Sewing machine Pfaff 130 - Struggling at 6 layers of dacron sailcloth?

[senormechanico]

That's basically what the Viking machine does by pulling out on a knob.
It's a two speed transmission pictured in one of the photos I posted.

[foufou]

I also have a Pfaff 130 and as was already mentioned the cult status may be overstating the performance. As I noticed its limitations I upgraded to a commercial Singer 107W35. This Singer is an antique with a huge powerful motor that starts too fast. I have worked in a sail loft and used a sail making Juki machine that spoiled me. Non of the machines I have used since has been even close to the Juki. Many of the older machines are in need of adjustment and oiling. I recently made a Sunfish sail with an inexpensive Singer which behaved flawlessly. K am now a big fan of a new $126 Singer. Granted I was only using 4 oz Dacron. But 5 layers was no problem

[JPA Cate]

...fairly easy to set them up on the beach or anywhere else,

Yes, I never wanted to use a beach, too sandy, but large flat grassy spots were good. And with two working together, Jim on the hand crank, we reattached the sun strip to a friend's genoa, on a lawn in Vanuatu, and to many picnic benches, for various projects. You have to be a little thick skinned to do this, in such public spots, because most yachtspeople hire out sewing work. Some think you're cool for doing it and knowing how, others are horrified that YOU are doing it.

Kjemmo, enjoy your Pfaff, mine gave years of service. It may not be the best machine in the world, and they are old now, but if you take good care of it, it will take good care of you, too.

Enjoy.

Ann

[olaf hart]

Originally Posted by senormechanico

The name isn't familiar, and I did an image search to see if I've worked on one, but found no photos.

Sorry senor, it was an Elnastar.

https://www.google.com.au/search?q=e...icu3vUTChRm_M:

I also have an Emcostar, but that is an entirely different beast .....

[senormechanico]

Originally Posted by olaf hart

Sorry senor, it was an Elnastar.

https://www.google.com.au/search?q=e...icu3vUTChRm_M:

I also have an Emcostar, but that is an entirely different beast .....

Asking if that thing is suitable to perform heavy work is like those threads which ask if a MacGregor 26 is a good blue water boat !

[olaf hart]

Originally Posted by senormechanico

Asking if that thing is suitable to perform heavy work is like those threads which ask if a MacGregor 26 is a good blue water boat !

Thanks.

[Three Sisters]

Originally Posted by kjemmo

Thanks for all the feedback. Greatly appreciated!

I guess I will have to get me a sailors palm and just do the tougher parts by hand.

Still I will give this machine some love and clean it up. I have not been able to find a good disassembly/assembly instruction. If any of you know of any I will be happy to hear about it. Also any tips for cleaning method and detergents to use would be great as this is all new to me.

The machine came with a nice little foldout table and actually there is also an option to use a manual food pedal to drive the machine. Maybe this would actually be stronger than the motor? The large drive belt is missing though, so I will need to find one.

Here is some images of the current state. You can see that it has been a while since it has received any care.

Viewing the next to last picture: The belt is majorly out of alignment. I am surprised you could sew anything with it like that.

[Capt.Don]

My machine needed a new bobbin wheel and drive belt.
Guy Baker sells a lot of Pfaff sewing machine parts. I bought a real belt, bobbin wheel, a few needles, bobbins from him. Prices are reasonable. Nice guy to talk to.

That transmission option looks interesting. I'm thinking about the larger Singer wheel, though it needs to be milled down a bit.
Don

[kjemmo]

Originally Posted by Three Sisters

Viewing the next to last picture: The belt is majorly out of alignment. I am surprised you could sew anything with it like that.

I corrected that as one of the first things I did.

[OzClipper]

Silicon spray is your best friend.

[kjemmo]

Originally Posted by OzClipper

Silicon spray is your best friend.

Is that a better option than sewing machine oil?

[kjemmo]

Got the cleaning and oiling done today. Everything runs much better now.

I also found a 1/4hp motor on the Danish equivalent of Craigslist for $10! It is 3.75 times stronger than the original 1/15hp motor. Hopefully it will make it possible to to work with several layers of dacron.

Almost like new:

[senormechanico]

Silicon spray is good on the needle to help it through sail fabric, but isn't a substitute for sewing machine oil imho.

[Three Sisters]

Originally Posted by kjemmo

Got the cleaning and oiling done today. Everything runs much better now.

I also found a 1/4hp motor on the Danish equivalent of Craigslist for $10! It is 3.75 times stronger than the original 1/15hp motor. Hopefully it will make it possible to to work with several layers of dacron.

Almost like new:

Very very nice job.

[kjemmo]

Just a little update.

Got the Pfaff working on my first project today. Installing sail slugs on my old main sail. It easily gets stuck, so this will be a great improvement. The Pfaff works great and I have no issues so far. Using a diamond shaped sharp needle and v-69 thread. Really pleased with being able to do work like this myself. Now considering to add and extra reef point.