posted some years back on this site by the now passed fellow from Keystone sewing.  It was of great help to me.

I was not able to resolve the shuttle carrier positioning problem without cutting and shortening the drive rack by 1/4" and adding an adjustable splice.  This was definitely not a good solution but I simply could not figure why it was so far out.   The eccentric adjusting bolt in the cam lever didn't have enough of an offset to allow for the amount of adjustment necessary.   I understand that new drive racks are now two piece and adjustable.

I discovered by watching Youtube videos that with the flywheel on the front it's turned clockwise.  My machine sewed but it had to be turned counterclockwise.  This was due to the cam/drive pulley being 180 degrees out of position.   The manual is a bit confusing because it does reference counterclockwise rotation--but that's with the flywheel mounted on the end of the machine.

The machine was pretty stiff and required more force than expected to turn the flywheel.  I disassembled the head, cleaned the rust and gunk out of it so all the parts moved much more freely.    Lesson learned there is not to cut corners.  Take the time and do what needs to be done properly.   Just squirting in more WD40 is not adequate!

I had considerable difficulty with the timing and dropped stitches.  The 30-10 manual addresses this but isn't terribly clear.  Maybe the original German is, but the English translation is a little vague.   I finally made a temporary throat plate out of clear plastic and then sewed through another thin piece of clear plastic.  That way I could see exactly what was going on and line up the shuttle hook with the needle and thread loop.   Adjusting the timing requires loosening and turning the shuttle cam on the main shaft.  That process is covered in the 30-10 manual. But not mentioned is that if the cam slides back toward the drive pulley it throws the shuttle position out of whack so make sure the bevel gears are fully meshed before retightening the set screws otherwise you'll be chasing your tail.

I still have no idea what thread size the screws and bolts are on this machine.  Neither my metric nor SAE taps & dies fit.  Not sure if they used the Singer screw system or one of their own.   I ended up drilling and retapping a few screw holes to accommodate  6-32 and 8-32 screws in non-critical places.

Lastly I wish to thank the members that commented and offered advice on my posts.   Their help was invaluable.

 

Adler 30-1.pdf

[shoepatcher]

Glad you got it going.  I have a operations manual for the 30-1.

glenn