German Language Manual And The Adler 205-374

[llucas]

By the way, Uwe, are the walking feet in your video original Adler equipment or are they Kwok Hing? They look slightly different from the part numbers at Weaver you provided. Perhaps it is because the photos on the Weaver website are of new product.

[llucas]

O.k., I read the manual again, watched Uwe's video and adjusted the foot lift on the old 205-374. The marks were eliminated from the top stitch. The height of the presser feet was at 5 mm during the lift cycle, it is now at 10 mm. Much better. It needs some tweeking, however, as now the presser foot lever to lift the presser feet won't lock open. Also, there is another difference from Uwe's video. His presser foot adjustment spring is similar to my own, but it appears the previous owner added a two inch section of spring to increase the pressure on the feet. Here is the extra part that I removed:

Question: should I leave this short spring out? The main spring is exactly as the one in Uwe's video. The presser foot adjustment knob on top of the machine is somewhat difficult to adjust. I may need to remove the presser foot rod and get in there with chemtool and a tooth brush to clean the threads better. As a novice I really don't know how much pressure should be adjusted into the mix -- i.e., how tight should the tension be on the presser feet?

Edited December 2, 2015 by llucas

[Uwe]

There's a separate adjustment for the manual lifting lever - it's supposed to have just a tiny bit of play when not engaged. The clamping block just above the one I loosened in the video adjusts the manual lift lever. The manual lift lever should be able to rotate to the 11 o'clock position to hold the foot in the lifted position and release the upper thread tensioner. If you can't rotate the manual lift lever easily past the 12 o'clock position it's binding - don't force it! You're supposed to be able to engage manual foot lift lever and then release it again by pressing the foot operated lift above the manual lifting position.

If you loosen both clamps at the same time and remove the presser foot, you can pull out the presser bar/shaft/rod out the top (watch out for the little spring between the two clamping blocks.) I did just that last week when I replaced the lifting bracket/strip/blade that hooks between the two clamping blocks - it was broken on my machine. I'm guessing the previous owner forced the manual lift when it wasn't properly adjusted.

My spring is 120mm (4-3/4") long. It just peeks out the top a few millimeters (tension screw removed) when I have the manual lift lever engaged. If your total spring length is longer, leave the extra piece out. The presser foot is supposed to push down on the material with just enough force to keep it from moving while the needle is above, not clamp down with a ton of force. Excessive force just makes everything work much harder, and leaves marks on your leather.

Fabric generally doesn't care how hard you clamp it down, but leather does care. It also matters how thick the material is, but the proportional increase in pressure for thicker material is usually just right.

Take the needle out and lower the presser foot on your finger. If it hurts, it's too much force. If you feel it holds your finger in place without hurting, I'd say you're good for a starting point. Adjust as needed.

Edited December 3, 2015 by Uwe

[llucas]

There's a separate adjustment for the manual lifting lever - it's supposed to have just a tiny bit of play when not engaged. The clamping block just above the one I loosened in the video adjusts the manual lift lever. The manual lift lever should be able to rotate to the 11 o'clock position to hold the foot in the lifted position and release the upper thread tensioner. If you can't rotate the manual lift lever easily past the 12 o'clock position it's binding - don't force it! You're supposed to be able to engage manual foot lift lever and then release it again by pressing the foot operated lift above the manual lifting position.

If you loosen both clamps at the same time and remove the presser foot, you can pull out the presser bar/shaft/rod out the top (watch out for the little spring between the two clamping blocks.) I did just that last week when I replaced the lifting bracket/strip/blade that hooks between the two clamping blocks - it was broken on my machine. I'm guessing the previous owner forced the manual lift when it wasn't properly adjusted.

My spring is 120mm (4-3/4") long. It just peeks out the top a few millimeters (tension screw removed) when I have the manual lift lever engaged. If your total spring length is longer, leave the extra piece out. The presser foot is supposed to push down on the material with just enough force to keep it from moving while the needle is above, not clamp down with a ton of force. Excessive force just makes everything work much harder, and leaves marks on your leather.

Fabric generally doesn't care how hard you clamp it down, but leather does care. It also matters how thick the material is, but the proportional increase in pressure for thicker material is usually just right.

Take the needle out and lower the presser foot on your finger. If it hurts, it's too much force. If you feel it holds your finger in place without hurting, I'd say you're good for a starting point. Adjust as needed.

Thanks again for clear, easily understandable information. I would suspect I did not have enough pressure as the stitch length on a test piece changed slightly on a test piece I was stitching. There are a surprising number of variables in obtaining a good stitch on these machines. I am slowly learning and appreciate all the help you and others on this forum provide.

Edited December 3, 2015 by llucas

[llucas]

. . . watch out for the little spring between the two clamping blocks. . .

There is no spring in my machine as illustrated in your video. The parts manual for the 205-374 does not show this spring, although the parts manual for the 205-370 does. I assume it may be desirable but my machine does not call for it. This is an interesting project, thanks for your insight and contribution.