Owner & Service Manual For Durkopp Adler 204/205-370

[Uwe]

After fretting that no owner manual exists online for the old Pfaff 335 I realized that there wasn't one available online for my own Durkopp Adler 205-370, either.

So I scanned in my printed Durkopp Adler 204/205-370 Owner Manual and uploaded it here:

http://docs.uwe.net/Durkopp Adler Owner Manual 204-370 205-370.pdf

I had also found a Durkopp Adler 205-370 Service Manual in PDF format some time ago. I uploaded it here:

http://docs.uwe.net/Durkopp Adler Service Manual 204-370 205-370.pdf

Both manuals have five language sections: German, English, Spanish , French, Italian

There are reference photos are at the end of each manual.

I also uploaded both PDFs to http://www.ManualsLib.com, so they may appear there too.

[HumanToughDesign]

Hello Uwe,

I bought a brand new Adler 205-370 earlier this year at MSM (Michel Simard) in Montreal, and I've had quite a few problems with it. Even though I love this machine, I'm now at a point where I'm thinking about sending it back (still under warranty) because MSM keeps telling me every problem is normal because they can't solve it (maximum stitch-length of less than 8mm, doesn't backstitch in its own holes, break needles, etc.).

I'm seriously considering forgetting about the warranty, and trying to set it up myself. Is this something you have done before ? Have you found any repair/shop manuals, either for the genuine Adler, or its clones (Cowboy, Consew, etc.) ? That would be VERY useful !

Thanks in advance, and have a great weekend !

Cheers,

Danny

[Uwe]

I've not seen a repair manual for the 205-370 machines. It seems unlikely that your machine is broken and needs repair, but it's very likely that it's not properly adjusted to work according to specs.

I've not gone through all the adjustments myself yet. I'm contemplating making an how-to video for adjusting the 205-370 once I'm comfortable with making the adjustments.

I'd recommend going through the various adjustment chapters in the service manual and check if the machine is in the target settings. No need to loosen screws etc. to simply check current adjustment settings against specs. If one or more of these adjustments are off the target mark, they can have multiple, often interconnected effects.

One important adjustment for your stitch length troubles: in the hook timing position with the needle raised 4mm from the very bottom, the feed dog and inner foot should not move at all when flipping the reverse lever up and down.

For example, if the feed movement is not "centered" on the hook timing position, it may prevent you from stitching at the maximum stitch length and at the same time introduce an offset that makes forward and backward stitches not match.

Reversing into the same holes is a bit dependent on material thickness. My 205-370 happily reverses into the same holes for 10 or more holes in a row when stitching a thin sheet of cardboard without thread. When stitching thick leather with thick thread, the reversing matches only for only a stitch or two if I'm lucky. I have a feeling the FWD/REV stitching may need to be adjusted for a particular material thickness by purposely introducing a slight offset.

Even with a perfectly adjusted machine, the maximum stitch length may decrease with increasing material thickness due to the pendulum effect (thanks to JLSleather for posting the nice graphic image below in another topic)

Certain things like feed dog height cannot be adjusted on the 205-370, they are simply fixed due to how it's designed/built.

Edited October 16, 2015 by Uwe

[HumanToughDesign]

Hello Uwe

Thanks for the follow-up and the recommendations. I spent a few hours on my machine yesterday. It turned out that 30 minutes studying the parts break-down, and looking at the various components of the machine were enough to figure out the problem(s). The biggest one (problem) was that the cam was roughly 15deg off. So the needle arm and the feed-dog were still moving forward while the presser foot was starting to rise. This caused my maximum stitch-length to go from 10mm to below 8mm. Once the cam was adjusted, I got back my 10 mm forward and backward. Since I had ordered Weaver's timing device, I also retimed the machine (which was also way off). That completely eliminated my skipped stitches as well as the heavy "wrinkling" (if that's even a word) when sewing lighter material. Now I can sew very thin canvas/fabric/leather without any wrinkle or skipped stitches.

