pfaff 138 help

[beltbuckles]

so i got a pfaff 138. i just got the head for a reasonable price.. it was missing a foot and needle plate, ect.. anyway,  i got some needles for it and when put one in and turn the wheel, i watched the need go down and it bends.... something with the hook  is pushing the needle to the side.. is this an easy fix? is it just the timing?

[Gregg From Keystone Sewing]

Pfaff 138 Parts Link

Pfaff 138 Owners Manual Link

Pfaff 138 Adjustment and Service

Most suppliers will have quality generic presser foot, feed dog and needle plate, however, this is for the 4.0mm width or bight zig zag Pfaff 138 model;

If you have the 6.0mm width zig zag or bight, you are going to need the genuine, and expensive, Pfaff feeder and needle plate.

 

 

Edited July 3, 2017 by Gregg From Keystone Sewing

[Wizcrafts]

1 hour ago, beltbuckles said:

anyway,  i got some needles for it and when put one in and turn the wheel, i watched the need go down and it bends.... something with the hook  is pushing the needle to the side.. is this an easy fix? is it just the timing?

Did you get the exact Pfaff needle system that this machine requires? If not, a too long needle will be bent by the hook, as you noticed. A needle too short won't pick up the bobbin thread. I found that there are 6 different sub-classes of the Pfaff, with different needle systems. Here is a reply I found to someone else who bought a 138 without a needle.

SCHMETZneedles says:

July 28, 2016 at 10:06 am

Need to know the machine class. The SCHMETZ Needle catalog shows six entries for the PFAFF 138 depending upon machine class:

PFAFF
138 – ALL CLASSES EXCEPT —— Uses Needle System 265KK, 438KK, DPx438KK
138 – 6-21-915-01 —————— Uses Needle System 130B, DBx130B
138 – FROM 1948 – 1952 ——— Uses Needle System 134R, 135×5, SY1955, DPx5
138 – 275-01 ————————- Uses Needle System 134EK, DP-P5
138 – 277-01 ————————- Uses Needle System 134R, 135×5, SY1955, DPx5
138 – 915-01 ————————- Uses Needle System 130B, DBx130B

[alexitbe]

I think you can add the 138-6u to the needle system 130b too... although i will have to check to be certain.

 

Cheers

alex

[beltbuckles]

it is a pfaff 138-6/21-bs   then under that 108486   i used needles  organ needles 438-265-dp438    110/18

i also bought a foot for the machine but it didn't fit on well.... i looks like it should but when i tightened it.. it would turn crooked and and there was a gap between the dogfeed and the bottom of the foot

[Constabulary]

Guessing you have a long shaft Pfaff foot then loosen the clamp on the presser foot bar and lower / reposition it.

Edited July 3, 2017 by Constabulary

[beltbuckles]

3 hours ago, Constabulary said:

Guessing you have a long shaft Pfaff foot then loosen the clamp on the presser foot bar and lower / reposition it.

hey, thankyou so much for the pic...

Edited July 3, 2017 by beltbuckles

[beltbuckles]

5 hours ago, Wizcrafts said:

Did you get the exact Pfaff needle system that this machine requires? If not, a too long needle will be bent by the hook, as you noticed. A needle too short won't pick up the bobbin thread. I found that there are 6 different sub-classes of the Pfaff, with different needle systems. Here is a reply I found to someone else who bought a 138 without a needle.

SCHMETZneedles says:

July 28, 2016 at 10:06 am

Need to know the machine class. The SCHMETZ Needle catalog shows six entries for the PFAFF 138 depending upon machine class:

PFAFF
138 – ALL CLASSES EXCEPT —— Uses Needle System 265KK, 438KK, DPx438KK
138 – 6-21-915-01 —————— Uses Needle System 130B, DBx130B
138 – FROM 1948 – 1952 ——— Uses Needle System 134R, 135×5, SY1955, DPx5
138 – 275-01 ————————- Uses Needle System 134EK, DP-P5
138 – 277-01 ————————- Uses Needle System 134R, 135×5, SY1955, DPx5
138 – 915-01 ————————- Uses Needle System 130B, DBx130B

thank you for your help.. im searching google and called a store by me.. no luck finding one that size.. i think i need the second one . i have a machine 6/21 bs. can you recommend a website to get these needles>?  i guess just post a link... -thanks again for your help

Edited July 3, 2017 by beltbuckles

[Wizcrafts]

46 minutes ago, beltbuckles said:

thank you for your help.. im searching google and called a store by me.. no luck finding one that size.. i think i need the second one . i have a machine 6/21 bs. can you recommend a website to get these needles>?  i guess just post a link... -thanks again for your help

Call Keystone Sewing, or Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines, or any industrial sewing machine dealer who has been in the trade for at least 20 years. They will find the right needles for your machine.

