Pfaff 230 - any experience?

[plinkercases]

There is a Pfaff 230 up for auction near me and some online descriptions and video say it is industrial heavy duty fro leather, canvas, vinyl - not too serious about it but did make me wonder if anyone has experience with this machine as it could go very low ball.....

 

[Constabulary]

funny little domestic sewing machine - well engineered - long lasting but no serious industrial strength sewing machine - you can sew some 96 thread with it - this is not a heavy duty machine for leather - by far not! You can sew "heavy" denim or some heavier canvas or garment leather but thats it.

[plinkercases]

Thank you sir.

[Sceaden]

Old thread I know but I'm looking at picking up a nice used one of these for sewing waxed duck canvas. Sounds like it should be a good option for about $100?

[Kohlrausch]

Hi,

 

the 230 uses householdmachine needles only, which may pose a restriction or two. There have been no variants for roundshank needles. Wheather it will cope with waxed duck canvas will depend on how many layers of what thickness of how tightly woven canvas with how sticky waxing you try to sew with what needle point and what kind of thread driven by what exactly kind of motor. Also there have been different needle plates with different sizes of needle holes and different feed dogs. Teflon presser feet might help a bit.

The machines have been designed with profesional seamstresses in mind working from home on bedsheets, table cloths and normal clothing. With the standard motor KU52 they do 1500 stitches/min at 40 Watts output resulting in 0,25 Nm torque. That is only half the power of a cheap China made entry level sewing machine from a discount store with 35 watts/650 stitches and 1/6 of the power of a Sailrite. And the 110-volts-KU52 have even been a bit weaker than the 220 volt ones, but in the US the Pfaff 230 often has been sold with other motors. If it is used in a table you can fit the machine with a servo motor, bit if you are setting up a fixed table i would probaby look at a proper tailor's machine in the first place.

 

Greets

Ralf C.

Edited January 29, 2019 by Kohlrausch
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[DavidJohn]

I’d rather have the Pfaff 230 than the crappie new machine from China, maybe your brushes need replacement, I have found the Pfaff very powerful for home sewing, it’s lasted this long , how long do you think the machine made in China will last.

[chrisash]

China is no different than the UK, USA or Australia, You buy cheap and you get cheap, you pay the money for quality and you get quality, all countries produce products made to a price range, but don't expect high quality and long life plus service to come with low priced items

Juki and others have not lowered their quality being made outside Japan, but they have reduced their labour costs significantly

[Constabulary]

@DavidJohn Quite and old post you reply to but anyway. "Powerful machine" is a point of view and depends on what you want to sew. The power is not inside the machine the power comes from the motor that drives the machine. So question rather is: Right machine + motor for the job - or not. I would generally agree that a German made sewing machine from the 1950s / 1960´s will last longer than a modern Chinese made machine BUT the machines have to come from the same class otherwise it is like comparing apples and eggs. So a general statement that "a" Chinese made machine will not last longer that the Pfaff 230 is not the "full truth". There comes crap from China but also very well built machines.

The 230 is not an industrial machine, it is well built but it still it is a domestic machine that has it´s limitations. If I had to choose lets say between a Pfaff 230 and a Chinese build Singer 20U clone I would go with the 20U clone (and I´m by far not a big fan of Chinese made machines). But thats still comparing apples and eggs. As I said before the work you want to do decides which type of machine you will need.

@chrisash

I recently bought some presser feet from a Chinese Ebay seller and they were so dirt cheap I did not expect very good feet at all (wanted to modify them anyway). But what I received was far above my expectations. Totally smooth bottom side and very well finished. So yeah - you can buy cheap and receive crap but you can also buy cheap and receive excellent quality. Thing is you never really know what you will get when you buy from "these sellers" that sell all kind of odds and ends and are not focused on a certain branch. I guess a lot of the "odds & Ends" seller just sell overstock / surplus parts they buy in bulks or so. To be honest the percentage of crap items I received from China is fairly low. The majority of parts I have received (yet) where good to very good.

 

Edited June 15, 2021 by Constabulary

[chrisash]

With CAD it's getting harder to produce poor quality, as the cad software can test tolerances' and interfacing between surfaces plus load test so well. that quality is always rising on many but not all goods, we can see that on the 3d Made items shown on this forum, but, and a big but, many items were not set up using 3D and still producing the same old quality

[DavidJohn]

The Pfaff has more resistance to overcome than a cheap Chinese Singer, if you put your foot down on the cheap one it would probably bounce off the table, a good Pfaff 230 with motor working well will do a better stitch and have more piercing power than a cheap Chinese Singer, I’d say go for the Pfaff, the Singer 201 is probably the best domestic machine ever made, (1940-1950). By the way a clone singer 20u is really an industrial machine and costs well over a $1000 so there is no comparison.

Edited June 21, 2021 by DavidJohn

[MarB]

I can be helpful once. I own Pfaff 230. I love the machine, however. Compared to other domestic machines around 150 USD that I tried, Pfaff 230 sews much easier through heavier fabrics. Small leather goods are no problem for it. I have original table with foot pedal (foot power), which is great for watch straps. But I very rarely go through the hassle of switching belt. All the different stitches are fun, I love to hear it clicking, although I have no practical use for them. It is nice to have a option to sew shirt for my girls from time to time.

But.

It is no "heavy duty", "leather" or industrial machine, even though it weights like one. Hemming jeans can be struggle. You need to be comfortable with spending days learning to set it up correctly. It needs some care and switching between heavier and lighter fabrics can mean a bit of tune up. Did I mention it is heavy? I wouldn't use it if I didn't have space for table and would have to move it. I spent a lot of time troubleshooting, searching for manuals and figuring out how it works.

For occasional heavier fabric it is ok. Great all-around machine. If you like mechanics and are comfortable with screwdriver, it is joy. Although some time when you want to sew something, you might spend the time aligning the needle. I would buy it again in good condition. Should I need to depend on the machine for some income, I would go for something modern, be it chinese. If you want to sew only heavy fabrics, go for something bigger.

[DavidJohn]

People seem to forget that it wasn’t made for industrial work it is a domestic machine, you can get away with buying an old industrial like the Pfaff 460, Singer 95k40 and others, they might be old but just as effective as say a new Juki.