Bauer 1919 harness machine

[obsolete]

Can any one tell me anything about my Bauer harness machine. i would like to know years manufactured what size needle can be used thread size presser feet etc. machine is working fine now but would love info and spare parts. Thanks 

[Uwe]

I've never even heard of that brand. Can you please post some pictures? You may know more about the machine than most people on this forum. 

[Wizcrafts]

I found a manual for the Bauer Harness Machine.

Better still, here is a YouTube video somebody posted showing how to thread a 1919 Bauer Harness Stitching Machine.

 

[Wizcrafts]

As regards spare parts, good luck. If fortune smiles on you, you may find that it uses similar bobbins to some other machine from the 20th Century for which parts are still available. These could possibly be from a (Campbell) Randall Lockstitch, or a Landis 3 or 16, all of which use boat shuttles with cylindrical bobbins. Other parts may be made of unobtanium and would need to be custom made.

[Wizcrafts]

There is a chance that the bobbins and needles for the ancient Pearson/BUSM harness stitchers might fit your Bauer stitcher.

[SARK9]

Here is one in the wild:

https://tricities.craigslist.org/art/d/leather-sewing-machine-heavy/6388815167.html

 

-DC

[Uwe]

That is some machine, wow! Unfortunately that threading video appears to be the only bit of documentation available online. I did find an Advertisement for an earlier version of the machine on the last page of the 1909 issue of "Harness"  (the thread tension mechanism is a little different - it only has one tension disc). Sometimes patent application drawings and descriptions can be helpful. 

With a needle that long, there's going to a minimum thickness that makes sense and likely will only be manufactured in a limited size range. Do you know what system needle you have in your machine right now? If not, can you take some measurement like diameter of butt, butt to top of the eye of needle distance, and overall length (ideally in mm). It may narrow down the possible needle system choices. There's only a handful of needle systems that are that long.

I was organizing a few parts bins yesterday and came across a few Landis (I think) parts. The bobbins sure look a lot like the Bauer bobbins, but the shuttle boats are quite different, at least in the thread tension mechanism. 

 

 

[Uwe]

The guy in that Craigslist posting above says he has a manual for it.  What are the chances of him being willing to scan it to PDF for the greater good?

[Uwe]

Just a screenshot and the images from that CL ad referenced above, just  to preserve it for posterity here on LW. Love that pedal drive!

Edited November 21, 2017 by Uwe

[Uwe]

Here's the Patent US822337 about the thread controlling device: