DA267 upper shaft removal

[Kawakneurder]

Dear all,

After having recently required a west German Durköpp Adler 267, I had figured out that two bearings had friction welded together, see also this thread.

These bearings are mounted on the upper 'main' shaft, and thus to replace these, I will need to remove the main shaft. I could not find any information in the service manual about this process, so I am kind of working in the dark here, hence my questions for people that have already done this work.

Schematic diagrams

For clarification I have attached a schematic drawing of the main upper axle here (from the 1996 parts manual of the 267), with numbering for all the parts attached to it:

Eccentric connection and balance weight 1 connects the axle to the rest of the needle and foot mechanism. I don't really know what 2 is, but I think part 3 and 5 are bearings fit into the body of the machine. Part 4 makes it possible for the windup mechanism to 'press' onto it, in turn making it possible to wind your bobbin. Part 6 is obvious, in transferring power to the lower shaft. Not shown is a connection between 5 and 6, which connects to a fork which drives another shaft (feed shaft 'B' in the service manual) on the bottom of the machine. I will refer to that part as 9 from now on.

Note that the bearing I want to replace is not drawn in this part of the diagram either, instead it is visible under 'P', specifically P4 (axle highlighted in red):

Note that part 8 is attached between 3 and 4 (I think?).

 

Plan so far

I think that parts 2, 3, and 5 are bearings that are fit into the body of the machine. Is this correct? They can just stay in the machine right?

My 'plan of attack' so far is:

1. Undo the setscrews of parts 4, 6, 7, 8 and 9
2. Proceed to 'pull out' the shaft in the direction of the hand-wheel, just far enough to take off bearing 8.
3. Replace bearing 8 with the new part
4. After it is replaced, push back the shaft
5. re-tighten parts 4, 6, 7, 8, 9
6. oil everything
7. re-calibrate the machine timing (needle, hook and feet).

Is this how it should be done, or do I need to disassemble the entire head of the machine (needle and foot mechanisms)?

The eccentric and balance weight 1 seems to be 'press fit' onto a part of the shaft that is made of nylon. Can I pull the shaft out of this part? And how do you properly align this when assembling the machine again (or is that not important at all?)?

Am I missing anything? If you have any other tips or tricks I should know, or that would come in handy, they are always greatly appreciated!

 

Thank you all in advance for your help

[Northmount]

9 hours ago, Kawakneurder said:

two bearings had friction welded together

Or, did someone use engine lubricating oil where the additives in the oil have oxidized turned to a gummy varnish which has dried out and caused the bearings to seize up? If so you may be able to soak it and soak it, and work it back and forth until it breaks loose.  Then flush it well with good sewing machine oil and keep working at it until it turns easily again.  Takes time and lots of patience.  

I have a machine that had been running fine.  Left it sit for about 4 years.  When I went to use it, it was seized up.  I have to assume a previous owner had used a hardware store cheap oil like 3-in-1.  Took a while to get it back into operation.

[Kawakneurder]

16 hours ago, Northmount said:

Or, did someone use engine lubricating oil where the additives in the oil have oxidized turned to a gummy varnish which has dried out and caused the bearings to seize up? If so you may be able to soak it and soak it, and work it back and forth until it breaks loose.  Then flush it well with good sewing machine oil and keep working at it until it turns easily again.  Takes time and lots of patience.  

I have a machine that had been running fine.  Left it sit for about 4 years.  When I went to use it, it was seized up.  I have to assume a previous owner had used a hardware store cheap oil like 3-in-1.  Took a while to get it back into operation.

This is indeed what I thought (and hoped for), but sadly it is not the case. When I run my finger nail along the surface you can feel the pitting, and trying to clean it up with a variety of chemicals (including IPA, WD40, general purpose cleaner and MEK) didn't yield any results. Just to be sure I will try tonight to clean it again.

The machine had not been used a long time I suspect, and oiling the reservoir that feeds this bearing is not so obvious. Also, the reservoir feeds through a wick onto a pad onto the bearing. I think this whole lubrication mechanism might have dried up, and if you just add oil into the reservoir without giving it time to soak into the wick and pad, the bearing itself would still be dry. And once such a bearing runs dry and starts friction welding, the damage is already done and beyond repair...

[Northmount]

4 hours ago, Kawakneurder said:

you can feel the pitting

Must have been run dry.  Oiling won't clean that up.

[Kawakneurder]

A short update, I have send an email to DA directly, in the hope of getting some sort of dealer manual (if it exists) or other help with the disassembly procedure. They have referred me to their local dealer, and I have not heard back from them yet.

