Junker & Ruh SD28

[Handstitched]

8 hours ago, Mulesaw said:

I have never seen them before.

My friend  ( that has the museum) dropped in yesterday, and I told him ' for goodness sake , don't ever break a needle  because you'll have a such a hard time finding a replacement. Its only for display so I doubt it'll ever get used. But I will give him some info on the machine to go with his display. 

This may also be of interest: 

https://www.junker-home.com/de/en/discover-junker/history 

They are still operating , but I think the name  ' Ruh' seems to have dropped off. 

HS

[Mulesaw]

@Gunnarsson, Yes I guess that it'll take quite some time for the machine setup, it was just the sheer number of 10.000 needles that amazed me. When trying to google for the 1551 needle system, it seems as the only machines it was used for are those Junker & Ruh or the equivalent Pedersen sewing machine, and selling 9950 needles (I'd keep 50 myself) would most likely take some years.

 

[Mulesaw]

3 hours ago, Handstitched said:

My friend  ( that has the museum) dropped in yesterday, and I told him ' for goodness sake , don't ever break a needle  because you'll have a such a hard time finding a replacement. Its only for display so I doubt it'll ever get used. But I will give him some info on the machine to go with his display. 

This may also be of interest: 

https://www.junker-home.com/de/en/discover-junker/history 

They are still operating , but I think the name  ' Ruh' seems to have dropped off. 

HS

Here's a manual and a parts list for your friends display if he wants it. It is the English manual for a Pedersen SD28. I guess they bought the manufacturing rights and produced them in Denmark for some years. It should be an identical machine as far as I have been able to establish from the Net. 

I like it when old well established companies have a "history" part of their homepage. And very often the older products look the best (at least in my opinion).

SD 28 Junker & Ruh Outsole stitcher Parts list and manual.pdf

[chrisash]

3 hours ago, Mulesaw said:

@Gunnarsson, Yes I guess that it'll take quite some time for the machine setup, it was just the sheer number of 10.000 needles that amazed me. When trying to google for the 1551 needle system, it seems as the only machines it was used for are those Junker & Ruh or the equivalent Pedersen sewing machine, and selling 9950 needles (I'd keep 50 myself) would most likely take some years.

 

Don't forget you need different size needles as well, though probably only a 2 or 3 sizes

[Mulesaw]

40 minutes ago, chrisash said:

Don't forget you need different size needles as well, though probably only a 2 or 3 sizes

Ouch yes. I think I'll be happy if I can just get a spare needle in the first place :-) 
If not I'll try to be creative and see if it is possible to alter one of the available curved needles. Though it probably won't be easy.

[Constabulary]

The SD28 is a way cool (needle feed) machine but is also way outdated. I owned one it I loved it but it is not very... lets say user friendly when it comes to needles and spare parts. And it was not very versatile. It is mainly a sole stitcher so the number of needle sizes of course is (or was) limited to the rather larger sizes like NM 200 and bigger. So do not expect to find 1551 needles in size NM 160 or so. Maybe there were smaller sizes available but again, this machine is way outdated and rather used by hobbyists than by professional boot makers nowadays. The spare parts you find nowadays usually come from broke machines and no new parts are available AFAIK. Well maybe there are some NOS parts that are dug somewhere in the world - you never know but finding them and having them shipped to your door can be an expensive challenge.

Times have changed and the sewing machines as well.

However - I know there is or was a guy who reproduced needles for the SD28, I think he made them from other needles but I do not know the details... Let me see if I can find more information....

EDIT:

Register in this German sewing machine forum and contact the member HENRY LEDER. This is the short thread where he said he makes new needles for the SD28:

https://www.naehmaschinentechnik-forum.de/viewtopic.php?t=7059

Edited November 4, 2023 by Constabulary

[Mulesaw]

@Constabulary I am looking more and more forward to getting my hands on the machine. :-) 

I will probably not use it very much, but I like old mechanical machines, and the price was so low (70 Euro) that I couldn't let it go. My friend who made the transaction said that the seller had 3 of them, so he bought one himself and we got a common one that we could use for spares. Mine was the only one that had a needle though. So getting more needles will help the both of us.

 Some more detail about the guy who reproduced needles would be fantastic. I have thought about getting some curved needles myself and then annealing them and bending them to the correct curve for the 1551 shape, and then use a small dremel to make the flat part on the shaft. Then I would have to harden the needle again without breaking it all. 
I have seen some pictures of the needles on the Net, and they seem to have a very distinct chisel like point. So it will probably take a few attempts to make one. 

I am hoping that I can use the machine for some repair operations on horse tack, some of the repairs I make can be a bit difficult on the Singer class 7, especially close to hardware. And the pictures of the sd28 looks like it could have an advantage in that respect.