Help with fixing an old Adler 30-1

[AsItTurnsOut]

Hello everyone, first time in any forum as far as I can recall.

I took a gamble on a 60euro Adler 30-1 that has been sitting in a basement for the last 30+ years. The machine is complete with exception of a tiny screw that holds the take-up adjusting dial in place and the take-up lever seems to have the wrong pin holding it (too large). 

The main problem lies in the shuttle drive mechanism. The long gear rack already has a brazed joint and has a couple of teeth that are pretty mangled. I am having dificulty coming up with a solution that does not involve paying and inordinate amount for a new updated part (can't even find the single piece old style anymore). My only lead so far involves buying a new Singer 29 long gear rack, chopping the stem off at an angle and braze it in place where the old one already has a repair (will have to buy a small brazing torch to do it). The other gears and rack show sign of wear but are not in a horrible state. The screw that holds the shutter carrier is also heavily worn.

The screwhead holding the shuttle carrier barely has any grip on the countersink. Bottom cover plate also has deep-ish grooves

Notice scarf joint at the base of gear rack. Not sure what caused the rack to get so damaged only on two teeth.

Next comes the needle bar. Before disassembly, I tried to get the machine to work, but the needle was almost hitting the surface of the needle plate, pointing forward towards the person operating it. Upon inspection of the parts, I noticed that the bell crank lever seems to be bent (new one underway, will need some grinding to fit) and the feed motion ring has a crack (may not impact function). I presume the machine either fell or was hit by something on the needle end and bent the tip of the needle bar. I purchased a Singer 29 needle bar in the hopes it would fit, which it did not. I will try to bend it back and use the needle clamp from the new needle bar(with some filing) and possibly the thread tension spring as well in case the old one it shot.

Singer 29 needle bar at the bottom is not only shorter, but also slightly smaller in diameter. Original needle bar has an almost imperceptible bend where the needle clamp attaches, I am reasonably sure that is the cause of the needle misalignment.

Not sure what the piece originally looks like, but that seems bent to me

Notice the crack in the ring. Beacause of the angle of it and the direction I presume the bell crank lever presses against it, it could be ok to use it until I can get help to tack it together.

I have managed to clean most of the large amount of crud from the cams but am unable to remove the pin from the needle cam pulley. I am aware of the tapered nature of the pin on this machine but it is going nowhere with my 300gr hammer and a bouncy floor. The pin for the motion feed cam came out no problem, but the cam is in there tight and even if I had a gear puller it has a pretty thin section and I'm afraid it might break or bend. I considered hammering the shaft from the front but am unsure of how strong the support is behind that part. Many of the oiling ports on the machine were completely blocked off by hardened oil and dirt, so I would like to reach that section to  clean it up.

I tried to educate myself about the machine I acquired and found much valuable information here, I couldn't find a particularly good source for manual of the 30-1 but studied a good singer 29k 71, 72, 73 manual, which was very useful to learn the names of the parts.

Will appreciate inputs on how to proceed and maybe leads on good used parts. Will gladly update more pictures if helpful

 

Cheers

[Mulesaw]

I think the reason for the state of the long shuttle drive is that it is a homemade piece. My best guess is that someone made the rack themselves and soldered it on. The original one was probably hardened, and the homemade one wasn't hardened the same, that's why there is so much more wear on it, and also the shape of the gullets in the teeth are different from the short rack. 

But the good thing is that if you are a bit handy with a file, you could make a new one yourself again, just like the previous owner did. If you only use it for an hour a day, it would most likely last several years. I would use the short rack for marking the new teeth to match the correct profile.

If you purchase a small propane torch for doing silver brazing, then I'd use that one to heat up the needle bar before trying to straighten the bend out again. 

I don't know where you found the Adler, but I just checked Kleinanzeigen.de and searched for Adler 30-1, and there's a bunch of them. Including one vendor who is selling parts. 
If you have a car it might be cheaper/easier to buy an extra machine to get the parts from compared to getting the parts individually. (It looks as most of the vendors won't ship the machines they are selling).

Good luck with the repair.

Brgds Jonas

[shoepatcher]

A lot of 30-1 parts no longer made.  I have a lot of early 30-1  parts but in Michigan and they are not cheap.    I would try to find a machinist to try and make you the end of the drive rack so with all the  teeth plus some length.   It then can be welded or pinned.    I know for a fact the long rack no longer made for early 30 class.  I even tried to have Adler make them.  They would not.   You can find used rings in Germany.    The bell crank can still be ordered I believe.   The lobes on the end are worn and could be welded up and re profiled.    Nothing will be cheap.   Great machines

glenn miller

Edited Monday at 09:38 PM by shoepatcher
grammar