As for the symmetry of the stitch length (forward and backward), I couldn't find any adjustment that would allow me to fix that problem from the gut of the machine. The neutral was at the right place, and I got 10 mm stitch-length in both direction when set in full length. So what I did is to simply shim the front lower part of the plastic bezel of the direction lever. I found that adding 3mm of UHMW on the flat surface of the lower portion of that piece allows for a perfect back-stitch, whatever the stitch-length or the material thickness. I'll probably have this new ensemble scanned, and then milled in aluminium. That should last a lifetime.

I'm still a bit surprised and shocked that I could fix all my problems in less than 4 hours, with literally zero knowledge of how a sewing machine works, when the folks at Michel Simard spent 14 hours before dropping the ball on me.

However, I'm really happy that it all worked out fine, and now I can enjoy my super 205 !

Thanks again for your helpful comments and suggestions, and have a great weekend !


Danny

[Uwe]

I'm glad you got it to work properly all by yourself - that's a big deal! Clearly you're more successful getting to know this machine than the people who sold it to you.

Edited October 19, 2015 by Uwe

[shoepatcher]

Danny,

The problems you mentioned are not normal for this machine!!! I have sewn on them since 1987. If you have any further questions, call Weaver Leather and ask for Allen Burkholder. He sets these machines up, rebuilds them and has over 20 years on them. I had him rebuild 2 of the 205 machines for us at work.. They came out great and tight like new machines. Email me if you need more info.

glenn

[HumanToughDesign]

Danny,

The problems you mentioned are not normal for this machine!!! I have sewn on them since 1987. If you have any further questions, call Weaver Leather and ask for Allen Burkholder. He sets these machines up, rebuilds them and has over 20 years on them. I had him rebuild 2 of the 205 machines for us at work.. They came out great and tight like new machines. Email me if you need more info.

glenn

Hello Glenn. Thanks a lot for your comments, and for pointing me to the right contact at Weaver. Contacting them was on my list, but since I was able to fix all my problems myself, that's ok for now. That being said, I am a bit curious about your own experience with the 205. Were all the machine you tested/used able to backstitch in their own holes, independently of the stitch length selected ? As I mentioned previously, my "neutral" point was dead center, and (after tweaking the cam and the timing) I had the same maximum stitch-length forwards and backward (both 10mm). However, when selecting shorter stitch-lenght, I ended-up with shorter stitches in backward. Since I couldn't find any adjustment that would get me longer stitches in reverse, without affecting the neutral point or the stitch length, I ended-up adding a shim on the lower end of the bezel surrounding the lever. It is roughly 1/8 in. thick (with a bevel going up). I had to tweak it a little, but now, I get perfect backstitch, regardless of the stitch-length and the material thickness. I'm ok with that fix (the shim is in aluminium, so it looks good and tough), but I would rather have the "real" fix to this issue if there is one. So (sorry for the long intro), I'd like to you if you have/had a similar issue ?

And BTW, did you ever try TEX415 and #280 needles on the Adler 205-370 ? Does it work ? Would I need a bobbin shim to fit the #28 needle (the thickest shim I have is a 250 (best suited for a #27 needle).

That's it for the questions ! ;-) Thanks again !

Danny

[HumanToughDesign]

I'm glad you got it to work properly all by yourself - that's a big deal! Clearly you're more successful getting to know this machine than the people who sold it to you.

Thanks Uwe ! I must admit, I was a bit intimidated when I printed the parts break-down, but after a few minutes, I dug in and figured it out. I can't encourage you enough to put together a video (and even a repair guide) that would explain how to easily adjust those "hidden/under the hood" settings. I purchased the DVD sold by Weaver (great video BTW), but it just doesn't go into the nuts and bolts of the gut of the 205. I called many repair shop, specialized in industrial sewing-machines, and none of them had experience/intimate knowledge of the 205. Since this machine has been out there for a few decades now, and is one of the most copied HD machine, I guess such video/manual would be most welcome by a lot of people (me included) ! Let me know if you need help with the French version ! ;-)

Thanks again!

