Pfaff 345 - problem with needle-to-hook adjustment

[Duane]

I am requesting help in how to adjust the needle-to-hook distance on the Pfaff 345.  In 2006, I purchased a 1960's Pfaff 345 H3.  The price was only $150, and the seller told me that the needle-to-hook distance was large and that "all adjustment has been used up".  I have never been able to slide the hook saddle far enough to the left to be able to get the hook close to the needle.  The 6-page Pfaff 345 Service Manual states "Hook-to-needle clearance....Adjustment is made by turning the eccentric bush on the sewing hook boss."  The Service Manual has no illustrations, and the parts diagram of the hook and the hook saddle show no "eccentric bush".  Hopefully, I am just missing something obvious (for the past 15 years).  The machine has always skipped a few stitches, but now it is getting worse.....so I am determined to "fix it this time".  Any help will be greatly appreciated.  Duane in Florida 

[Constabulary]

I once owned a 345 but do not recall all details. So I would probably look into a Consew 227R manual. I´m sure you will find a lot of similarities.

https://www.manualslib.com/manual/1231775/Consew-223.html#product-227

 

 

Edited December 19, 2021 by Constabulary

[Duane]

Constabulary,      Thank you very much for your quick and helpful reply.   I downloaded the Consew 227R manual.   Clearly Consew made improvements to the Phaff design (as Phaff did to the older Singer design).   I see that Consew added a safety clutch, redesigned the feed dog drive and the hook saddle, and probably a lot more.  Phaff’s designs for the feed and the hook saddle are an engineer’s delight, but a repairman’ nightmare.   Consew recognized a opportunity to simplify the design to improve ease of manufacture, adjustment and repair.  The hook saddle of the Pfaff, which has baffled me, has been elegantly replaced by Consew with a more repair-friendly hook saddle system.  As you stated in your reply, the similarities on Pages 15 and 16, and figure 25, should be enough to guide me to a solution.   It looks like I will have to take out the two drive shafts for the feed dogs in order to get to the two jam plates that hold the hook saddle onto the sides of the arm’s frame.  I would guess that will be about a 40 hour job, at my current speed of performing repairs; but at least it looks like “fun”!  I will again when/if I successfully complete the adjustment.  Thank you, Constabulary, again.    Duane in Florida

[DrmCa]

When machines run out of adjustment, look into mismatched parts. People do it, to cut costs by a few pennies. There are cheap bastards out there that you would not believe exist. So, check if all of the parts are really Pfaff and really 345. Something could have been broken and grinded or machined as well.

Edited December 19, 2021 by DrmCa

[Duane]

DrmCa,     Your comment awoke an old memory.   I just took out the hook; there is no name or part number on it.   The bobbin cap says “Phaff”.    The 345 came out of a golf bag manufacturing company when they went out of business.   The seller had a box full of parts and he assembled the 345 in his garage while I waited and watched.   He asked me several times if I wanted original worn Pfaff parts or newer “generic parts”.   I asked for Pfaff parts, but he said that the the golf gag company replaced the high wear and highest cost parts with only generic parts.  The guy that sold it said that I should just heat the hook tip and bend the sharp tip outward toward the needle.  I was afraid to try it.   That was 15 years ago.   How do I determine if a real Pfaff hook would reach out farther?   This seems like a very likely cause.  I have not looked up the price for a real Phaff hook, but I suspect that it’s more than the $150 that I paid for the head and the table.   As a retired hobby leather worker, preparing for the “great collapse”, I’d prefer the DIY solution.   Thanks,    Duane in Florida

[shoepatcher]

Do you have a parts list for the 345?  I have one.   A genuine hook will not be cheap. Part number is #91-014-192-31.  A genuine hook if you an get it would cost over $300.00

Hirose and Cerliani both make aftermarket hooks.  Very good quality.  Used them for years.  I will see what I can find and get back to.  Can we get a few pics of the machine.

glenn

Edited December 20, 2021 by shoepatcher

[shoepatcher]

