PFAFF 30

[Wonderboy]

Hi. I’ve just been gifted a 1953 PFAFF 30 sewing machine and I’m in the process of cleaning it and restoring it in the hope that I can use it to sew small leather goods. It’s the Australian version and has a Wernard 240v 0.38amp motor which still works. The US version came with a 1.5amp motor which, according to the YouTube videos I’ve watched has a lot of punch power (torque) making it a great modification for sewing leather. Is issue I have though is that this motor is only 110v. 

Can anyone help with shedding light on this machine specifically with using it for sewing leather? Are there other 240v motors which would be appropriate and what other modifications should I consider for it. I’m in the process of cleaning it so haven’t tested the punching power of the 0.38amp motor yet. It’s such a beautiful little machine and I’d love to bring it back to life and put it to use. My step father, who has late stage Parkinson’s, gave it to me and I’d love very much to have him see it working and making things again. He remembers it working from when he was a child.

Thanks in advance.

 

[jimi]

Hi there, here is a manual for your machine, sorry i don´t know much about the pfaff 30 but to me it says Domestic sewing machine. so that pretty much says for leather you´d be better off with a an industrial version like the 335 or so. but saying that it might handle some thin leather but as it is not made for that purpose i would expect the limit reached quite soon. for restoring i would wash down with warm water and natural soap with a cloth, then use a scotch pad or equivalent (not coarse) to just take of any rust, not going heavy. then i normally give a light coat of shellac to give a little shine to the old paint and further preserve any type of decals. as if you were doing some antique furniture restoring, with the ball of wool and rag. then just use it for what it was made for. i am sure it will last another 70 years no problem.

https://dolfmeister.com/files/sewing_machines/pfaff_30-31.pdf

 

[Wonderboy]

Hey Jimi. Thanks a lot for the suggestions for restoring! I started tonight and very carefully took of some hardware and polished it to a mirror shine by hand for about 3 hours. I’ve got most of the dust out but plan to put in another 10-15 hours cleaning and polishing. Then I’ll do as you’ve suggested and move onto the painted surfaces. I noticed the paint surface on the machine bed has cracks through it like a dried clay riverbed. I’m not sure what I could do about that...?

I’m also after suggestions on how best to restore the nickle plated parts that would be hard to polish by hand. Is there some solution I could use to achieve similar results? Not electrolysis as nothing’s rusting but something like a jewellery cleaner?

I’ll keep searching for an answer to the motor. Last resort if I can’t find a local solution would be to buy a step down transformer and purchase the US 110v 1.5amp motor I guess.

Here’s a few YouTubes indicating that it should be ok for light leather work. I have a Cowboy 4500 for heavier work and was going to buy a 1618 (or similar) but this may do the job. I’m pretty excited...

 

 

 

 

Edited June 4, 2018 by Wonderboy
Adding question

[Matt S]

42 minutes ago, Wonderboy said:

I’ll keep searching for an answer to the motor. Last resort if I can’t find a local solution would be to buy a step down transformer and purchase the US 110v 1.5amp motor I guess.

Here’s a few YouTubes indicating that it should be ok for light leather work. I have a Cowboy 4500 for heavier work and was going to buy a 1618 (or similar) but this may do the job. I’m pretty excited...

Finding a more powerful motor will help, but it's not going to take you past the limits of a domestic machine. For a 110V motor @ 1.5A your motor will be consuming about 165 Watts. A similarly powerful motor designed for and run on 220v would only draw 0.75A. They certainly exist, try contacting your local machine dealers and asking what the most powerful domestic machine motor they carry is. I've seen them advertised as much as 180W before. Assuming you can obtain a more powerful 220v motor there would be no advantage to operating a 110V 1.5A motor. In comparison the motor on your Cowboy machine probably consumes at least 500 Watts, and possibly as much as 1000W. Sadly I find that a lot of online advocates for domestic machines on leather either don't know what they're talking about or are trying to sell you an inappropriate machine for more than it's worth. A 165W motor simply does not provide much punching power on leather, nor is it the only deciding factor.

Your Pfaff will probably be okay for very light leather work -- a couple MM of soft leather using TKT40 thread will probably be the maximum. You'll still have to deal with dog-marks, layer slippage, short stitch length, small bobbins and inconsistent stitch length.

