Adler 269-373 capacities

[Icho]

Hello all. I'm looking at an adler 269-373 and while trying to get info on it I can't seem to find maximum leather thickness capacity. Also, are parts reasonably priced and available? Does anyone have one that can help me out? Knife sheaths is the thickest project but also do wallets and other similar projects. Thanks. 

[Constabulary]

You find all technical data and manuals on the DA website (scroll down to leaflets / manuals and download them).

https://www.duerkopp-adler.com/products/industrial-sewing-machines/industrial-applications/basic-machines/269

Reasonable priced is a point of view - Adler parts will always cost more than f.i.  generic parts for Singer type machines. However KHSew (KwokHing) makes high quality generic parts for many Adler machines. KH parts are available directly or from some dealers and you even sometimes find them on Ebay.

https://www.khsew.com/index.php?route=product/manufacturer/info&manufacturer_id=12

 

Edited November 11, 2022 by Constabulary

[Icho]

1 hour ago, Constabulary said:

You find all technical data and manuals on the DA website (scroll down to leaflets / manuals and download them).

https://www.duerkopp-adler.com/products/industrial-sewing-machines/industrial-applications/basic-machines/269

Reasonable priced is a point of view - Adler parts will always cost more than f.i.  generic parts for Singer type machines. However KHSew (KwokHing) makes high quality generic parts for many Adler machines. KH parts are available directly or from some dealers and you even sometimes find them on Ebay.

https://www.khsew.com/index.php?route=product/manufacturer/info&manufacturer_id=12

 

Thanks for the info. I'm sure khsew will come in handy if I get the machine. I did come across that duerkopp-adler page but I didn't see anything for max leather thickness. The machine I am looking at looks pretty much the same but older and an off white color. Can I assume it will be the same specs? I asked the seller about leather thickness and he said 1/8 but I'm thinking it should be capable of more than that but I don't know. I am going to take a look at it today but it is 2 hours away so that is why I am trying to get all of the info Ivan before I go. 

Also, he said it works as it should but may need a timing adjustment. I'm assuming that is not a big deal. 

Thanks again for the help so far. 

 

 

[CowboyBob]

10 hours ago, Icho said:

Hello all. I'm looking at an adler 269-373 and while trying to get info on it I can't seem to find maximum leather thickness capacity. Also, are parts reasonably priced and available? Does anyone have one that can help me out? Knife sheaths is the thickest project but also do wallets and other similar projects. Thanks. 

Should sew a good 20oz,5/16" or 8mm,using up to size 138 thread.

Edited November 11, 2022 by CowboyBob

[shoepatcher]

You can actually run #207 on top on these machines.  It will sew 10 mm depending on the hardness of the leather or material.  I have sewn 10 mm items on them before.  Again, this was not saddle leather.

glenn

[Icho]

2 hours ago, CowboyBob said:

Should sew a good 20oz,5/16" or 8mm,using up to size 138 thread.

 

4 minutes ago, shoepatcher said:

You can actually run #207 on top on these machines.  It will sew 10 mm depending on the hardness of the leather or material.  I have sewn 10 mm items on them before.  Again, this was not saddle leather.

glenn

That's what I was hoping to hear. Thanks guys. I can't wait to go see the machine today. If all goes well I should be playing with it tonight. From the research I've done in the past day, they seem to be good and reliable machines. Feel free to add any other info that may be of interest to me. 

Thanks again for the info. 

[shoepatcher]

very good machine!!!

glenn

[Icho]

Update!

First of all, thanks again to all that replied. You helped me spend my money. I got the machine. I am hoping it is a diamond in the rough. I got it out of my truck, down up the porch and down the first set of stairs and put it back together. Definitely a beast by myself. Here's a quick rundown of what I know. 

The seller told me that it likely has a timing issue.

When I saw it I knew that it needs a cleaning and a tune up.

I noticed other things like a couple added holes in the bobbin cover slide thing but that isn't going to affect the sewing, just snagging fabric. I will worry about that later.

I am going to say cleaning again because even if it does sew I wouldn't start a project until it is cleaned, oiled and tuned.

That said, I had to try to sew a piece of thin leather... it didn't. The needle picked up the bobbin thread but when I put the leather in, it is not picking up the bobbin thread with the leather in it so it is a no sew. I am not concerned at all yet. I just messed with it for less than an hour and I have an import patcher that I "adjusted" actually sews quite well so I know I can get this thing going. I can already tell that this machine is many steps up. That's it for me tonight but I attached pics of it back together so let me know what you thing. I paid $400CAD so $3.01... I mean approx $301USD. It is dirty, looks to be in pretty good shape over all and motor and mechanically sounds good... speaking of motor, is it a servo? I am thinking it may be but I don't really know what I am talking about. Let me know If I should start another thread if anyone is interested in coming on an adventure or if I should just keep this one going. Either way, I think it could help someone out in the future since I didn't really find a lot in info on this specific machine.

Thanks again for all of the help so far

[kgg]

7 hours ago, Icho said:

I paid $400CAD so $3.01... I mean approx $301USD.

That is good price as it does look like it's in good cosmetic shape with a nice table setup from the photo.

 

7 hours ago, Icho said:

speaking of motor, is it a servo?

No, it is a clutch motor with a box of tricks and needle positioner.

For a servo motor check out Japan Sewing Machine & Supply Co. (146 West Beaver Creek Road, Unit 5, Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada L4B 1C2. Tel: (905) 764-0100 ). If you want to keep the needle positioner ability I know they carry a 1 HP brushless servo motor with a needle positioner. I don't know if their 1HP will work if you decide to put a speed reducer on. For now you could put a brushed servo motor on, 550 watt or 750 watt, with or without a speed reducer. I use their 550 watt brushed servo motors on all my machines as they are nice simple motors with no electronics.

kgg

[Icho]

8 hours ago, kgg said:

That is good price as it does look like it's in good cosmetic shape with a nice table setup from the photo.