Ok.  Strima in Poland has a genuine for $272.03, AliExpress has a generic for $43.68.  I suggest you call DAP in Atlanta which is Durkopp/Adler/Pfaff and see what a genuine hook cost and if they have it.  That gives you a starting point as to price.  Shipping not included in these prices

glenn

Edited December 20, 2021 by shoepatcher

[Duane]

Shoepatcher,    Thanks for the additional leads.  I do have a parts list for the 345.  I cleaned up the hook and looked at it under a magnifier, and I now see that it says "14 191"  It does not say "Pfaff".  I assume that the number is short for "91-014 191-91" which is the hook, gib, and base plate according to the parts list.  The bobbin cap says "Pfaff 10159", which I assume is short for "91-010 159-91" according to the parts list.  I attached a few photos per your suggestion.  The photo of the hook-to-needle distance is as close as I can get it, without bending the hook out a bit.  The needle is a 19 and the shaft is about 1.2 mm.  The hook-to-needle distance is to be no more than 0.1mm according to the 345 Service Manual provided by Constabulary.  I noted that Amazon has a hook from Evernice brand for $49, but it ships from the Wuhan province, so......not that one.  Alliexpress has a complete hook, bobbin case and bobbin cap made by Baludan for $51 including shipping.  I can't afford a genuine part; especially if the current part is genuine Pfaff.  I still can't get to the screws holding the bottom of the hook saddle, so any replacement hook will probably end up with the same gap.  It looks like my best bet is to bend the tip of the current hook out about 1 mm, per the suggestion from the seller, 15 years ago.  Duane in Florida 

[Wizcrafts]

When I look at photo #1, I see the deflector bracket in hard contact with the needle, while the hook is far away from it. I can't tell if it is actually pushing the needle away from the hook. I recommend bending the deflector inward and see if this allows the needle to get closer to the hook.

[Duane]

Wizcrafts,    You are totally correct, in that the deflector bracket is in hard contact with the needle.  Paragraph 6 of the 6-page "Pfaff Service Manual" for the 345 H3, states: "...the needle must contact the needle guard lightly so that it can not be caught by the sewing hook point when it is deflected toward the sewing hook.  Adjust the need guard ...accordingly."   The manual contains no diagrams.  I completely agree with you.  I never noticed that contact before, and I will bend that deflector bracket tonight.  Thanks!  Duane in Florida.  

[Wizcrafts]

3 hours ago, Duane said:

Wizcrafts,    You are totally correct, in that the deflector bracket is in hard contact with the needle.  Paragraph 6 of the 6-page "Pfaff Service Manual" for the 345 H3, states: "...the needle must contact the needle guard lightly so that it can not be caught by the sewing hook point when it is deflected toward the sewing hook.  Adjust the need guard ...accordingly."   The manual contains no diagrams.  I completely agree with you.  I never noticed that contact before, and I will bend that deflector bracket tonight.  Thanks!  Duane in Florida.  

That might be the missing piece to the hook position puzzle.

[Duane]

Wizcrafts,    I agree that a likely cause is the needle guard interfering with the needle.  It looks like someone tried to bend inward the needle guard in the past, plus it has some scrapes on its bottom edge.  So my current plan is to bend in the top of the needle guard a bit more, and to grind off some metal from the bottom edge.  If that doesn't work, then I'll bend the point of the hook out till it about touches the needle.  Worst case: I'll just buy one of the clone hooks from Aliexpress for $50, and start over with the troubleshooting.       

Edited December 22, 2021 by Duane
left out the last step of bending the hook tip outward

[Constabulary]

bending the hook tip is never a good idea. It may break and it does not solve the real problem. shifting the hook toward the needle usually requires loosening the bevel gear on the horizontal drive shaft and moving the hook saddle toward the needles. Should be approx the same as mentioned in the 227 manual. I`m not sure but IIRC the 345 hook saddle is held by 1 or 2 screws from the left or right side (really not sure)

[Duane]

Constabulary,    of course, you are right.   I have not yet started bending.  I agree that it is not a good idea; and that's why I didn't do it when the seller recommended bending the hook 15 years ago.  But the hook saddle is held by two rectangular "slides" on the bottom of rails on both sides of the arm, and then fastened by 4 bolts, whose heads are blocked by the three drive shafts that run the length of the arm.  So far, the hook saddle has resisted moving.  Christmas events pushed this repair until next week.  I now plan to loosen the bevel gear on the center horizontal drive shaft, and then use a hard plastic rod and a hammer to try to move the saddle without loosening the screws.  Thanks so much for your excellent advice to all of us!  Merry Christmas,   Duane in Florida

[Wizcrafts]

52 minutes ago, Duane said:

So far, the hook saddle has resisted moving.

