adler patcher

[HCM]

Hey folks,

I see a lot about adler 30-1, but nothing about a machine I found. It's an adler 30-7. The guy has converted it into a portable machine by mounting a motor onto it. That does not make me excited at all. He wants 900 for it. I wouldn't pay that much for it though. All my machines have servo and reducers on them. If I set this up the same way, can I do some hevy work on it? What's the difference between this and the other patchers everyone seems to talk about? I just don't see a lot of these machines in these parts, and aside from a heavy stitcher and band knife splitter, it's the only piece of equipment I don't have in my shop. Oh, and what size thread can I use on this machine? Any other input?

EDIT: Oh my! I've lurked here for so long, I didn't realize it was my first post. So, thank you to the community here for all the info I've got as a lurker, and I'm glad to pop my cherry with post #1 !!!!!!!!!!!

Edited August 7, 2008 by HCM

[Bree]

Hey folks,

I see a lot about adler 30-1, but nothing about a machine I found. It's an adler 30-7. The guy has converted it into a portable machine by mounting a motor onto it. That does not make me excited at all. He wants 900 for it. I wouldn't pay that much for it though. All my machines have servo and reducers on them. If I set this up the same way, can I do some hevy work on it? What's the difference between this and the other patchers everyone seems to talk about? I just don't see a lot of these machines in these parts, and aside from a heavy stitcher and band knife splitter, it's the only piece of equipment I don't have in my shop. Oh, and what size thread can I use on this machine? Any other input?

EDIT: Oh my! I've lurked here for so long, I didn't realize it was my first post. So, thank you to the community here for all the info I've got as a lurker, and I'm glad to pop my cherry with post #1 !!!!!!!!!!!

If I am not mistaken the Adler 30-7 is a clone of a long arm Singer 29K series machine. I have a 29K-60 and if I'm right about the 30-7, then you will have about 18" cyclinder to work with and a 360 degree rotating top feed. Expect about 3/8" capacity under the foot and probably a larger bobbin than the standard 29K bobbin. Also expect that the large bobbins will be considerably harder to find.

I use my 29K-60 a lot and it is a great machine. I wouldn't hesitate to grab an Adler if I could get a good deal on it.

Congrats on Post #1. I had my #1 only a short while ago too!

[HCM]

If I am not mistaken the Adler 30-7 is a clone of a long arm Singer 29K series machine. I have a 29K-60 and if I'm right about the 30-7, then you will have about 18" cyclinder to work with and a 360 degree rotating top feed. Expect about 3/8" capacity under the foot and probably a larger bobbin than the standard 29K bobbin. Also expect that the large bobbins will be considerably harder to find.

I use my 29K-60 a lot and it is a great machine. I wouldn't hesitate to grab an Adler if I could get a good deal on it.

Congrats on Post #1. I had my #1 only a short while ago too!

Thanks or the response. I was also told that it would be tough to find parts for this machine. Heard that from someone who wants to sell me a consew 29-bl. I trust these people, and he says this is a better machine just because of ease of finding parts. However, he wants $2000, a long way away form the probably negotiable $900 for the adler. 3/8 capacity should be able to accomodate most of my work, so that would be alright.

any I'm assuming #69-#138 thread is what this would take, right?

[Bree]

Thanks or the response. I was also told that it would be tough to find parts for this machine. Heard that from someone who wants to sell me a consew 29-bl. I trust these people, and he says this is a better machine just because of ease of finding parts. However, he wants $2000, a long way away form the probably negotiable $900 for the adler. 3/8 capacity should be able to accomodate most of my work, so that would be alright.

any I'm assuming #69-#138 thread is what this would take, right?

Parts seem to be harder to find for any of the 18" arm Singer machines then they are for the 12" arm machines. I suppose that is because they made a lot more 12" arm machines. I would guess that the same is true with the Adlers.

Assume #69 or #92 and I think that it will like #69 better than #92 or #138. I base this on my machine which definitely doesn't like real heavy thread. It messes with the tensioning and it is annoying to adjust. I seldom use anything but #69 in mine. Then again the Adler may be different. So I can't really say.

