Adler 120 Or Adler 205-370 ?

[adler205]

I have just joined today, what a great forum.

I need advise on sewing machines. I need to know which machine is more suitable for very thick leather stitching, up to 20-21mm thick, an Adler 205-370 with an Efka DC 1550 and a speed reducer or an Adler 120 with an Efka DC 1550 and a speed reducer.

Thanks everyone

[CowboyBob]

The best way to find out is to take your leather your going to use ( some types of leather sew different than others)& try it on the 205 first,it's the better one for leather,it will be sewing at it's max so you might even have to lube the thread to help it sew.

Bob

[adler205]

The best way to find out is to take your leather your going to use ( some types of leather sew different than others)& try it on the 205 first,it's the better one for leather,it will be sewing at it's max so you might even have to lube the thread to help it sew.

Bob

Thanks Bob, it looks like the heavier duty machine would be the Adler 120, do you know anyone who has one for sale ?

thank you

[Techsew Ron]

Thanks Bob, it looks like the heavier duty machine would be the Adler 120, do you know anyone who has one for sale ?

thank you

The Adler 120 is definitely the heavier duty machine.

Not an easy find though, I'd scour the internet to see if anyone is selling a used one. There are also a few dealers who sell a similar machine under different brands, see the ads at the top of the page.

Edited May 17, 2011 by Ronnie

[seweng]

I have just joined today, what a great forum.

I need advise on sewing machines. I need to know which machine is more suitable for very thick leather stitching, up to 20-21mm thick, an Adler 205-370 with an Efka DC 1550 and a speed reducer or an Adler 120 with an Efka DC 1550 and a speed reducer.

Thanks everyone

The Adler 205 has a maximum foot lift of 20mm and it's unlikely it would be able to stitch 20mm of leather with-out significant problems.

Modern equivalent of the class 20 is Highlead GA1398-1 and similar models are used when stitching very thick webbing etc. They can not be used on thinner work, so are not for general purpose use.

[adler205]

I have a sample of leather Weaver company sent me, it was done on the Adler 205-370 machine using the harness foot, it measures 21mm thick and they told me I'll have no problems doing 20mm. You see where I'm coming from now ? I hear all kinds of things about the Adler 205-370, some say it can do 20mm all day and some say you will have problems.

I guess I have to buy one, use it untill it brakes, fix it then use it untill it brakes again and keep going.

The Adler 205 has a maximum foot lift of 20mm and it's unlikely it would be able to stitch 20mm of leather with-out significant problems.

Modern equivalent of the class 20 is Highlead GA1398-1 and similar models are used when stitching very thick webbing etc. They can not be used on thinner work, so are not for general purpose use.

[seweng]

Hi been away for awhile and noticed your comments on the 205-370.

The 205-370 is a good machine, but if you are going to get one for the purposes of sewing 20-21mm thickness of leather, then its possible you will waste your money.

It will not handle that thickness of leather consistently. Your comment about "using it until it breaks" will probably happen very quickly.

If somebody has told you it will sew 20-21mm leather, then go and see it working before spending any money.

[adler205]

I bought an Adler 205-370 machine from Andreas Kern at SIECK in Germany, firstly the machine came to me as NOT completely working with a part missing, timing out, there were other problems with the machine as well, although I started a thread on here to warn people buying from this dealer the Moderators took the thread off.

To cut a long story short, it does not do the job..

Hi been away for awhile and noticed your comments on the 205-370.

The 205-370 is a good machine, but if you are going to get one for the purposes of sewing 20-21mm thickness of leather, then its possible you will waste your money.

It will not handle that thickness of leather consistently. Your comment about "using it until it breaks" will probably happen very quickly.

If somebody has told you it will sew 20-21mm leather, then go and see it working before spending any money.

Edited September 10, 2011 by adler205

[seweng]

Sorry your machine will not do your job.

But to be fair to your supplier, it’s probably not their fault if you purchased the wrong machine for the job.

Also take into consideration that during your research you were advised here that you would have significant problems trying to sew 20mm of leather on this model.

[adler205]

This machine does not sew 14mm thick and you are still talking about 20mm.

I was advised by who, by you ? I have a sample of 20mm thick leather done on an Adler 205-370 machine, it was sent to me by Weaver Leather. The machine can do it if it is set up correctly which is the way the machine was supposed to be sent to me but instead the machine was never tested properly by Andreas Kern of SIECK and just put on a pallet and shipped out to me.

Sorry your machine will not do your job.

But to be fair to your supplier, it's probably not their fault if you purchased the wrong machine for the job.

Also take into consideration that during your research you were advised here that you would have significant problems trying to sew 20mm of leather on this model.

Edited September 13, 2011 by adler205

[seweng]

If you’re convinced it should work on your job, then why don’t you get somebody to set it up correctly. There are many suppliers in Europe who sell Durkopp Adler machines.

[adler205]

Last week I had a sewing machine engineer at my cost work on the machine, we never managed to get anywhere near the sample that Weaver Leather sent me which was done on the same machine, also the machine still misses stitches.

If you're convinced it should work on your job, then why don't you get somebody to set it up correctly. There are many suppliers in Europe who sell Durkopp Adler machines.

[Wizcrafts]

Last week I had a sewing machine engineer at my cost work on the machine, we never managed to get anywhere near the sample that Weaver Leather sent me which was done on the same machine, also the machine still misses stitches.

