Adler 205-370 kicking out of gear

[ScarlettStarlett]

I broke a needle last week and now my machine will sew four to five stitches and kick itself out of gear. Any ideas what could be wrong? Unfortunately the owners manual isn't much help. 

[Constabulary]

I guess your needle hit a hard spot and pushed the needle bar up. Check the needle / hook timing of your machine.You most likely have to lower the needle bar a tiny bit.

You can download a 205 service manual here:

https://www.duerkopp-adler.com/en/main/downloads/manuals.html

Edited July 3, 2017 by Constabulary

[Uwe]

1 hour ago, ScarlettStarlett said:

kick itself out of gear

Can you elaborate on what you mean?

[ScarlettStarlett]

There is a lever to the side, up is reverse, center is neutral, down is forward. I pull it down to begin sewing forward, it sews a few stitches then the lever bumps back up to the neutral position. 

[ScarlettStarlett]

5 hours ago, Constabulary said:

I guess your needle hit a hard spot and pushed the needle bar up. Check the needle / hook timing of your machine.You most likely have to lower the needle bar a tiny bit.

You can download a 205 service manual here:

https://www.duerkopp-adler.com/en/main/downloads/manuals.html

Thank you for this link! I did hit a hard spot, I tightened my belt because it was slipping, clearly it's a little fast now. I hit a ring on a halter and bam!  

[Uwe]

Overall that does not sound good.

If the needle BAR hit something under power and at full speed, something let go to absorb the impact. Something may be loose and slipping or catching on the internal linkages. I'm concerned that something actually broke absorbing that impact.

That stitch length lever is not really a gear lever like on a transmission and there is no "neutral" per se (only zero stitch length). The lever rotates the feed eccentric but everything stays tightly connected. Nothing spins freely with the lever in the center position. That lever should NOT move on its own, ever.

I strongly recommend not running the machine under power until you figure out what's going on. Remove the belt from the hand wheel, turn it over by hand slowly and inspect EVERYTHING inside and out to find what is not right. That is not easy to do because these machines don't tilt back to reveal the insides. You'll have to remove cover plates to see, which is tricky because you don't want to yank out oil wicks in the process (top cover has oil reservoir underneath).

Unless you've worked on sewing machines before your best bet may be to call your friendly local sewing machine mechanic. The 205-370 is not a good starter machine for learning sewing machine maintenance. 

If you do decide to try remote internet-based trouble shooting, start practicing taking clear, well lit close-up pictures and videos to share.

Edited July 4, 2017 by Uwe

[ScarlettStarlett]

13 hours ago, Uwe said:

Overall that does not sound good.

If the needle BAR hit something under power and at full speed, something let go to absorb the impact. Something may be loose and slipping or catching on the internal linkages. I'm concerned that something actually broke absorbing that impact.

That stitch length lever is not really a gear lever like on a transmission and there is no "neutral" per se (only zero stitch length). The lever rotates the feed eccentric but everything stays tightly connected. Nothing spins freely with the lever in the center position. That lever should NOT move on its own, ever.

I strongly recommend not running the machine under power until you figure out what's going on. Remove the belt from the hand wheel, turn it over by hand slowly and inspect EVERYTHING inside and out to find what is not right. That is not easy to do because these machines don't tilt back to reveal the insides. You'll have to remove cover plates to see, which is tricky because you don't want to yank out oil wicks in the process (top cover has oil reservoir underneath).

Unless you've worked on sewing machines before your best bet may be to call your friendly local sewing machine mechanic. The 205-370 is not a good starter machine for learning sewing machine maintenance. 

If you do decide to try remote internet-based trouble shooting, start practicing taking clear, well lit close-up pictures and videos to share.

Thank you for your time, I believe it's best I take this to someone more knowledgeable than me. 

[shoepatcher]

Scarlett,

If you are in the US, I would call Weaver Leather and ask to speak to Allen Burkholder.  He is the best man I know to work on Adler 205-370's since he has been working on them for over 20 years and rebuilt 2 of them for the company I work for.  He knows the machine cold..

glenn

[CowboyBob]

This is a very easy adjustment.You need a 10mm wrench & a 2.5 mm allen wrench,take the 10mm & loosen the nut in the pic,take the 2.5 m & put inside the nut on the allen bolt & turn it alittle clockwise & check the tightness of the stitch length handle & when you get it where it doesn't move up& down by itself tighten the 10mm.

[Uwe]

I was at a client site today that has a Durkopp Adler 205-370 based binding workstation, which I had built for them last year. I noticed a bungee cord attached to the reverse lever to pull it down. They said it was their work-around fix for "jumpy reverse lever syndrom" the machine had developed a few weeks back. The adjustment Bob posted above came in super handy to give that lever just the right amount of friction again to stay in place, no matter where you put it.  Thanks Bob, great timing!

Edited July 7, 2017 by Uwe

[CowboyBob]

Yes,we get calls from people every once in a while about the lever moving on them & have to explain it.Glad to hear it helped you.

[ScarlettStarlett]

My brother is here today and I was able to film the issue. The top thread does not always catch the bottom thread and after a few revolutions it gets stuck. Here is a photo with the allen wrench pointing to where it gets stuck. There is a black thread stuck there. I have a 23 second video too, but it is apparently too large to upload here. 

[Wizcrafts]

2 hours ago, ScarlettStarlett said:

My brother is here today and I was able to film the issue. The top thread does not always catch the bottom thread and after a few revolutions it gets stuck. Here is a photo with the allen wrench pointing to where it gets stuck. There is a black thread stuck there. I have a 23 second video too, but it is apparently too large to upload here. 

You can create an account and upload your video to YouTube, then embed the link they provide in a reply, here. Just copy the link code and paste it into a reply on the forum.

[Uwe]

I second the Youtube approach - it's THE place made for sharing videos. You can share them as "unlisted" so only the people you tell about the video will see it (as opposed to the whole world.)

Many of these trouble shooting tasks come down to three general steps:

1. You need to know how things SHOULD be (and how things should move)

2. Notice which particular detail is NOT how it should be

3. Make a correction so that everything is again how it should be

Step one is actually the hard part - it takes time, observational skills and lots of experience. The best way to start is to look at a machine that works exactly as it should. Then compare that to your machine and figure out how yours is different (easier said than done - put on your Sherlock Holmes hat for that step.) 

To help get you started I made a short video showing how my Adler 205 moves to make a stitch. Compare it to yours - pay attention to the range of motions and also the sequence of motions. Your adler may have a cover of the take-up lever.

I'm also referencing two other videos that should help with step 1 - knowing how things should be. 

Here's the video (filmed on my iPhone 6 using a $10 selfie stick clamped to a chair. I uploaded it to Youtube in "unlisted" mode. You can upload to Youtube directly from your phone, too.)  

For a general operation guide to the Adler 205 you can watch this video. (Make sure your threading is correct)

Lastly here's another video showing how the Adler 205 makes a stitch

 

Edited July 13, 2017 by Uwe