[Art]

Hi HCM,

The Consew is somewhat a copy of the Singer 29 Adler 30. There is no shortage of parts for the Adler or the Singer, they are used in the shoe repair industry today and a couple of clones are available, most parts interchange. I would prefer an Adler on a stand which you should be able to get into fairly reasonable, probably under $900, but I wouldn't pass up a good Singer which you might get for a couple of hundred less. New these machines go for $1700 to $2200.

First caveat, these are not heavy stitchers and do NOT feed as well as a leather sewing machine. They are patchers and will do some things that are almost impossible on a regular machine. On the Singers particularly be careful of the arms, they are not as sturdy as some of the newer machines, and once you break one, the machine is practically toast. Thread size limit will be 138, but I've seen ones that only like 92 or 69. You can adjust them to run any of the three but once you have them adjusted, you stick with the same thing forever, even changing colors can be a little tricky. Like Ron Popeil says, "Set it and Forget it".

What I am trying to say here is that you need a medium stitcher, a heavy stitcher and maybe a 29 over in the corner. Sometimes you can get a stitcher like the Artisan 3000 to cover the medium and heavy angle, but a top feed machine like the 29 is not going to do well for you as a general purpose sewing machine, however if you sew patches on sleeves, a 3000 would get old fast doing that job.

Art

Thanks or the response. I was also told that it would be tough to find parts for this machine. Heard that from someone who wants to sell me a consew 29-bl. I trust these people, and he says this is a better machine just because of ease of finding parts. However, he wants $2000, a long way away form the probably negotiable $900 for the adler. 3/8 capacity should be able to accomodate most of my work, so that would be alright.

any I'm assuming #69-#138 thread is what this would take, right?

[Bree]

however if you sew patches on sleeves, a 3000 would get old fast doing that job.

Sure would as you hand stitch all the vertical stitches on the sleeve!

[HCM]

Stitching sleeve patches with an Art 3000. HAHA LOL, wouldn't wanna do that!

I have a nakajima cylinder arm with a 9 inch reducer and servo motor on it. It does anything I can throw at it. I know the patchers aren't heavy stitchers, but I was just wondering how heavy I could go with it. The guy who has the machine now has a dinky little motor on it that looks like it came from a toy. He says the way the machine is built allows it to sew very strong with this little motor. Normally I wouldn't beleive it, but I have a machine with a motor the size of my fist that will stitch through 5 layers of 5 oz veg leather all glued together with barge between each layer. It's like sewing through plywood. I know the patcher can't do that, but if it could do 3/8", that will more than work for me. But.....do I need to put a reducer and servo motor on their to get slow torque? What motor will work best with this thing? Sorry for the sloppy post, I'm in a hurry....gotta run!

I guess I need to go take some of my pieces over to the guy and try out the machine to see if it will do what I want.

[Art]

Now, there you go.

Art

I guess I need to go take some of my pieces over to the guy and try out the machine to see if it will do what I want.

[HCM]

Only problem with that is that he has made this machine into a "portable" machine with the little motor mounted right on the machine itself. I'm not confident that this motor will show the machine's true colors, if ya know what I mean. I'll try it anyway, and see where to go from there. Just wanted to hear from someone that the 30-7 is a good machine before going for it. Sounds like a winner to me, so far.

thanks!

[Bree]

Stitching sleeve patches with an Art 3000. HAHA LOL, wouldn't wanna do that!

I have a nakajima cylinder arm with a 9 inch reducer and servo motor on it. It does anything I can throw at it. I know the patchers aren't heavy stitchers, but I was just wondering how heavy I could go with it. The guy who has the machine now has a dinky little motor on it that looks like it came from a toy. He says the way the machine is built allows it to sew very strong with this little motor. Normally I wouldn't beleive it, but I have a machine with a motor the size of my fist that will stitch through 5 layers of 5 oz veg leather all glued together with barge between each layer. It's like sewing through plywood. I know the patcher can't do that, but if it could do 3/8", that will more than work for me. But.....do I need to put a reducer and servo motor on their to get slow torque? What motor will work best with this thing? Sorry for the sloppy post, I'm in a hurry....gotta run!

