Pfaff 1245 Oil Reservoir Question

[ipswitch]

Hi everyone! 

I've recently acquired an older model Pfaff 1245 and I have a parts/maintenance question that I haven't seen discussed anywhere else yet. A bit of context, this machine was on it's way to the dump and I rescued it - it was abandoned in the alterations department of a clothing store that had gone bankrupt and I was able to take it when the space was being cleared out. As far as I can tell it was being used up until the store closed about two years ago. There were other machines in there which were missing parts or needed fixing but they were labelled pretty clearly so that makes me think this machine is in good shape. The balance wheel turns very smoothly, outside of some oiling and greasing I think it should be ready to use except for one issue:

It seems to be missing the oil reservoir that I can see in a youtube video  walking through the cleaning of this machine (I'll also attach a screenshot). I also have a pdf manual I've downloaded which isn't very clear, it shows the same oil reservoir (which is supposed to be for hook lubrication, I believe) but also mentions you can oil the hook via a hole in the bobbin area. I'll attach a photo of the underside of my machine as well. It looks very similar to the one in the video, just no oil reservoir and slightly different plastic coverings for some gears.

So I suppose my question is - do I need to find an oil reservoir for this machine? It seems like an obvious yes, but there's also evidence that it was being used without that part, and a manual that suggests an alternate way to oil the hook system. Is it possible the reservoir is an optional part to make oiling easier? Seems weird that they would make a machine that way but I've only used domestic machines up until now so I wouldn't know. Or maybe there's a sub-model of this machine that doesn't have the oil reservoir, and mine is meant to be oiled manually? I'm a little confused, would appreciate any insights.

Thanks in advance, this forum has already answered a ton of my questions just by reading older posts, I appreciate the expertise!

Edited May 26 by ipswitch
fixing timestamp in youtube link

[Constabulary]

it probably depends on the subclass of the 1245 machine whether it has an oil reservoir or not.

I can Speak for the Singer 211 series and they came with different size hooks and some of the hooks had oil bath others don´t depending on what subclass the machine has.

[nejcek74]

I have a similar Pfaff 1245, it doesn't have an oil reservoir. It has exactly the same original plastic casing for grease as yours. Online you can find different manuals with exploded view for the machines through the years and you will see there are many versions.

Also, for timing I mostly followed the old engineering manual but for one setting I found information in the engineering manual for the new machines. I would say the changes came gradually through the years and some things you need to find for yourselves. Btw. machines in production could be set very differently than the original version, my was using different needle system (much shorter), I just timed it back to original.

[fibersport]

I would agree with the previous posts that your machine probably didn't have one.  If you compare your gear cover to the one in the video, there doesn't appear to be a place to connect the oil wick.  If you open up that gear cover, I bet you'll find a blob of hardened grease and not oil.

[ipswitch]

Good points everyone, thanks for the input! I did look up another manual and it does mention specifically for 1245-706 (which is the model I have) that it's oiled manually, seems like the oil reservoir is for the Pfaff 245-706. This is great news, means I can start using it almost right away, I wasn't looking forward to ordering parts. 

Thanks again!