Dropdown Sewing Guide Installation

[Trox]

Dropdown sewing guide installation.

I promised in the other topic to post when I had installed

Both my new dropdown guides.

Better late than never, so here they are.

Original dropdown sewing guides can be very expensive and for some sewing machines unavailable. Kwokhing in Hong Kong makes attachments for most modern sewing machine and some older popular models too. Their dropdown guides has the most modern functions and design on the marked. Many dealers stock their products; they can also be bought directly from Kwokhing.com.

The installation.

On most machines, the guide mounts with a bracket on the backside of the machine head. Many new and some older model has already threaded holes the guide that will fit the guide.

I bought guides for two of my machines; they both made my working day a lot easier.

My Dürkopp Adler 267-373 had the two threaded holes (see pic.) necessary to fix the guide. I bought the suspending guide KG767B, $ 22,-, and the bracket KB267 $ 5, 80. The installation was a ten-minute job.

My older Pfaff 345-H3-6C-LN had no such holes, so they had to be made. The guide I bought for the Pfaff is called; KG1245. KG1245 (named after Pfaff most popular sewing machine) is a kit containing the guide KG867 (who also fit Dürkopp Adler 867,767,467 and 267 and more). And a universal bracket to fit many Pfaff classes; the 1245, 335, 345 and more. It will fit many other sewing machine brands too. The kit also contains a roller and a straight guide. . The price was only $ 25, 90. (The same guide is sold for about 125 $ on EBay, the original Pfaff guide will cost you twenty times more)

Both the guides has the same mounting holes and will fit many machines, the brackets are different and made to attach the guides to a particular machine(s).

I preferred the guide KG867 (supplied in the Pfaff kit) better than the KG767B. So I switched them around and used the KG867 on the Adler machine, I use the most.

　

　

My Pfaff had no free threaded holes on the backside, so they had to be made. The job enquires some mechanical skills. The tools you need for the job is:

A caliper or micrometer, drill machine, one 3, 5 mm and one 4, 2 mm high quality drill bits. A set of M5x0, 8 threading taps (the set contains three taps) and some cutting oil.

I started to measure out where I needed to fix the guide.

The holes need to be at least 8 mm deep. Make sure there is enough material where you need to drill. Study the machine inside out, read blue prints and part lists. You do not want to drill in the wrong place. If you do, it can be impossible to fix the damages. If you are not sure, let a professional sewing machine mechanic do the job for you.

I will not hold any crash course in threading holes, if you are unfamiliar with this job. Read up on the subject, and find something else to train on. Make your training similar to the job, it easy to thread apiece vertical, it is a more difficult job done horizontal.

Normally a set of threading taps comes in three, the first is a tapered tap to facilitate the initial thread cutting, the second is an intermediate type that is used to progress the thread after it has been started and then finally, a "Bottoming" thread tap. Which is used to obtain the full thread depth, when cutting a thread that does not go the whole of the way trough the piece.

I already had a threading bit set that cover many different threads, but the set was cheap and have only one tap for each thread. Because of this, I had to drill deeper holes to ensure the threads were full depth where my screws were going to be.

I needed to drill 12 mm deep to get full thread length on 7 mm. However, luckily it was enough metal to drill in on the Pfaff head, as it normally is on this kind of sewing machine head.

The lesson is; it is better to buy a proper set of three M5x0, 8 threading taps, than an inexpensive set of several diameters threading taps. That way you do not have to make the holes that deep.

Some machines may have one screw on the backside used for other things that can be switched for a longer one, and used for the bracket. That way you only need to drill one hole. The bracket will allow many different ways of mounting. The distance between the two screws etc. I believe that many of Kwokhings suspending (dropdown) guide mounts in the same holes. I am sure it is possible to ask for the Pfaff bracket together with and other style of guide.

Look at how the guide spring is fixed; make sure it does not get in conflict with any moving parts on your machine.

Attach your guide; do not screw in those umbraco screws to hard. You will break your threads or guide.

　

The pictures will tell the rest of the story.

Good luck

Trox

[Trox]

I forgot to mention it, both drop down guides came with roller and straight guides included in the price. I have used them for some time now, and they both work great. Kwokhing has given me great service and prices. Contact with email and payment with Paypal.

Kwoking

Thanks

Trox

[Wizcrafts]

Trox;

Your links to the guide supplier, in the big reply, are broken. Could you please repost the links to the supplier's website, making sure that the complete URL is inside the Link field? I would like to see their stuff too.

[Ferg]

Wiz,

Just put kwokhing in Google.

Ferg

1339542918[/url]' post='252319']

Trox;

Your links to the guide supplier, in the big reply, are broken. Could you please repost the links to the supplier's website, making sure that the complete URL is inside the Link field? I would like to see their stuff too.

Edited June 12, 2012 by 50 years leather

[Trox]

I am sorry.

The links was dead for some reason, maybe because I use my own text editor to compose my post. This is the site . The Pfaff guide that I believe will fit many other machines.

Dürkopp Adler guides. All that attachments for the guide; piping etc. (bottom page) will fit any guide they make.

I have also asked them about Juki 441 attachments, and they only stock the blanket feet, plate and serrated feed dog. They will maybe make other parts for that machine, understanding it is a very popular machine for us leather workers.

Trox

Trox;

Your links to the guide supplier, in the big reply, are broken. Could you please repost the links to the supplier's website, making sure that the complete URL is inside the Link field? I would like to see their stuff too.