 

No, it is a clutch motor with a box of tricks and needle positioner.

For a servo motor check out Japan Sewing Machine & Supply Co. (146 West Beaver Creek Road, Unit 5, Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada L4B 1C2. Tel: (905) 764-0100 ). If you want to keep the needle positioner ability I know they carry a 1 HP brushless servo motor with a needle positioner. I don't know if their 1HP will work if you decide to put a speed reducer on. For now you could put a brushed servo motor on, 550 watt or 750 watt, with or without a speed reducer. I use their 550 watt brushed servo motors on all my machines as they are nice simple motors with no electronics.

kgg

Thanks. Good to know. As of right now I am fine with the motor set up it has. Definitely something to consider in the future. 

[Icho]

I had some tome to tinker with the machine today. I noticed the hook timing looked close but the distance from the hook to the needle was off. The hook would just go right my the needle string unless the string had a big loop. Then out of nowhere the wheel would keep getting stuck. Not binding but a solid stop. Then i would back it up and would stop again but in different spots. I tilted the head to take a look and didn't see anything. When i but it back upright i heard something fall and bounce off of the tiles. It was a small grub screw. I had no idea where it came from and im glad i wasn't on carpet because i would have never noticed it. It solved the problem of the wheel getting stuck. I watched a couple videos to get a feel of what I was going to see in the cylinder. Since I got my youtube degree on cylinder arm sewing machines,  I slowly started taking pieces off. I wish there was a screw kit I can just buy for the machine. All of the screws are burned up from using improper drivers. I ended up noticing that there was a few grub screws on the gear for the bobbin carrier gear and 1 was missing so that mystery is solved. I think I will keep going so I can give it a good deep cleaning because there is a lot of crud in there but everything looks to be in good shape. Just dirty but thankfully oiled.

About the hook being far away from the needle. I did adjust the gap and tried to sew again. I actually got a couple  really bad stitches. It's a start. That is when I just couldn't stand to look at all of the crud and started taking it apart. 

That's it for now. I hope some of you find this interesting. I'm actually having fun with it and excited to get it stitch. Thanks for reading. 

[palvim]

Check if the clutch safety mechanism is not disengaged. This machines safety mechanism kicks in quite easily. 

[Icho]

2 hours ago, palvim said:

Check if the clutch safety mechanism is not disengaged. This machines safety mechanism kicks in quite easily. 

I've been working on the machine itself so far so I haven't gotten to seeing the bells and whistles of the motor and controls yet so this may be a dumb question but where is the clutch safety mechanism. I honestly haven't even noticed where the clutch is. I thought it would be on the front of the motor but I didn't see it. I just realized that I have a dial to set the speed. 

The good news is that it does sew now. I did a couple test stitches and it's looking really good. Tonight is hopefully the night I finish up the final assembly and clean up. Then I can get familiar with the machine and see if anything else needs attention. 

 

Here is my test stitch. 

[palvim]

Here it is circled in red. 

[Icho]

Ah. OK. I was thinking motor clutch. I was able to sort out the machine itself. I have a feeling the previous owner had a pretty serious crash and knocked the timing out then couldn't get it to sew anymore. I had to clean it and set the timing and now it seems to be sewing good. I will possibly have to change the gear under the bobbin in the future but it is expensive. For now it is working nicely. Right now I'm trying to get info on the motor and controller but can't find anything online. 

8 minutes ago, palvim said:

Here it is circled in red. 

 

[caperseven]

this is my adler.

And some jobs that ive done with it, i say that 8mm is the thickest leather it can do without trouble.

I use a 140nm neddle with 138 bonded polythread, works nice.

[caperseven]

Edited November 17, 2022 by caperseven

[Icho]

On 11/15/2022 at 12:10 PM, palvim said:

Check if the clutch safety mechanism is not disengaged. This machines safety mechanism kicks in quite easily. 

Very nice machine and very nice work! I can't wait to finish tuning, cleaning, etc so I can actually get a feel for my machine and start on some projects. I have to wait until Tuesday... if I'm lucky Monday for some set screws and hopefully I will have all of the bugs worked out by then. 

[shoepatcher]

caperseven,

Go to a #160 needle.  The larger need will sew better and you will have less deflection.  The needle mfg's say the smallest needle you can use with #138 thread is a #140.  I always go up one size with the many different things i sew.  I also use titanium coated needles.  They work the best.   You should be able to sew heavier than 8mm of leather with the 267 Adler unless it is hard leather!

glenn

 

[caperseven]

but the fot only lifts about 10mm so..

Never tried it with bigger needle, mostly because the manual says the biggest neddle in this machine is 140.

But you may tried it before and it works?

[Icho]

I'm not sure if the capacity is the same between the 167 and 169 but on my 169 I was able to go thru about 10mm 1st attempt without making any adjustments. This is thinner thread than I would use ant pretty sure the needle was larger than it should have been and still did it like nothing was there. 

[shoepatcher]

Yep It's a very good machine. It's replacement, the 869 is even that much better.

glenn

Edited November 18, 2022 by shoepatcher

[gurbulak]

how good this machine is for more delicate work? i know that with 669 you can sew very fine stitches (thin thread/needle). but 269 is the predecessor of 869. do you think i can get good results with fine threads (tex 90) with this machine?

i have a typical 441 which is great for heavy duty work. as the next machine i am planning to buy a 669 but i found an 269 in a very good condition and half the price of 669 brand new. i was wondering if 269 would be a good complementary machine for typical 441 or they are in the same league.