In the meantime, I have come to the conclusion that I might have been wrong, and that the upper shaft must be removed at the head end of the machine, and not at the hand-wheel end. I believe this to be the case because the counterweight seems to be pressed onto the shaft and aligned somehow with the cutouts on the shaft (for for example the belt to the lower axle). Therefore it makes sense that they press this part onto the shaft, before putting it into the rest of the machine, as it doesn't need adjustment.

Because I think this might be the case I have begun trying to disassemble the head of the machine. I will try to take some pictures whilst putting it back together so that anyone attempting this in the future will be able to use it as reference. So far I have made good progress, removing the linkage for the walking feet, and the needle/needle-bar assembly. However, I have ran into issues trying to take off the take-up lever assembly. Here is a picture of the assembly (marked as T*) and also the diagram in the service manual:

For clarity sake I have also marked the needle assembly parts as N*.

Taking off the needle assembly was fairly simple (although not so obvious) by taking out the set screw of N1, and then trying to push it out. For me N1 was stuck, but luckily N1 sticks out on the other side of the head so with a punch and some elbow grease you can still work it loose.

It seems that the take up lever assembly is fixed in a similar way, with T1 being held in place with a set screw. This set screw is easy enough to remove, however I was not as lucky as with the needle assembly because T1 seems to go into a blind hole, there is no way to use a punch to persuade T1 to come out. T1 itself has a screw inside (visible in the picture) but this is merely an access hole to put in some oil. T1 itself also seems to have a cutout for a flat-head, but I have not managed to turn T1 itself. I have tried pulling on T2 with quite some force, but it doesn't seem to budge.

Does anyone have any tips on removing the take up lever assembly? Or am I doing it wrong?

Cheers

 

 

[Kawakneurder]

5 hours ago, Kawakneurder said:

A short update, I have send an email to DA directly, in the hope of getting some sort of dealer manual (if it exists) or other help with the disassembly procedure. They have referred me to their local dealer, and I have not heard back from them yet.

In the meantime, I have come to the conclusion that I might have been wrong, and that the upper shaft must be removed at the head end of the machine, and not at the hand-wheel end. I believe this to be the case because the counterweight seems to be pressed onto the shaft and aligned somehow with the cutouts on the shaft (for for example the belt to the lower axle). Therefore it makes sense that they press this part onto the shaft, before putting it into the rest of the machine, as it doesn't need adjustment

I was correct, the axle is removed via the head. After getting the take-up lever assembly out of the way, the rest is relatively straight forward.

5 hours ago, Kawakneurder said:

It seems that the take up lever assembly is fixed in a similar way, with T1 being held in place with a set screw. This set screw is easy enough to remove, however I was not as lucky as with the needle assembly because T1 seems to go into a blind hole, there is no way to use a punch to persuade T1 to come out. T1 itself has a screw inside (visible in the picture) but this is merely an access hole to put in some oil. T1 itself also seems to have a cutout for a flat-head, but I have not managed to turn T1 itself. I have tried pulling on T2 with quite some force, but it doesn't seem to budge.

Does anyone have any tips on removing the take up lever assembly? Or am I doing it wrong?

Indeed, T1 was the only thing holding in the assembly. To take it out, I took out the little set screw which goes inside the head of T1, and instead screwed in a long M4 bolt. With this bolt I was able to apply some force with a lever, and eventually pop it out. So for anyone running into the same problem, this is a relatively easy and cheap solution.

After replacing the part I needed to replace, I put everything back together and took some pictures along the way. If I find some time I will do a short write up for anyone with a Adler or DA 67/167/267 (since I think all of these are very similar).

 

I have already managed to do the hook timing and needle height (thanks for the great video Uwe, much easier to use than reading the service manual, which is quite vague with this), and also at least the walking feet are walking the correct direction. Now I just need to mess with the timing, path and height I suppose. Just following the service manual.

Funnily enough, when I got the machine it had the 'wrong' sized needles (135x17). I have replaced them with the recommended DPx35 (134x35) needles, but after checking the timing it didn't seem to need any needle bar height adjustment. The needles are only .8mm shorter (38.1mm vs 38.9mm), so that isn't as big of a difference as I thought it would be, and it does show you can safely exchange the different needles without any adjustment (assuming the machine is properly adjusted in the first place).

[Michiel]

Good news!

looking forward for your pictures..

regards michiel

[Kawakneurder]

How to remove the upper shaft of a Durköpp Adler 267 (part 1 of 3)

 

Step 1: Remove the following items (not shown in images because trivial):

• top leaf spring keeping pressure on the feet
• the top cover
• the belt cover + belt
• Front head cover

 

Step 2: Preparing the shaft for removal:

Loosen all the set screws that attach to the internals of the shaft (In the image: S4, S6, S7, S8, S9, Handwheel).

All of these parts are fixed with two set screws each.

