Is Pfaff 331 a good all-round sewing machine?

[trikvart]

Hi and thanks for letting me in!

I know it's hard to find a machine solve everything. For some years I have been looking for a industrial sewing machine.

 

Now I got an option bying a Pfaff 331 (or two). It look OK, is a needle feed, free arm machine. Got clutch motor from Efka with variostop and needle positioner. Pnaumatic foot lift and reverse. Hydraulic elevating table. The machine is old, but have been stored for 20 years. I have tested it and all function looks OK. 

NMy need for a machine is to

- fix large cotton tents

- sew and repair car and some boat canvas

- car upholstery, seats and carpets

- leather works like small bags and tool covers

Is Pfaff 331 a good machine for this? 

The price is about 450 usd and I think it's a good offer.

[Constabulary]

that appears to the a short stitch length / fixed stitch length machine. Looks like stitch length lever is missing / has none because of a fixed stitch length. Note the short cutout in the throat plate so it cannot be a long stitch length. I doubt you will be happy with it. Maybe a flat bed machine is better for you flat work.

In another forum a member once called machines like this "savantism sewing machine" cause it can do ONE task very well but is not good for other tasks.

Edited November 22, 2024 by Constabulary

[trikvart]

44 minutes ago, Constabulary said:

that appears to the a short stitch length / fixed stitch length machine. Looks like stitch length lever is missing / has none because of a fixed stitch length. Note the short cutout in the throat plate so it cannot be a long stitch length. I doubt you will be happy with it. Maybe a flat bed machine it wetter for you flat work.

The machine got reverse controlled by air. The stitch lengt is controlled by the adjuster on the photo. Stitch between 0 and 6 mm both way.
The feed dog is oscillating with the walking needle. No need for large cutout.

I will make a flat table for sewing large sheets.

[Constabulary]

alright so you know more than we do. Test it before you buy it. That's the best advice cause we do not know what else is controlled by air or solenoid and we do not know the machine subclass to figure how it could be set up. I mean that - test it to see if it suits your needs. But let me say this - these old (approx 1990´s) EFKAS are nice when they work but can be a a pain to repair (expensive if possible at all) and replacing motors that control "bells & whistle" can be challenging and expensive too.

If it was me I most likely would not buy it - BUT again better test it and see what it does but if the motor cannot control all installed bells & whistles don´t buy it.

My 2 cents.

Edited November 22, 2024 by Constabulary

[kgg]

3 hours ago, trikvart said:

Is Pfaff 331 a good machine for this? 

With odd ball setups like this one I totally agree with @Constabulary. When those bells and whistles work they work very nicely and do good work but when they don't it would probably be cheaper to junk the machine rather then trying to repair them.

I would suggest you try and find a machine, flatbed or cylinder arm, that has a standard setup say comparable to a Juki DNU-1541S (flatbed), Juki LS-341 or 1341 (cylinder arm ) or clones. The parts and accessories are a lot cheaper and can be readily had should something happen.

kgg

[trikvart]

3 hours ago, Constabulary said:

Test it before you buy it.

I will do.

I understand that bells and whistles are not to prefer on a hobby sewing machine. I think to remove the air driven lift and reverse are small job. I'm a mechanical engineer and know mutch about mechanics but not mutch of sewing

I have read some post by "RockyAussie" about the cons of this machine for small leather works. If I got a good price for both machine, one can be a reserve if the other one breaks.

1 hour ago, kgg said:

The parts and accessories are a lot cheaper

What kind of accessories except thread, needle, feats do I need?

Thanks for replay on this thread!

 

[kgg]

2 hours ago, trikvart said:

What kind of accessories except thread, needle, feats do I need?

Depending on what you are sewing you may need different feet like left toe, right toe, piping, etc. and if you are doing binding you need binders/folders, etc. The roller guide you may find gets in the way a would prefer a drop down guide with a straight edge rather then a roller guide. The list is endless it just depends on what will make you projects go easier. Finding some accessory items for PFAFF can be a chore, if available, particularly for older machines.

What is the max needle size in system 134 that this machine is rated for? If it similar to the 335 going above V92 (30 M) then this could be a problem.

What size of thread do you want to use??

What is the max thickness you want / need to sew???

kgg

Edited November 22, 2024 by kgg

[trikvart]

On 11/22/2024 at 10:00 PM, kgg said:

What is the max needle size in system 134 that this machine is rated for?

The max needle size is 100 says the instruction book. I'm not sure what thickness and thread size I will use. I know the machines have been used for leather work by their owner. I will ask him if he has got some accessories like binder and feet for it.

The roller guide is easy to remove and can easily be modified to a strait guide like @RockyAussie's guide.

[kgg]

2 hours ago, trikvart said:

The max needle size is 100 says the instruction book. I'm not sure what thickness and thread size I will use.

With a max 100 (#16) needle you are going to be very limited in your thread size (V69 max) which in turn is going to limit sewing thickness ability. From that needle size. From that spec alone I would not recommend purchasing this machine for what you originally listed as items you want / need to sew. 

kgg

[Wizcrafts]

I looked up the typical breaking strength of #46 bonded thread and it is just 7.5 pounds for nylon thread. Number 69 bonded nylon has 11 pounds breaking strength. You should take these numbers into consideration before buying the machine. IOW, it might sew the seams and hide the knots. But, will the seams hold up against any stresses trying to separate the stitches and pull them apart?

[trikvart]

Thank you all for good answers and information. I haven't bought the machine yet. Under testing the tension of the lower thread is set to tight. When I get it to sew correctly I will decide. 

It' difficult to find much information about the machine. I have made a scan of the instruction book. It's in German, English, French and Spanish. Is it somewhere in this forum I can upload and share it?