[Wonderboy]

Thanks Matt. Appreciate your comments and what you say about the motor makes sense. I’ll get in contact with a local shop. What you say though about online stores also holds true for brick and mortar too. We got burnt big time on our first machine so will not be going anywhere near them again. I may be being overly optimistic at this stage but it would be great if this machine performs as well as the people in the above YouTube videos say it does. I know what you’re saying about presser foot pressure/feed dogs too. While the bobbin isn’t anywhere near the size of our 4500 it is a class15 so not the end of the world. Fingers crossed...

*updated*

I’ve just found this motor online which is 240v and 1A meaning it would be more powerful than the above 110v/1.5A US motor? It’s listed as being compatible so I may buy it...?

http://www.yaya-online.com/-e-n-/shpSR.php?A=26&p1=491&p2=317

Edited June 5, 2018 by Wonderboy
Spelling

[Northmount]

13 hours ago, Wonderboy said:

I’ve just found this motor online which is 240v and 1A meaning it would be more powerful than the above 110v/1.5A US motor? It’s listed as being compatible so I may buy it...?

http://www.yaya-online.com/-e-n-/shpSR.php?A=26&p1=491&p2=317

If we ignore power factor for alternating current circuits, you can do a quick comparison of power by multiplying volts x amperes.  Assuming unity power factor (which it isn't), VA would equal Watts.  (And 1 horsepower = 746 Watts if you want to look at hp instead.)

240 x 1 = 240 VA 

110 x 1.5 = 165 VA

So obviously your 240 volt 1 amp motor is more powerful than the 110 volt 1.5 amp motor.

Tom

Edit:  Motor you referenced is 180 W.  Therefore PF = 180 / 240 = 0.75.  PF of AC motors is typically 0.5 to 0.8.  But again, just the VA comparison is adequate for many cases, including yours.

 

[Kohlrausch]

On 5.6.2018 at 11:50 AM, Wonderboy said:

Thanks Matt. Appreciate your comments and what you say about the motor makes sense. I’ll get in contact with a local shop. What you say though about online stores also holds true for brick and mortar too. We got burnt big time on our first machine so will not be going anywhere near them again. I may be being overly optimistic at this stage but it would be great if this machine performs as well as the people in the above YouTube videos say it does. I know what you’re saying about presser foot pressure/feed dogs too. While the bobbin isn’t anywhere near the size of our 4500 it is a class15 so not the end of the world. Fingers crossed...

*updated*

I’ve just found this motor online which is 240v and 1A meaning it would be more powerful than the above 110v/1.5A US motor? It’s listed as being compatible so I may buy it...?

http://www.yaya-online.com/-e-n-/shpSR.php?A=26&p1=491&p2=317

Hi,

first of all I would advise against buying from Yaya-online. They also list anal- and penis plugs, mouth gags, vagina speculas, surgical instruments, diet food which in my opinion does not exactly make them sewing machine specialists.

2: The motor you have found is also offered for the Pfaff 130, but the mounting bracket is too short for the 130 and it is also offered for the Pfaff 260, which does not even have the necessary motor mounting block.

3: The motor is advertised as CE conforming, but does not seem to have any sticker or other sign of CE, which in my opinion would make it illegal to sell in the EU. All goods sold in the EU must conform with EU regulations, which is declared by the manufacturer (and checked by nobody) in a declaration of conformity and the specific CE sticker or mould.

4: Yaya's return policy only allows you to return the motor if it has not been installed and tested. So if you don't like the black, you can return it. If you find it too week or too fast, it will be your problem.

5: Yaya does not care for technical data. They will pass on whatever the mfgr printed on whatever, and if that doesn't make any sense or is physically impossible they neither check nor care nor correct mistakes.

6: The motor is quoted to do 8000 rpm with a 15mm pulley which would bring the Pfaff 30 to 2000 stitches per minute which is too fast for the oscillating hook machine. You want to stay at or below 1500 spm.

7: They don't say how many steps there are in the footpedal. The worst I have seen was three steps (off, minimum, full throttle).

8: They don't give the minimum working speed of the motor.

9: Doesn't matter, the motor is sold out anyway. Yaya is notorius for advertising goods they don't have.

 

The amperage is the fuse rating of the motor and usually has a small safetymargin, so the given amps will be higher than the actual power consumption. 240 Volts and 0,38 amps would be 91,4 Watt power consumption, take off the safety margin and we are looking at an 80 Watts motor. This kind of motor has power factors between 0,35 and 0,55, with the 0,35 motor being a single outlier. The typical range is 0,45 to 0,55. The average, when I compared motor data that I have found on photos and spec sheets was exactly 0.5.

