Help With New Pfaff 335

[Bru]

This is typically what happens after 2 stitches when turning the wheel by hand & shutting the machine off - the thread starts to unravel and get balled up on the left hand side of the needle.  I can't tell if the bobbin thread is unwinding, but it is definitely not getting caught up inside the case.

In taking a look at the needle inside the case (with the bobbin out) as it descends down into the hole, everything is fine on the downstroke but it definitely hits metal on the upstroke (towards the "backside" of the machine).  

Edited March 27, 2016 by Bru

[Uwe]

You're gonna have to find out exactly what metal in the back the needle is hitting (or getting hit by) on the upstroke, because it definitely should not be hitting ANYTHING during the cycle. With the feet raised and the thread removed you should be able to turn the handwheel in a very smooth fashion without any binding or resistance (other than overcoming the spring pressure). There should be NO snapping/grinding/rubbing sounds, just buttery smoothness. Don't force it if you hit resistance. Jog the hand wheel back and forth gently and find out exactly where things touch that shouldn't touch. This may take a flashlight, neck craning, and strong reading glasses (in my case). Once you know what touches, then you can figure out WHY things touch and make an adjustment so they don't touch.

When the feet are raised, you should be able to pull the thread through the eye of the needle with little force. I've had the upper thread accidentally wrap around a post/screw/spring or otherwise get hung up. Nothing will work right if the machine can't pull the upper thread when it needs to. It'll deflect the needle, chafe the thread, make the needle hit the feed dog or the hook, and all manner of bad things start happening, especially under motor power.

When something bad happens under motor power things may slip, the safety clutch may pop, or other things may bend or otherwise go out of alignment. Quite often it's something simple like threading, seating or changing out the needle, inserting the bobbin properly, etc.  If the machine in a totally screwed up state, you need to methodically go through the Pfaff 335 Service Manual and compare should-be settings with your machine's real world settings one by one, in sequence, until you find one that's not as it should be and fix it. Repeat until everything is adjusted as it should be and things move smoothly. Don't loosen screws unless you know what they're for.

There's definitely a learning curve with these machines and it can be steep and frustrating. The industrial sewing machines are tough and fragile at the same time. Ultimately there's no way around learning a few basic adjustments yourself unless you want to take the machine to the mechanic at $90+/hr every time some little thing goes wrong.

 

 

[Bru]

Thanks Uwe.  Upon further inspection, it looks as if a piece of the casing is actually hitting the needle and pushing it backwards as it rotates towards it in a counterclockwise direction (see pic - the blade of the screwdriver is touching the piece that is hitting the needle).  Is this the hook?  I looks as if this piece also pushes (what I think is) the feed dog slightly upwards as well.  

[SARK9]

The position of the swivel plate assembly looks a bit odd...it seems to show a large gap above the machine arm, like something may be bent, loose, not assembled correctly, or its getting interfered with from below.

 

-DC

[Uwe]

That hook part should not be touching the needle or anything else, and the feed dog should NOT be moving up and down (unless you have a special, rare sub-class of the 335).

My advice at this point would be to take it to a mechanic to be put back in working order (or take it back to the person who sold it to you). There's too many interconnected things wrong right now to trouble-shoot and talk you through fixing it remotely. It's extremely hard to learn on a machine that is way out of adjustment. You're also likely to cause even more damage as a novice to sewing machines. 

Once you get the machine back in good working order, have somebody show you the basics of using this machine. Take time to inspect how everything should work/feel/sound and read the user and the service manual front to back and compare the manual's diagrams and descriptions with your machine. THEN hook up the motor again.

Edited March 27, 2016 by Uwe

[Bru]

OK - thanks for the advice all.  

[dikman]

Sark is correct, that plate should be sitting flat against the arm. Yes, that part you're pointing to is the hook and it should NOT touch the needle at any time. It looks like the shuttle assembly needs to be adjusted to the right. That is also most likely the explanation for your top thread catching. As Uwe said, best thing is to have someone who knows what they're doing look at it.

[RockyAussie]

Uwe's and dikman's advise is great but just a thought sometimes the best of us has put a needle in back to front and this in my experience this will show the same problem at least in hitting the hook,but please follow dikman's advise and As Uwe said, best thing is to have someone who knows what they're doing look at it. That is a big needle in there.

Regards Brian

[Hickenbottom]

Hello,

I have Pfaff 335-G. All was going well until the thread bobbin thread started breaking and I was getting a birds nest. I tried adjusting tension to no avail and then started messing with the bobbin tension. Tried re-threading multiple times, changing stitch length and still nothing worked. I had previously fixed the timing on my server so I made the decision (probably then wrong one) to go ahead and take a look at the timing with the adjustment manual as a guide. I’ve now adjusted the timing soo many times to what the manual said and even tried it a little bit different but it still won’t work!!   I checked the height of the needle bar against the manual and it was not the same so I adjusted it. This may have made things worse and I was stupid enough not to record the previous needle bar height. I have purchased the timing tools the manual lists and have used them so the timing is as the manual stated but it doesn’t work. It creates loops but sometimes on the second go around the hook seems to catch both the upper thread and the bobbin thread and pulls them around at the same time. When I add power it just gets all tangled and breaks the thread. Occasionally the top bobbin thread will form a few stitches but the top thread forms a bird nest. Also, the bobbin thread seems to fray when I pull on it. I’ve made sure I’ve threaded that correctly too. I think it has something to do with its position it gets in when the upper thread first catches it and pulls it through. It gets pulled through this little hole, gets stuck and then breaks. I’m afraid I have totally screwed up the machine even though I’ve adjusted it to the manual. Even double checked I had the right manual. 
 

Anybody have/had a similar problem? 
 

Any advice? 
 

Thanks!!