Questions about my new Pfaff 1245

[Northmount]

12 hours ago, katit said:

Another question about servo motor: Should they squeal? When I turn machine by hand I hear this squealing noise. I though maybe it's belt skipping. But now I had pulley off and turned motor and it's motor itself. When it turns over under power - no problem. But it's very annoying when you do this last stich or try to raise needle it makes this horrible sound.

It must be a brush type motor and the brushes are vibrating in the brush holder as the commutator turns.  Check the brushes are not worn out (too short).  If the motor is new, they may wear in and stop squealing.  There will be two brushes, one on each side of the motor.  Usually a black cap with a screwdriver slot.  Don't over tighten or you may break the external part of the brush holder.

Tom

[SARK9]

I'm pretty sure some of the non-electronic "servo" motors have a brake pad of sorts....try depressing the pedal slightly to see if it disengages it.

-DC

[Northmount]

That sounds like it is more likely than my comment above.  Good call.

Tom

[Ken Nelson]

Rubbing alcohol is good to clean up that machine.  I would lay it down and let it set on the paint and it should soften all the gunk and a small brush, ie-toothbrush should get it out or compressed air- high pressure and a lot of it.   Same way with cleaning the hook.  The Alcohol will evaporate  and won't leave an oily residue behind.  Then the proper oil will be the only lube there.

Just my opinion.

Edited October 13, 2018 by Ken Nelson

[katit]

Yep. It is brake. Sligtly pressing on pedal removes tension.

did my first project- machine cover. Almost got used to speed control. Thinking that 45mm pulley might solve issue

Will try soaking wiyh rubbing alcohol. Tried simple green - no luck

Edited October 13, 2018 by katit

[Uwe]

Looks like you got yourself a nice machine there!

Those motors usually have a simple speed dial knob. Try turning it down, but not all the way. It may improve low speed control and starting speed.

The brake pad on those motors is annoying and replaceable/removable. Personally I hate those brake pads and I remove them. I thinks it's dangerous to depress the pedal just so without starting the motor while you're doing detail work and have your fingers near the needle. The machine will stop just fine without the brake pad.

Aftermarket feet for the Pfaff 1245 are readily available, I have a few left in my online store. You can also order them directly from Kwok Hing. The knurled foot you have is probably fine for automotive leather, and definitely good for vinyl. 

The hook on this Pfaff series can be removed without changing the hook timing, which is a really nice feature to have. The hook design is almost identical to the Adler 167 series. You shouldn't be afraid to remove the hook when you need to do a proper cleaning, at least not on this machine. Who really wants to take a machine to a mechanic everytime thread gets stuck under the hook? I made a video on how to remove the hook on an Adler 167. The Pfaff 1245 steps will be nearly identical.

I don't have a full video of the Pfaff hook removal but I have a video snippet for the last few steps on a Pfaff 145, just to show how similar the hook designs are.

 

Edited October 13, 2018 by Uwe

[katit]

3 hours ago, Uwe said:

Looks like you got yourself a nice machine there!

Thanks! I eventually got machine from Nick. He brought this Pfaff to local store and the deal was pretty good. All this time (since July) I monitored local CL and nothing showed up... STL is like a "black hole"  

So.

1. Extra part removed, much easier to deal with machine now! 

2. Hook cleaned up. Took it out as per instructions, used brake clean then immediate oil everything and then wipe. Now I know where to put oil when changing bobbing (little hole and wick between tiny bolts). It seems like it's sewing better now (placebo most likely )

3. Guide foot ordered. Looking forward to nice French seams.

 

[katit]

Finally installed 45mm pulley on a bottom (smaller belt needed, OReilly didn't have right size, had to get online). So, for less that $20 I got machine slow the way I need. For material thickness I will use it's enough to penetrate, motor setting is about 950RPM, this gives me good control and can go decently fast when pushed.

Also tried guide foot. nice even seam, not bad for newbie

Have couple more questions:

1. When locking seam with reverse, what is the correct procedure? Specifically items I'm curious about:

- Should I start sewing and then reverse? Which means I will get 3 stiches through the hole. Or should I start backwards and then go in?

- When I reverse a lot of time I don't get holes aligned, sometimes I have missed stitch. I think it' because of the timing. When should I back-stitch? Needle up? Down?

2. When I need to make shorter stitch, how should I do it? For example, I need 1/2 stitch, what is correct steps to do it?

3. When sewing french seam (like on picture), what needs to be done so there is no visible thread inside? You see on start/end some vinyl, this is where backstitching was done

4. I see some belt black "dust" on sewing table. Is that normal for new belt or my tension might be little too tight?

 

Edited October 22, 2018 by katit

[Brtz]

Another example of home made pulley speed reducer. I made it for my pfaffs. Regards. Bert.

[R8R]

On 10/12/2018 at 7:33 PM, katit said:

 

1. I want to clean it. See picture with white wrinkled surface. Dirt in low spots. I tries to soak with contractor solvent(similar to goo gone) and use tooth brush but no luck. Any suggestions? I think if I can clean it - machine will be like new..

 

I've had some really good luck with Magic Erasers lately. Spots and stains on this older white Juki I recently obtained seem to buff away pretty easily with these.