Zig-zag machinez

[Constabulary]

Sometimes you can find the Pfaff 138 with a wider 6mm ZZ but they are harder to find.

[Uwe]

Here's the sewing demo video with my Pfaff 138 sewing oil tan leather patches onto canvas material. Hopefully it will give you some idea of how this machine handles that particular task. 

 

[Haderimouve]

Other effective alternative to the Pfaff 138 :

I have a Bernina 217 (some as mine equipped with puler) which zig zag (but also many other stitches with one of the  19 cams that I bought separately) works great in tough materials if not too thick ... Most are 6mmZZ but it's frequent to find 8mmZZ and sometimes 12mmZZ !!!) But it's more rare in the market than a Pfaff 138 and usually cost much more.

That said, it's swiss quality lasting about forever !

http://www.ashleyandthenoisemakers.com/blog/2015/5/7/bernina-217-review

Here an old Bernina 217 with cams :

And the 12mm ZZ (Bernina 217 rebadged Adler) !!!

 

Edited March 16, 2018 by Haderimouve

[Michiel]

I started with a pfaff 138 for canvas pvc and sometimes leather.

it was strong  (compared with house hold machines) but  the feed was limited (i believe it was not sold for other than light work)

But since  i wanted a zigzag it was hard to find a better sewing machine.

at the and i decided i needed a real sailmakers machine: an adler 98 for light and medium heavy work or an adler 166 for heavy work (it was hard too choose so at the end i bought both)

Both are hard to find but exelent machines (and sold for leather)

the most important differeence between my pfaff 138 and adler 98 is the feed.

also only bottum feed but much wider and stronger.

(i love this forum and learned a lott by reading al the posts, but normaly do not feel a have to ad much, so this is my first post)

michiel

 

http://www.duerkopp-adler.com/commons/download/download-text-attachments/Vintage_Leaflets_Adler/Leaflet_Adler_Class_166.pdf

[Uwe]

On the far end of the spectrum is this super heavy duty Singer top+bottom feed zig zag machine. I'm not sure which model this is. I keep it on a dedicated hydraulic lift cart for a reason.

 

 

 

Edited March 16, 2018 by Uwe

[Dave84]

Uwe, thank you very much, your video helps a ton.  What do you know of the differences between the Pfaff 138 and 130?  I have a 130 closer in distance to me, but do want the industrial strength zig zag.  Based on your demo, I would be quite happy with the 138 after testing several runs of only leather, with it not being a walking foot that's the last test.  

[DonInReno]

Uwe - I love that big zig zag!

Dave - I'll throw this out there - if you don't mind tinkering a little the Rex 607 is a sailrite clone that's a huge bargain.  As it ships it may or may not function properly - these are not fine tuned and I had a minor issue every day for a week straight.  Nothing huge, but you'll know the machine inside and out by the time it's broken in.  The only new machine purchase of any kind with a manual that doesn't even attempt to suggest they make replacement parts let alone a service department.  You really are on your own.....sort of.   Sailrite has parts and all the machines of this type are very basic and easy to figure out.

The strangest quirk is a oil point that can't be reached unless the motor and cover its mounted to is removed - I must have spent 8 hrs tracking down a slight bind that turned out to be lubrication related. Lol

If that doesn't scare you off the second big issue is the machine doesn't have a lot of grunt out of the box - in fact I wouldn't recommend it at all if you don't upgrade it somehow.  You'll definitely need to either upgrade the hand wheel to a sailrite monster wheel and/or add a v belt pulley and servo motor.  The clogged belts are standard "XL 8mm wide"  type available on amazon or eBay so it's inexpensive to track down pulleys and long belts.  I have the monster wheel and it will easily sew through 8 layers of thick marine vinyl with 92 weight thread.  The feed dogs are too aggressive for leather unless smoothed down a bit.

As a lot of owners of these machines have done, a user quickly outgrows them....it fills a limited niche that I describe as home sewers afraid of commercial machines and others that have bought into Sailrite's marketing, parts, and service.  Even on a sailboat or RV with minimal storage I'd rather have a full size machine set up for table top use.

I keep it around for teaching new sewers and when one of the kids takes an interest I'll gift it.

[Kohlrausch]

  On 3/17/2018 at 1:24 AM, Dave84 said:

Uwe, thank you very much, your video helps a ton.  What do you know of the differences between the Pfaff 138 and 130?  I have a 130 closer in distance to me, but do want the industrial strength zig zag.  Based on your demo, I would be quite happy with the 138 after testing several runs of only leather, with it not being a walking foot that's the last test.  

Expand  

Hi,

the Pfaff 130 was designed as a commercial machine alright, but for womens' tailoring and linnen stitching. Think silk blouses and bedsheets. The 138 has been designed for mens' tailoring and industrial garment production. The 138 has am much stronger presser-foot spring. Weak spot in the 130 is the needle bar clamp which lacks clamping power if the 130 is used for heavy work.

There have been several variants of the 138. I recommend the old black ones with needle system 134. There have also been some with more exotic needle systems and household needles. The 138 works well with a roller foot.

The Pfaff 34, 38, 134, 138, 238 etc. use a Pfaff-specific high shank foot. There will be few aftermarked feet. Pfaff also made an adapter, part number 6603 which converts the high shank machines to standard low shank.

If you want to go really exotic you can look for a Pfaff 38 C/D with 6 mm zigzag and double roller foot.Never seen one even on the internet, but I have the manual ;-)

 

Greets

Ralf C.

[Dave84]

Ralf,  thank you for the knowledge dude.  I'm keeping my eyes peeled for a Pfaff 138 then, which ever I can get my hands on.  I'm also going to talk to my local used guy about Adler 98 machines that he could have.  These are the two I've narrowed my search for.  Anyone have experience with the Adler 98?

[Michiel]

In my search for a good used industrial.  sewing machine with zigzag i found this list verry useful

http://www.voiles-alternatives.com/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=343

its in french but the list and photo's are clear  (and you always can use google translate)

regards, michiel