 

Really, that Wernard motor is as good as it gets, you will not gain any usability by buying another little piggipack motor.

 

The Pfaff 30 is very similar to the Singer 15. You can read everything Wizcrafts has written about the Singer 15 in this forum and directly apply it to your machine.

 

HTH

Greets

Ralf C.

 

[Wonderboy]

On 06/06/2018 at 9:09 AM, Northmount said:

If we ignore power factor for alternating current circuits, you can do a quick comparison of power by multiplying volts x amperes.  Assuming unity power factor (which it isn't), VA would equal Watts.  (And 1 horsepower = 746 Watts if you want to look at hp instead.)

240 x 1 = 240 VA 

110 x 1.5 = 165 VA

So obviously your 240 volt 1 amp motor is more powerful than the 110 volt 1.5 amp motor.

Tom

Edit:  Motor you referenced is 180 W.  Therefore PF = 180 / 240 = 0.75.  PF of AC motors is typically 0.5 to 0.8.  But again, just the VA comparison is adequate for many cases, including yours.

 

Very helpful, thanks for this Northmount.

[Wonderboy]

On 06/06/2018 at 8:41 PM, Kohlrausch said:

Hi,

first of all I would advise against buying from Yaya-online. They also list anal- and penis plugs, mouth gags, vagina speculas, surgical instruments, diet food which in my opinion does not exactly make them sewing machine specialists.

2: The motor you have found is also offered for the Pfaff 130, but the mounting bracket is too short for the 130 and it is also offered for the Pfaff 260, which does not even have the necessary motor mounting block.

3: The motor is advertised as CE conforming, but does not seem to have any sticker or other sign of CE, which in my opinion would make it illegal to sell in the EU. All goods sold in the EU must conform with EU regulations, which is declared by the manufacturer (and checked by nobody) in a declaration of conformity and the specific CE sticker or mould.

4: Yaya's return policy only allows you to return the motor if it has not been installed and tested. So if you don't like the black, you can return it. If you find it too week or too fast, it will be your problem.

5: Yaya does not care for technical data. They will pass on whatever the mfgr printed on whatever, and if that doesn't make any sense or is physically impossible they neither check nor care nor correct mistakes.

6: The motor is quoted to do 8000 rpm with a 15mm pulley which would bring the Pfaff 30 to 2000 stitches per minute which is too fast for the oscillating hook machine. You want to stay at or below 1500 spm.

7: They don't say how many steps there are in the footpedal. The worst I have seen was three steps (off, minimum, full throttle).

8: They don't give the minimum working speed of the motor.

9: Doesn't matter, the motor is sold out anyway. Yaya is notorius for advertising goods they don't have.

 

The amperage is the fuse rating of the motor and usually has a small safetymargin, so the given amps will be higher than the actual power consumption. 240 Volts and 0,38 amps would be 91,4 Watt power consumption, take off the safety margin and we are looking at an 80 Watts motor. This kind of motor has power factors between 0,35 and 0,55, with the 0,35 motor being a single outlier. The typical range is 0,45 to 0,55. The average, when I compared motor data that I have found on photos and spec sheets was exactly 0.5.

 

Really, that Wernard motor is as good as it gets, you will not gain any usability by buying another little piggipack motor.

 

The Pfaff 30 is very similar to the Singer 15. You can read everything Wizcrafts has written about the Singer 15 in this forum and directly apply it to your machine.

 

HTH

Greets

Ralf C.

 

Thanks Ralf. That’s a lot of information and your comments about what they sell cracked me up! I’m taking your advice and will stay away from yaya. I definately don’t need any butt plugs..., lol.  I’ll start reading Wizcrafts Singer 15 and persevere with my motor. I should at least give the poor thing a chance.  I’m trying to find a replacement pulley (belt) and the one I have is very stretched and brittle. I’ve adjusted the motor but it’s definately the belt that’s the issue. I’m in Australia. Any idea on the best place to purchase PFAFF 30 parts?

Edited June 7, 2018 by Wonderboy
Add info

[RockyAussie]

9 hours ago, Wonderboy said:

Any idea on the best place to purchase PFAFF 30 parts

For many years I have found Wmc Jackson ( Peter Jackson) to be very helpful. O3-94173131. http://www.wmcjackson.com.au/www/home/

[Wonderboy]

11 hours ago, RockyAussie said:

For many years I have found Wmc Jackson ( Peter Jackson) to be very helpful. O3-94173131. http://www.wmcjackson.com.au/www/home/

Thanks Rocky, much appreciated...!