Danny

[shoepatcher]

Danny,

Rather than tell you wrong, call Allen at Weaver. He can better answer these questions. 1800 weaver1. Allen's extension is #223

glenn

[gt2ride]

hi uwe

bought a adler 204-370 today. they delivered it for 800. got it sewing good. not sure if I have it threaded right. and do not know how to take the bobbing

out. could you post a pic of the threading and a little hint to taking the bobbing out .The instruction say to pry some place with a screw driver. not sure

where to pry.

thanks for any help

[Uwe]

Congratulations on your new arrival - you got yourself a great machine for a bargain price!

The bobbin spin direction is like this (from manual):

Here's a quick little video on how to release the bobbin in a Durkopp Adler 204/205 sewing machine:

I'll be working on a series of videos for this machine over the next week or so.

A nice threading diagram is in the manual:

Edited November 23, 2015 by Uwe

[gt2ride]

Thanks Uwe

That is just what I needed. The man I bought the machine got it along with 16 other sewing machines form the prison here in Leavenworth.

there is a 30-10 adler but the bobbin and hook is gone. Would that be hard to find and cost a bunch?

cant say enough good things about you

gt

[TinkerTailor]

Thanks Uwe

That is just what I needed. The man I bought the machine got it along with 16 other sewing machines form the prison here in Leavenworth.

there is a 30-10 adler but the bobbin and hook is gone. Would that be hard to find and cost a bunch?

cant say enough good things about you

gt

The bobbin and hook are gone on former prison machines????? I wonder how many prison weapons those made.

[TinkerTailor]

I'm still a bit surprised and shocked that I could fix all my problems in less than 4 hours, with literally zero knowledge of how a sewing machine works, when the folks at Michel Simard spent 14 hours before dropping the ball on me.

However, I'm really happy that it all worked out fine, and now I can enjoy my super 205 !

Thanks again for your helpful comments and suggestions, and have a great weekend !

Danny

Edit: The text below is meant to be more of a general guide and less a comment on your situation. Your situation sounds like it may have additional aspects to consider regarding your machines oem setup and service provided.

If you are planning on keeping this machine and using it for a long time, learning its internal subtleties is a great idea.

Machines should come timed right, but sometimes shipping can cause issues. Its always faster if you can fix things yourself. My machine had an small issue when i used the hand lift but not when i used the pedal lift. A mechanically inept person would have been totally perplexed by it. Even in photos and over the phone, it was difficult to covey to the place i got it from. I figured it out with a single washer as a spacer. Could have cost them alot to get the issue taken care of if the machine needed a house call from a local mechanic or if it needed to be shipped back across the continent.....Both of which would probably take a week or more to resolve.....

Instead because I can sew as well as fix things, I was sewing in 2 hours, and it cost everybody 25 cents for a washer.

Sometimes I wonder if industrial sewing places are standoffish because of 2 reasons,

First is that they charge for service and training. Yes you bought the machine, but every man hour that goes in takes away from the bottom line.

Second, which relates to the first: Most all places that buy these machines have sewers that just jam material under feet all day long and a mechanic who sets up the machine. They also buy more than 1 at a time. The mechanic should know how to set it up and generally would not need instruction. Service/training costs get spread over all the machines the factory bought, not just one. As a home user, you should be both mechanic and sewer, or know someone who is, and works for apple pie..... Supporting the mechanical blunders and learning curve of every home user can get really costly really fast, as opposed to supporting a professional mechanic with training that bought 6 machines.

This is the difference between retail and wholesale in most markets. Everything is cheaper wholesale, but you don't get to ask questions, just send in the list of part numbers and we will get it to you. Industrial sewing machines are only purchased wholesale really as there is an almost non-existant retail market..

The leather machine guys are playing in this game and marking up their accessories to cover the service they provide to the retail user in the wholesale market essentially.

Some of these companies are small. If you take up their time with an issue due to your mistakes or inexperience, and they help you, finish the phone call with an order for a spool of thread or a couple of packs of needles or something. The token sale says alot and helps them give you the service. Plus you need needles and thread anyways.

Never forget that the right hand washes the left. Pretty hard to wash your hand if you only have 1.

Edited November 23, 2015 by TinkerTailor

[shoepatcher]

gt2ride,

A generic hook and bobbin for a small bobbin Singer 29K patcher will work in a 30-10 Adler machine. You can find them on Ebay.

glenn