• What size (number) are the thread, needle and spacer shim in use, when the machine skips stitches?
• What type of point is on the needle (round, or diamond, or triangle, or LR)?
• What thickness are you trying to sew, when it is skipping?
• What thickness of leather will it sew without skipping?
• Is the leather soft, medium or hard temper?

[Trox]

I have a sample of leather Weaver company sent me, it was done on the Adler 205-370 machine using the harness foot, it measures 21mm thick and they told me I'll have no problems doing 20mm. You see where I'm coming from now ? I hear all kinds of things about the Adler 205-370, some say it can do 20mm all day and some say you will have problems.

I guess I have to buy one, use it untill it brakes, fix it then use it untill it brakes again and keep going.

I wonder what machine who will sew more than its max foot lift?

Dürkopp Adler 205-370 foot lift by hand 15 mm, by foot 19 mm. It has to move the material true to make more than one stitch too. I guess that Weaver sample was done on a Union lockstitch. Not on a stock 205- 370, thats not possible. 15 to 16 mm maximum is more realistic, but why dont you ask the members who has one, a salesman will tell you everything you want hear. You know what I do, I read the manual from Dürkopp Adler, you only have to read the leaflet to see that sewing 21 mm is impossible, no matter what kind of sewing foot, jet motor, turbo reducer etc.. It is a needle breaking NO GO

Trox

trox

[oldtimer]

I wonder what machine who will sew more than its max foot lift?

Dürkopp Adler 205-370 foot lift by hand 15 mm, by foot 19 mm. It has to move the material true to make more than one stitch too. I guess that Weaver sample was done on a Union lockstitch. Not on a stock 205- 370, thats not possible. 15 to 16 mm maximum is more realistic, but why dont you ask the members who has one, a salesman will tell you everything you want hear. You know what I do, I read the manual from Dürkopp Adler, you only have to read the leaflet to see that sewing 21 mm is impossible, no matter what kind of sewing foot, jet motor, turbo reducer etc.. It is a needle breaking NO GO

Trox

trox

I have an 205-374, and , like you say Trox, it is not possible to sew 20-21 mm thick material in it, as the lift doesn´t allow such thick material. It is not possible !

[adler205]

I will get back to you on all these questions, many thanks for the help.

• What size (number) are the thread, needle and spacer shim in use, when the machine skips stitches?
• What type of point is on the needle (round, or diamond, or triangle, or LR)?
• What thickness are you trying to sew, when it is skipping?
• What thickness of leather will it sew without skipping?
• Is the leather soft, medium or hard temper?

[adler205]

Here is all the info I have to give you,

After the engineer looked at the machine and did a bunch ofthings it could stitch about 1/2" thick (medium hard) leather, it wasstill skipping stitches every now and then. Then I looked at it and afterplaying with the 'needle bar position' and changing the thread to 'TEX550 Braided polyester' and finally changing the needle to Schmetz 794 S 280 size I can now stitch up to about 15mmthick medium hard leather, any thicker it will skip stitches. I use soft and medium leather (not hard leather)

The machine is well capable and has the power with theDC1550 efka and speed reducer to punch the holes but it will skip stitches. Hasit reached its limits at 15mm ?

regards

• What size (number) are the thread, needle and spacer shim in use, when the machine skips stitches?
• What type of point is on the needle (round, or diamond, or triangle, or LR)?
• What thickness are you trying to sew, when it is skipping?
• What thickness of leather will it sew without skipping?
• Is the leather soft, medium or hard temper?

[Wizcrafts]

I would say that your particular machine has reached its capacity, at 15 mm, with that thread and needle combination. I sent you a PM with some detailed things to do to verify that the timing is set to the best position.

Note, that the timing changes as the stitch length changes. If the machine is set to sew perfectly at 6 stitches per inch and you move the lever down to sew 4 to the inch, the timing may be out. This gets even more critical in reverse. Let me convert math... 6 spi = ~4+ mm stitches. 4 spi =~6+ mm stitches.

Maybe there is too much wear in the combined feed mechanism? Is the needle bar tight? Is the feed dog tight? Is the inside foot coming down at the right moment to hold the leather in place just as the needle beings to penetrate it? Does the inner foot move exactly in concert with the needle and feed dog?

[adler205]

I have looked at the tightness of the feed dog, although I can not make it any tighter but there is a little movement there.

I hear you on the 'reverse',

Just so you know the other day I had a sample of 22mm of the hardest sole leather stitched together (4 layers), reliably, it was stitched on a BLAKE DN76 machine, that's the kind of machine I should have bought.

take care

I would say that your particular machine has reached its capacity, at 15 mm, with that thread and needle combination. I sent you a PM with some detailed things to do to verify that the timing is set to the best position.

Note, that the timing changes as the stitch length changes. If the machine is set to sew perfectly at 6 stitches per inch and you move the lever down to sew 4 to the inch, the timing may be out. This gets even more critical in reverse. Let me convert math... 6 spi = ~4+ mm stitches. 4 spi =~6+ mm stitches.

Maybe there is too much wear in the combined feed mechanism? Is the needle bar tight? Is the feed dog tight? Is the inside foot coming down at the right moment to hold the leather in place just as the needle beings to penetrate it? Does the inner foot move exactly in concert with the needle and feed dog?