[DennisT]

I have a Pfaff 130 equiped with a Consew CSM1000 servo motor(200 RPM minimum, 75mm motor pulley) that punches through 4 layers of sunbrella with v90 polyester or profilen thread after replacing the upper tension spring with a heavier one. I have not tried it with any light leather.  Assuming your Pfaff 30 is similar, even with a 1.5 amp motor I would suggest an intermediate reduction pulley pair if you can find something that will fit.  For what that will cost a servo motor will be a better choice in my opinion.  One major limitation for me is the 4-5mm stitch length maximum, not ideal for canvas.  I am just learning about leather so I cannot comment.

[Darren Brosowski]

Of all domestic central bobbin machines the PFAFF 30 is one of the best

The Chinese motors are not earthed and the wiring can be unsafe. None of them have Australian safety certification

[Wonderboy]

21 hours ago, DennisT said:

I have a Pfaff 130 equiped with a Consew CSM1000 servo motor(200 RPM minimum, 75mm motor pulley) that punches through 4 layers of sunbrella with v90 polyester or profilen thread after replacing the upper tension spring with a heavier one. I have not tried it with any light leather.  Assuming your Pfaff 30 is similar, even with a 1.5 amp motor I would suggest an intermediate reduction pulley pair if you can find something that will fit.  For what that will cost a servo motor will be a better choice in my opinion.  One major limitation for me is the 4-5mm stitch length maximum, not ideal for canvas.  I am just learning about leather so I cannot comment.

More great information, thanks Dennis! Great to know others on here are using this great little machine.

Today I finished cleaning the machine inside and after some kero and some marinating I oiled her up. Much, much better. Everything was turning much more freely. I was also given more parts (incl. original proof of purchase in 1953, manual in perfect condition, etc etc) for the machine by my parents so swapped the old brittle stretched belt with a newer one. After mounting the motor again I noticed, although it’s much better, there’s still slippage from the motor cog on the drive belt mainly at low rpms. I WAS ABLE to sew some kangaroo leather and it smashed through up to 3 layers and I ranged from 2-5mm. I have to say I think it produces a nice stitch.  More tests to come. Ive just ordered some #18 needles and bonded 69 thread so looking forward to that. 

I also finished cleaning it’s exterior too. I hand polished with some car polish for a few hours and then used some quick detailer to remove all polish before topping with car wax several times. All nickle plated parts I’ve polsihed with my car aluminium polish to a high shine.  It’s come up a treat..., and I’ll post up some pictures when I can.

Regarding the servo motor. How would this fit? I’m assuming if I go servo then I’d probably need to table mount the machine instead of it’s current timber housing?

7 hours ago, Darren Brosowski said:

Of all domestic central bobbin machines the PFAFF 30 is one of the best

The Chinese motors are not earthed and the wiring can be unsafe. None of them have Australian safety certification

Thanks Darren.  I’ve poured about 15-20 hours cleaning it up to this point so good to know the machine is regarded as one of the better ones. 

I think I’ll stay well clear of the Chinese motors and get a Aussie certified servo setup! Not worth the risk. Id like the control that we have with our 4500 that you sold us 

Edited June 10, 2018 by Wonderboy

[Wonderboy]

An update.

Some before and after pictures.

[Wonderboy]

[Wonderboy]

 

 

Edited July 4, 2018 by Wonderboy

[Wonderboy]

[Wonderboy]

Now that I have converted her to treadle.

[RockyAussie]

WOW.....mate ...if your still in that cleaning up mood I got a few here could use a bit of that TLC. We only 6 maybe 7 hours up ya know.

[Wonderboy]

58 minutes ago, RockyAussie said:

WOW.....mate ...if your still in that cleaning up mood I got a few here could use a bit of that TLC. We only 6 maybe 7 hours up ya know.

Haha. After I did this work I was then on my car for about 15 hours for a local show and shine. To be honest I’m a little over polishing for a while 

[DonInReno]

Great pictures - very nice indeed

[leecopp]

Friend Jimmy has a Pfaff 130 with a Pfaff industrial table and motor setup .. Lots of fun pictures to look at.

https://tampa.craigslist.org/hil/atq/d/pfaff-130-industrial-sewing/6687211458.html 

lee