I guess I need to go take some of my pieces over to the guy and try out the machine to see if it will do what I want.

No motor necessary. You can use the foot treadle or even hand crank it.

If you want to use a motor just get a 1/2 hp servo w/no speed reducer. It will work fine for the 3/8" that the machine can sew and you can always grab the flywheel and horse it if you need to.

I once had mine hooked up to a little sewing motor from a Brother machine. It actually worked just fine. I took it off because I prefer hand cranking it.

[HCM]

Sorry I disappeared for awhile...I'm back!

No motor necessary. You can use the foot treadle or even hand crank it.

If you want to use a motor just get a 1/2 hp servo w/no speed reducer. It will work fine for the 3/8" that the machine can sew and you can always grab the flywheel and horse it if you need to.

I once had mine hooked up to a little sewing motor from a Brother machine. It actually worked just fine. I took it off because I prefer hand cranking it.

Ah yes, forgot to mention one thing. This particular machine was dropped by the previous owner and there is a small fracture in the frame. The mechanic says the gear is broken inside and it won't accept the hand crank wheel that goes on the front. I didn't know this at first, and am not sure I want that. Well, I gotta think about it now. Only reason I'm considering it is because I have a few extra machines laying around here and I'm gonna try and work out a trade for a cylinder arm i don't need. I'd rather have the patcher than another cylinder, because I have 3 cylinder arms. Is the hand wheel really that important if I have a servo motor which will go nice and slow? Other than that, the machine functions fine.....I think.

Edited August 22, 2008 by HCM

[Bree]

Sorry I disappeared for awhile...I'm back!

Ah yes, forgot to mention one thing. This particular machine was dropped by the previous owner and there is a small fracture in the frame. The mechanic says the gear is broken inside and it won't accept the hand crank wheel that goes on the front. I didn't know this at first, and am not sure I want that. Well, I gotta think about it now. Only reason I'm considering it is because I have a few extra machines laying around here and I'm gonna try and work out a trade for a cylinder arm i don't need. I'd rather have the patcher than another cylinder, because I have 3 cylinder arms. Is the hand wheel really that important if I have a servo motor which will go nice and slow? Other than that, the machine functions fine.....I think.

New ballgame... I say 86 the machine. Cast iron is not weldable unless you have an expert welder who can put the entire frame into an oven to heat it and then use special welding equipment and the ability to let it cool very slowly. If you try to weld it by ordinary means you will simply cause new cracks.

If the gears are broken the machine is in serious trouble. I just had a 29-4 apart on the workbench downstairs with a broken gear drive and frozen needle bar. The machine is now good only for spare parts.

Go on EBay and get yourself a used patcher. They come up frequently. Best to find a local machine and go out to inspect it. Watch like a hawk for cracks in the head and the treadle. Cast iron is pretty brittle. It must be handled with care. It loooks very strong but it isn't. So inspect it carefully and reject machines that haven't been properly cared for. There are many good ones on the market. Be patient.

Edited August 26, 2008 by Bree

[HCM]

Thanks Bree, I apprecite the advice. I sewed on the machine, and it worked great. The mechanic said the only issue was that the hand crank wheel wouldn't work because of the crack. But now that I think about it, I wouldn't buy a car with a similar problem. I guess that could lead to other issues later that I didn't think about. I am not familiar enough with this machine at all to know whether or not it would be okay. I was hoping for a trade off with the extra machines I have, but I will just try and sell the extra cylinder arms I have and save the cash to go buy what I need from a more reliable source. Thanks for talking me out of it.

While on the subject, do you know what the minimum-maximum needle and thread sizes are for this machine? I think you already explained that 3/8" can be expected for maximum duty, but what is the lightest material weight you think would work on a patcher. That's something I'm really curious to know!

Thanks so much!

[Bree]

Right off the top of my head I would say 100/16's up to 160/23's should work fine. I would not go below #69 as I tend to get poor results and skipped stitches below that. You could probably go as high as 138 but I don't recommend it and I certainly would not go top and bottom with the thick thread. My machines like #69 and maybe #92. I am talking about my Singer 29's now. I assume the Adler is similar.

