Restoration Pfaff 145 H2

[Steve66]

Hi all,

I am just starting on this new hobby - I have never used a machine before so it's all new to me. I have been wanting a machine for many years so I can make and repair my own covers and upholstery for my boat as well as other household stuff.

What I have done so far:

Replaced the tension assembly (many bits were missing).

Replaced the feet - inner foot was missing. Incidentally the Ali-express seller listed the feet as 145 compatible but the outer presser foot did not fit. The screw hole as supplied was 4.3mm and the machine needs 4.5mm. I did try drilling it out but the steel is hardened and just destroyed the drill bits. I now have the old outer presser foot installed alongside the new inner foot. It is not ideal as there is no tolerance between them and they lightly touch. I am waiting on a different set of feet to arrive.

Watched many videos on adjustments and timing, most contradictory so had to guess.

Cleaned and oiled everything.

Restored and painted the table bobbin winder, thread stand, pedals etc.

Bought new needles (134  and sizes 110, 120, 130).

Bought new thread (polyester 138 - actually listed as 420d/3 20#)

Now the major issue remaining is I haven't been able to sew a single stitch yet:

Hook not picking up the loop - actually I have got it adjusted just now so that it is getting the loop, but not yet pulling the bobbin thread back up through the needle plate.

Outer presser foot not lifting when sewing (it manually lifts and lowers fine).

Any advice would be very welcome, but I'll carry on trying different things...

Cheers,

Steve

[Steve66]

OK - a breakthrough:

Lockstitch is now happening.

Both feet are moving and everything appears to be timed better. The main issue with the outer presser foot is that the presser bar is sticky - I'll need to pull it apart and see what is going on. I found that if I removed one of the 2 leaf springs it started to raise a bit. It still sticks in the up position sometimes and needs a nudge to drop back down.

I have got the tension working much better but the lower tension is too tight. The problem is any looser and the bobbin screw falls out - not sure if that is the right screw there. I can tighten up the top tension to balance it but then that top tension seems really tight. As I have no sewing experience I am not sure what to do with this.

Good news is I have done some test sewing and it is finally working - sort of. Way too fast for me so I intend to look into a smaller motor pulley (clutch motor) and/or a speed reducer. I am not ready to invest in a servo motor just yet.

If anyone has any advice on my machine, threads, needles, tension etc I would be most grateful. I will be mostly sewing canvas boat covers for myself to start with.

I forgot to mention, I have an engineering background and I am really impressed with the build quality of this machine. It has had a long and hard life in a factory but still runs smoothly and nothing (apart from the sticky presser foot) seems worn out.

Very grateful for all the resources here.

Steve

[kgg]

10 minutes ago, Steve66 said:

If anyone has any advice on my machine, threads, needles, tension etc

Welcome to the forum. A good resource for selecting needles for your machine can be found at:

www.tolindsewmach.com/thread-chart.html

For your V138 thread you will need a larger needle from a #22 needle (140) to a #24 (180) depending on the type and thickness of material being sewn. The sizes of needles you have will cover off thread sizes V69 and V92. Also buy good quality brand name thread for consistent sewing results.

I would invest in a servo motor before buying a reducer pulley. A servo will probably give you all the speed control / torque that you will need. Clutch motors have a steep sewing learning curve.

What weight of canvas are you using.

kgg

[dikman]

I'm with kgg regarding the servo, fitting one is arguably THE best thing you can do. I had a clutch motor on my first machine and fitted a smaller pulley on the motor and experimented with speed reducers but could not control the thing! After that experience I didn't hesitate to buy a servo each time I bought another machine.

[Steve66]

Thanks kgg and dikman

I will investigate servos, hopefully available locally. The ones from China work out double the cost with freight to here.

I didn't realise my thread needed such a large needle so I'll look for some #22 needles. Thanks for the thread chart - it explains a lot.

What brands of thread do you recommend? I just got some random stuff from AliExpress to start with and they are labelled SanBest.

Sorry I know nothing about canvas weights yet. I don't want to experiment on expensive fabric such as Sunbrella, so will try and get something locally to run some tests on. When I look on AliExpress there is a huge range but I have nothing to compare them to. They mention things like Oxford, Polyester, 200d, 300d, 600d etc up to over 1000d but I believe those higher weight ones are PVC which I probably don't want. I have one very heavy custom PVC cover which came with the boat but it didn't last long. The other covers that came with the boat are some kind of canvas but I have no idea. I will start by making a winter cover for over the whole boat, with a bottom drawstring, a couple of tie downs, maybe vents, maybe an access zip. I have a couple of existing covers to model it on. Depending on roll width I'll need about 30m just for that, but may as well buy more to make some of the other things.

Alternatively, I could just buy a smaller qty to see if it is any good and make a BBQ cover.

Some pics if anyone is interested. The black thread is the top, the white is the bobbin thread and looks tight as you can see. The material is about 6 layers of old rags - cotton bedsheet.

 

[Steve66]

Update: The outer presser foot is now working fine. I took it apart, cleaned and oiled it. There's a slide block which can be adjusted for tightness so I loosened that a little. It is running with just a single leaf spring now. I may experiment later with the second leaf spring if I need it. I think this machine sat unused for decades in a garage, so no wonder it was a bit sticky.

I have been doing a few simple projects - my very first attempts using a sewing machine.

- hemmed a curtain

- repaired the dog's bed - using up the trimmed end of the curtain.

- made some pillow cases for my grandson. Envelope style with French seams, single piece. I know the print pattern would probably be better running in the other direction but this way I got 3 pillowcases made using the offcut (after making a single bed sheet), from a total length of 4m of fabric. I got this fabric as well as some other styles from a sale for NZD $2 a metre. Here I used some random threads that came with the machine, and a 110 needle.

I am getting used to the clutch motor now and can sew slowly at times - it can take off if not careful though. I am making a reduction pulley soon as it is the cheapest option, and I can still use it if I go to a servo motor later.

I need to adjust the feed dog again - either it has slipped or I didn't do it correctly the first time. When I switch between forward and reverse, the feed dog moves quite a bit and I believe it should not move at all.

Now I just need to get hold of some canvas to try making some small covers. I'd like to try some leather as well.

Steve

[dikman]

Impressive effort for a "first-timer". A suggestion some one else made is to put a tennis ball under the foot pedal so if you accidentally press too hard there is some resistance.

[Steve66]

Thanks - that's a great idea about the tennis ball. Not sure if that would work on the table and pedal I have, but a heavy spring might.