\

 

Step 3: Remove the linkage and structural parts

Disconnect P1 from the foot-lift rod (or remove the rod entirely, as you will need to do so anyways).

Remove P2, and P3 which provide support for other parts, enabling access to the removal of the foot lift linkage.

Note that guide-block P3 is the same as 'N4' in a previous post.

 

Step 4: Remove the foot-lift linkage

The foot-lift linkage is now held in place at two points to the needle bar. Firstly at point L1, and secondly at L2.

The only thing preventing it from sliding off is a E-clip L2-1 on L2. Before removing the assembly from the sewing machine, be sure to remove the little roller L2-2 as well.

It might be more convenient to first unscrew L1, and then slide it off L2. If you do so, the entire linkage can now slide out of the machine in one piece, no need to disassemble the separate linkages.

Edited October 6, 2021 by Kawakneurder

[Kawakneurder]

How to remove the upper shaft of a Durköpp Adler 267 (part 2 of 3)

 

Step 5: Removing the needle-bar and inner presser foot assembly

If done properly the entire needle-bar and presser foot assembly can be taken out. As shown, you do not need to remove either the foot or the needle for this to work.

Firstly remove the setscrew N1-1 at the top of the machine. Now pin N1 can be taken out of the machine. It is helpful to know that it can be pushed from the opposite side of the head (hidden in the picture, location N1-2). If it is particularly persistent, use a hammer and punch (preferably soft punch).

After this is removed, the whole assembly N2 should just slide out. Note that there is a little square (copper?) guide block which synchronizes the top foot to the bottom feed dog. This part is not held captive, so make sure this doesn't disappear into some dark corner of your room if it falls off.

 

Step 6: Remove the take-up lever linkage assembly

In a previous post I have already highlighted how to do this.

First remove set screw T1-2. Now only T1 is holding the linkage in place. If T1 cannot be pulled out, you can remove the little set screw inside T1, and screw in an M4 bolt to get a better perch on the pin.

With T1 removed, the whole linkage slides out relatively painlessly.

 

 

Edited October 6, 2021 by Kawakneurder

[Kawakneurder]

How to remove the upper shaft of a Durköpp Adler 267 (part 3 of 3)

 

Step 7: Removal of the presser bar (for the outer foot)

The shaft applying downward pressure on the outside foot is held between two holes, and connected to an assembly used to set the foot height (B2).

Firstly, if you haven't already done so, remove the outer presser foot and the screw used to hold it in place.

B2 can then be screwed loose, after which the whole shaft B1 can be lifted out of the machine through the top (you might need to unscrew the top bearing).

Be sure to catch the assembly B2 and spring B3! They are not held captive.

Note also in the pictures, that generally if I remove a bolt I immediately put it back into the machine. This is a little trick from motorcycle maintenance, it makes it much easier to put the right bolts back into the right spots. It also prevents you from putting everything back together and then discovering you have 'left over bolts/screws' (very common with laptops )

 

Step 8: Removal of the shaft

Finally the shaft can be removed from the machine. Before starting it might be a good idea to have some tiewraps handy.

Now start to remove the shaft, it might need some 'percussive maintenance' to get moving, so a rubber hammer and (soft, preferably wooden) punch are handy here too. Be sure that none of the couplings onto the shaft are skewed though! If they start sitting skewed on the shaft, and you start hammering the shaft, you can do some serious damage! Take it slow and make sure everything slides smoothly.

Now, as soon as the gear with the belt comes loose (S6), make sure it does not fall down. Immediately secure the belt to the gear with a tiewrap. Then, whilst still holding onto S6, try to flip the machine and tie a tiewrap around the belt on the bottom gear too, this ensures that they keep synchronization. If the belt slips off it is not a big deal, but you will need to redo the hook timing.

Step 9: Replace your parts

Shift out the shaft as far as it will need to go, and do your thing. To put it back together, follow the same steps as shown here, but in reverse.

Step 10: Re-synchronize/tune the machine

After everything is back together, the timings of the walking foot, needle and hook are most likely off. Go through the procedures in the service manual to get these right. I do not feel confident enough about this to comment on this, as I am still struggling with this myself.

Step 11: Crack open your well deserved cold one and enjoy

Voila! 10 step plan completed. You have successfully removed the upper shaft, replaced your part and put it all back together! This step should be obvious

Edited October 6, 2021 by Kawakneurder

[Michiel]

Great posts,

thank you very much!

[Cumberland Highpower]

On 9/25/2021 at 5:21 PM, Northmount said:

Or, did someone use engine lubricating oil where the additives in the oil have oxidized turned to a gummy varnish which has dried out and caused the bearings to seize up? If so you may be able to soak it and soak it, and work it back and forth until it breaks loose.  Then flush it well with good sewing machine oil and keep working at it until it turns easily again.  Takes time and lots of patience.  

