Mystery Machine

[UPFrank]

 I have been looking for a while now and have only seen three other machines very similar to this one, a patcher an an Hengstenberg base. The question is, who made the patcher and does someone have a threading diagram for it? It has markings that make me want to think it is a Bradbury, but the image of the factory on my machine with 4 high walls does not match the Bradbury pictures I have seen.

This machine was my dad's and I have used it in the past, but since he is now gone I don't know how to get it set up to sew.

Thanks

[OLDNSLOW]

No one else has had time to take a lookasee but that machine looks just like ones that are being sold on Eway that are Chinese patcher imports, there are some videos out that show different operations of that machine, so you might want to take a look there to see if there are any similarities.

Good luck

[Uwe]

Well, I have no idea what it is, but I do hope we collectively figure it out, because I happen to have one almost exactly like it. Yours is in nicer condition, it appears. On mine, the picture of the factory on the handwheel is from a different angle, too. 

Edited September 12, 2016 by Uwe

[UPFrank]

Thanks for sharing Uwe, maybe we can get this resolved.

[Darren Brosowski]

These patchers were built by a number of companies in Europe, mostly Germany but Bradbury built them in the UK as well as companies in Italy, Switzerland and elsewhere.

The "ABLE290" I sell is a Chinese interpretation of a portable version.

[Constabulary]

I have no such machine but a manual in German language of a Claes patcher which is very close to yours. File is too big to attach here and when I reduce the size the file it is of poor quality so if you are interested send me a PM

[dikman]

Oldnslow, it looks more like it was the "original" that the Chinese patchers are based on. This appears to be a bit more refined.

Very nice looking machine.

[alexitbe]

As Constabulary said, its very close to a Claes.  The arm looks to be the same in shape and form. Check out the very early Claes machines...  Its seems to be somewhere between them and the later CLaes RPX.  However, the take-up lever with its spring system is different to what I have seen. ALthough i have not really researched it..

Cheers

Alex

[mikesc]

You are looking at a Claes..

http://leblogdecallisto.blogspot.fr/2015/11/claes-flentje-mulhouse.html
Sorry page is entirely in French, I can make you an English translation of the text later today, a bit busy at the moment..

Scroll down to the bottom of that French page and you'll see some links , 4 in total ( where it says "cliquer ici" ) to more photos and material..

translation ..done whilst drinking 1st coffee of the day..so not "tidied up" ..but HTH anyway ; )
*********************
A small article of an historical character, for once, about a manufacturer of industrial machines: Claes & Flentje.

This company was founded in 18 August 1869 by Ernst Bernhard Claes and Franz Theodor Flentje. They launced into the production of sewing machines for cobblers, and, from 1875, into knitting machines.The factory celebrated it's 10,000 sewing machine produced in 1876.It continued to diversify and launched into the production of bicycles in 1889, under the name of "Pfeil" ( "fleche" in French, * "arrow" in English ).

In 1900 the factory employed over 1000 workers,.In 1913 the total production statitics ( all years combined )showed ..

*300,000 sewing machines produced
*190,000 knitting machines
*107,000 bicycles

The first world war and the great depression would have important consequences for the company.it ceased production of sewing machines in 1926, and later bicycles in 1928, finally becoming bankrupt in1932.

The company was bought and re-opened it's doors in 1933it now made only sewing machines and knitting machines.It was now named Claes & co Gmbh.

Like all German companies, it participated in the war effort during the second world war.at the end of which, it returned to the production of sewing machines and knitting machines, but now with only 60 employees.Knitting machine production was abandoned in 1961.

The company was nationalised in 1972 in the VEB ( = state owned company of what was then East Germany ) "Spezialnähmaschinenwerk Mülhausen" ( = "Industrail sewing machines" ) 200 workers became employees of the Combinat ( a sort of "worker's co-operative"..*a German speaker will translate that word more accurately ) "Textima". The company continued to produce sewing machines for cobblers until 1991, when the re-privatisation failed.

However, three previous employees would eventually retake the company.The new company began on the 20th December 1994 and was called "CL Machinenbau GmbH". It moved to new premises in 1995 and the "historical buildings" were demolished in 2012.

Some links

Photos taken in the old abandoned building..
http://www.schmitt-photography.de/?p=750
Photos of the demolition of the "historical building"..
http://www.dtoday.de/startseite/bilder/detailansicht_mmid,9761.html
Photos of a cobbler's sewing machine made by Claes & Flentje.
http://needlebar.org/cm/thumbnails.php?album=428
and finally the website of the company CL Maschinenbau GmbH
http://www.cl-maschinenbau.com/unternehmen/history.php?lang=en
**************************

Translated from Calisto's original article in French .

Edited September 12, 2016 by mikesc

[suzelle]

Cool old machine! Love to read the history of these old ones!