As far as material goes... you can sew some wispy stuff if you are willing to have a fairly heavy thread size and possibly marks from the presser foot which is pulling the material along with feed dog-like grooves. I have actually sewn some lace on my 29K60 (Quite slowly I might add.) LOL!

Hope that helps.

[HCM]

Right off the top of my head I would say 100/16's up to 160/23's should work fine. I would not go below #69 as I tend to get poor results and skipped stitches below that. You could probably go as high as 138 but I don't recommend it and I certainly would not go top and bottom with the thick thread. My machines like #69 and maybe #92. I am talking about my Singer 29's now. I assume the Adler is similar.

As far as material goes... you can sew some wispy stuff if you are willing to have a fairly heavy thread size and possibly marks from the presser foot which is pulling the material along with feed dog-like grooves. I have actually sewn some lace on my 29K60 (Quite slowly I might add.) LOL!

Hope that helps.

Great, thanks for the info. I guess it's comparable to my walking foot machines in terms of the duty. That's pretty much exactly the performace I get as far as needle/thread/material.

Thanks for answering all my questions, and mostly for talking me out of that machine!

[Bree]

Great, thanks for the info. I guess it's comparable to my walking foot machines in terms of the duty. That's pretty much exactly the performace I get as far as needle/thread/material.

Thanks for answering all my questions, and mostly for talking me out of that machine!

Once you take one apart you can see just how magnificently engineered they really are. These patchers are wonderful machines built to last longer than we will be alive. I know several people who transport their patchers to biker shows and sew all day with the 29's despite the availability of a great machine like a Consew 206RB-5. There is very little that the 29 can't do in the world of patch sewing. So I don't want to talk you out of the 29 class machine... just that cracked one.

Heck I have 4 of them counting the spare parts machine!!

I just took out a shuttle hook from this old corroded machine I have. I had to remove the needle plate because the moveable pin that holds it in is frozen solid. Only way to get in there to retrieve the hook. Anyhoo... That hook looked like it had been dredged up from the bottom of a sewer. It was full of gunk and almost black. Old thread was plugging the hole above the spring clip. I had to literally get a needle to clean it out. But once I got it out, cleaned up, and buffed, I put it into one of the good 29's with a nice new bobbin. The son of a gun sewed like it was new... perfect stitches with no misses. That saved me about $60 for a new hook (Part 8603).

There is one that looks to be in great condition on EBay right now. Pickup is in Missouri if you are near there... save $130 in shipping charges plus the risk of shipping companies cracking the cast iron. You may have to bid fairly high to score this machine because it looks real good. The treadle stand looks excellent as well. Heck they have a 29K70 for $750 which looks like hell comparatively speaking. If it were a closer pickup, I would bid on the 29-4 they are selling.

Bree

[shoepatcher]

Hey folks,

I see a lot about adler 30-1, but nothing about a machine I found. It's an adler 30-7. The guy has converted it into a portable machine by mounting a motor onto it. That does not make me excited at all. He wants 900 for it. I wouldn't pay that much for it though. All my machines have servo and reducers on them. If I set this up the same way, can I do some hevy work on it? What's the difference between this and the other patchers everyone seems to talk about? I just don't see a lot of these machines in these parts, and aside from a heavy stitcher and band knife splitter, it's the only piece of equipment I don't have in my shop. Oh, and what size thread can I use on this machine? Any other input?

EDIT: Oh my! I've lurked here for so long, I didn't realize it was my first post. So, thank you to the community here for all the info I've got as a lurker, and I'm glad to pop my cherry with post #1 !!!!!!!!!!!

The Adler 30-7 is from their older class of shoe patchers. It is long arm, big bobbin, hi lift shoe patcher. It uses a longer system of needle than the 30-1. That system is 332lg Some parts are still available for the machine but Adler quit making alot of the parts for the machine after they came out with the new versions-30-10, 30-50 and the 30-70 which replaced the 30-7. I have a lot of parts for those earlier machines that are no longer available including early manuals and parts list. Let me know if i can help you.

Edited October 17, 2008 by TwinOaks