I have a machine that had been running fine.  Left it sit for about 4 years.  When I went to use it, it was seized up.  I have to assume a previous owner had used a hardware store cheap oil like 3-in-1.  Took a while to get it back into operation.

Man that's pretty harsh...

Every machine I own, including some over a century old are regularly well oiled with either 0w-20 or good old fashioned 30w.  I'm including a variety of Adlers, Singers, Union Locks, Randall/Campbells in that mix.  None have ever seized up...Overall I'd say it's superior lubricant to a light machine oil.   

Ah, well I guess I do use one non auto lube on occasion. Sometimes I use Ballistol on the shuttles.  It seems to lube nicely and absorbs well into leather/thread if I get carried away or careless.

[Northmount]

5 minutes ago, Cumberland Highpower said:

Man that's pretty harsh...

Every machine I own, including some over a century old are regularly well oiled with either 0w-20 or good old fashioned 30w.  I'm including a variety of Adlers, Singers, Union Locks, Randall/Campbells in that mix.  None have ever seized up...Overall I'd say it's superior lubricant to a light machine oil.   

Ah, well I guess I do use one non auto lube on occasion. Sometimes I use Ballistol on the shuttles.  It seems to lube nicely and absorbs well into leather/thread if I get carried away or careless.

I'm not the only one that has run into this problem.  If you search through this forum you will find other incidents that are the same.  I've had the same problems with furnace fan motors where they seize up frequently, even when well oiled.  Seized due to a build up of varnish.

[Cumberland Highpower]

Hmm,  Maybe I need to oil a machine head up and pack it away for a couple decades in a hot shed and see what happens.

That's a bummer about your furnace blower motors seizing up.  Only blower motor I've come across seized from dried oil was a NOS 1/20 HP Dayton from the 80's that I bought on Ebay to make a spare bobbin winder.  When I took it out of the box it was stiff to the point you'd think the factory lubed it with epoxy. 

The furnace in my house was installed in 1972.  I oil it yearly with the same can I use in the shop.   It needs to be replaced due to inefficiency and just being flat out old, but bearings are smooth as glass.

[CowboyBob]

On 9/25/2021 at 5:21 PM, Northmount said:

Or, did someone use engine lubricating oil where the additives in the oil have oxidized turned to a gummy varnish which has dried out and caused the bearings to seize up? If so you may be able to soak it and soak it, and work it back and forth until it breaks loose.  Then flush it well with good sewing machine oil and keep working at it until it turns easily again.  Takes time and lots of patience.  

I have a machine that had been running fine.  Left it sit for about 4 years.  When I went to use it, it was seized up.  I have to assume a previous owner had used a hardware store cheap oil like 3-in-1.  Took a while to get it back into operation.

Some 40 yrs ago when I first started working on machines I went & oiled a neighbors old treadle machine,it got stiff I oiled it more & it tied up.She wasn't happy so I took the head to work & told an old timer what happened & he started laughing & finally after a few minutes he told me yes,that happens from 3 in 1 oil.It has wax in it & it builds up after time & when you use regular machine oil it swells up in the bearings.So I put some diesel fuel in the top shaft bearings ,it started to turn alittle & took it home & held the wheel against an air compresser belt & it freed up.She was happy when I brought it back.

[Cumberland Highpower]

18 minutes ago, CowboyBob said:

Some 40 yrs ago when I first started working on machines I went & oiled a neighbors old treadle machine,it got stiff I oiled it more & it tied up.She wasn't happy so I took the head to work & told an old timer what happened & he started laughing & finally after a few minutes he told me yes,that happens from 3 in 1 oil.It has wax in it & it builds up after time & when you use regular machine oil it swells up in the bearings.So I put some diesel fuel in the top shaft bearings ,it started to turn alittle & took it home & held the wheel against an air compresser belt & it freed up.She was happy when I brought it back.

I've never tried 3-in-1 on anything mechanical and now you scare me Bob   Although. maybe similar, I've bought many a firearm that had been sitting for years after being oiled down with  a light "Gun-oil" like Rem-Oil.  Often times gummed up so badly to render them inoperable. Really requiring a teardown and deep scrubbing.   

Edited October 7, 2021 by Cumberland Highpower

[Northmount]

11 hours ago, Cumberland Highpower said:

furnace blower motors seizing up

Even with the bushings dripping with oil (really over oiled) I've seen several seized up.  Only happens with bushings.  Never on ball bearings. For my own, I switched to a sealed ball bearing motor and never had any problems with it.  Main reason for switching was to change to a 2 speed motor so I could run low speed all the time to maintain circulation through the whole house and run at high speed when heating or a/c kicked in.  Ran for years that way, then installed a high efficiency furnace.