Try heating up the parts that should move. Also, apply some WD-40 to them after heating if the parts are sill stuck. A rubber mallet won't damage parts. The next option might be a rawhide mallet. Anything is preferable to bending the hook (which is not made to be bent).

[Duane]

Wizcrafts and Constabulary,   Thanks for your excellent advice.  I have backed down from the cliff.  I had some extra time today, so I followed your advice.  The bevel gear was seized solid on the horizontal shaft.  (I have timed it for 15 years using the bevel gear at the right-hand end of the horizontal shaft...because the left-hand side was seized.)  So, following Wizcrafts' advice, I heated up the bevel gear with a Benzomatic torch, and applied a lot of WD-40.  Then I loosened up the two collars on the horizontal shaft, slid a metal drift into the hollow shaft on the left-hand side against the left-end of the horizontal shaft, and drove the horizontal shaft out about 3/4 inch.  The bevel gear dropped out.  The shaft was galled from spinning during its previous 50 years of life, so I sanded the shaft with 100 grit sandpaper, then 320.  It is not a bearing surface, so I stopped there.  Then I heated up the saddle a bit with the torch and applied some WD-40 and used a plastic car trim tool and a hammer to drive the saddle 1mm closer to the needle.  Worked.  I put the bevel gear back on, timed it, and it works "like new".  Thanks so much to everyone who gave me advice; I had been at my wit's end.  Now....happy as can be.  Merry Christmas from Duane in Florida.  Done.....here are the final photos.....Closed.  

[Wizcrafts]

I'm happy my advice helped get you machine back into proper timing.

[shoepatcher]

Glad you got it to work.  That has a huge flywheel added to it!!!

glenn

[Duane]

Shoepatcher,    Yes, the extra flywheel pulley was added by me in 2007 in order to further slow the sewing, following guidance I found on this website.  I also added a 3/4 hp servo motor with extra-small drive-pulley.  The original Pfaff flywheel (with integral pulley) is still in place.  I just added a wood pulley that I cut out of a scrap piece of pine shelving that was 9 inch wide, by 5/8 inch thick.  I just used a saber saw to cut out a 9 inch diameter circle.  Then I drilled a 3/8 inch hole thru the center.  I put a bolt thru the hole, then a nut on the bolt, and chucked the bolt (and disk) in my drill press.  Then wrapped some 30 or 60 grit sandpaper around a screwdriver shaft, and held it against the outside edge until there was a dip in the wood edge.  Then painted the wood "pulley" with a spray-can of gray automobile primer; then a shot of spray-can gloss clear.  Then I pulled off the Pfaff flywheel and drilled three 1/4 inch holes in the metal pulley part as shown in the last photo.  I tapped the holes 1/4x20, and reattached the original flywheel to the sewing machine.  I then drilled three holes in the wood disk.  They did not match the flywheel, so I drilled three more 1/4 inch holes, which finally fit after wallowing out with a round file.  Then I re-drilled the center hole in the wood disk to 3/4 inch to clear the bolt head that holds on the original metal flywheel/pulley.  Then I bolted the wood disk to the original metal flywheel/pulley with 3 bolts.  I then cut a piece of scrap 3/8 inch outside-diameter automotive vacuum-hose to use as a drive belt.  I used a one inch scrap of wood pencil or dowel or maybe a cut-off bolt and stuck that into the two open ends of the rubber vacuum-hose.  I then wrapped the joint in the rubber vacuum-hose belt with some duct tape.  (I've changed the duct tape a few times during the past 15 years, and the latest is red as shown in the photos.)  I drilled new holes in the wood table to move the bobbin winder so that it correctly engages the new rubber vacuum hose "drive belt".  So, the total cost was zero.  It has worked great for 15 years.  Duane in Florida.