[beltbuckles]

12 minutes ago, Wizcrafts said:

Call Keystone Sewing, or Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines, or any industrial sewing machine dealer who has been in the trade for at least 20 years. They will find the right needles for your machine.

thanks, sounds good

[alexitbe]

An alternative to Needle System 130B is the 1738 needle system.  It has been used to some success on Pfaff 130-14-15 sewing machine, which is also requires the round schank 130b for its adjustable needle holder.  The 1738 is aka DBX1 16X231 16X257 1738.

 

Cheers

Alex 

[Wellington]

Hello, all,

New member here. I thought about starting a new thread, but decided to tack onto this existing thread to make things easier for searchers in the future. 

I'm considering driving several hours to look at a Pfaff 138 here

https://richmond.craigslist.org/art/d/sewing-machine-industrial/6770955579.html

Spoke to the seller, and he said the brass plates on the machine read "138-6/21-BS" and "139936."

In my research, I found that Pfaff 138s come in several variants. I guess the "A" variant is for lighter fabrics and the "B" is for medium weight fabrics.

Question: Would the "B" at the end of the model number on the brass plate ("138-6/21-BS") indicate that this is a "B" version? What is the difference, physically, between the "A" and "B" versions?

Question: Would I be able to use heavier needles on this machine? I got the feeling that one could use needles up to about size 120 or so on the Pfaff 138, but the manual suggests that 100/16 would be max on the 138 "B" variant.

Question: Could I change the needle type used on this machine, possibly by changing or modifying the needle bar? The seller said it takes 438kk needles (and one website says this is equivalent to 265KK), but I see that these needles aren't very common (or cheap). If possible, I would like to switch to the common 15x1 system used on home machines like my Pfaff 130. (I was surprised that not all 138s use 15x1 needles, considering that the 138 and 130 share the same hook, bobbin case and bobbin, etc...)

Machine would be used for boat canvas, light upholstery, garment construction, garment alterations and repairs, etc. I've been fairly happy with my Pfaff 130 for these purposes, but would like a bit more power, as well as the knee presser lifter and foot-pedal reverse (I'm actually thinking of trying to rig a knee lifter on my 130...I can tig weld and fabricate...)

(Also considering trying to find a Pfaff 545 for the heavier jobs –such as heavier canvas, webbing and truck/boat upholstery – and selling off my Singer 201-3, whose capabilities would be covered by the Pfaff 130 or 138 ... I don't have room for a whole bunch of sewing machines. If I could keep it to two – maybe a Pfaff 138 and a Pfaff 545 – that would be ideal...)

One last question:  I always heard that the Pfaff 130 contained no plastic parts at all, but I discovered that there is a white plastic (nylon?) gear in the machine (I think it has something to do with the zig zag) and I have read that the hook is driven by some kind of "composite plastic" gear ... does anyone know whether the Pfaff 138 has any plastic parts prone to breakage?

Thank you in advance for any help.

Wellington.

 

 

 

Edited December 28, 2018 by Wellington

[Danymask]

On 7/3/2017 at 3:33 PM, Constabulary said:

Guessing you have a long shaft Pfaff foot then loosen the clamp on the presser foot bar and lower / reposition it.

 

On 7/3/2017 at 3:33 PM, Constabulary said:

Guessing you have a long shaft Pfaff foot then loosen the clamp on the presser foot bar and lower / reposition it.

Hi my name is Dan I just get a pfaff 138-6  and I'm trying  to use a teflon presser foot narrow to work with light fabric I made mask for wrestlers lucha libre. I'm pretty new with this machine an there is not many information online   I found an article where it said you can loosen the shaft then you moved the bar or adjust to the desire high also they mentioned on the article  you can buy it a presser foot extension or adapter     #91-006603-22  so I have questions and I will appreciate  it any help with my next questions???

1. How can I loosen the shaft in order to moved down the bar with out not cause any problem because I don't anything about it. And that way I dont need to buy  any presser  foot extension.

2. If I bought  the presser foot extension or adapter #91-006603-22 what kind of presser foot teflon high shank can I used??

Thanks for reading hope hear from you guys