Monday, June 16, 2014

Pfaff Pfroblem

  In an effort to thin the herd, I gathered up all my Pfaffs and am trying to make a decision which one(s) to cull out. I have two 130s: the first is older, the paint on the bed is cracked, and it has no light but it sews beautifully.


  I sewed this entire quilt top with that machine and it never skipped a stitch or broke the thread. It was smooth-running and quiet.  It has a 1.3 amp motor.



The second 130 is in top condition, even though I paid only $4.75 for it at a local auction, complete with cabinet, chair, and accessories.


For some reason, the photograph makes the paint look dull but it is as shiny as the day it left the factory.  I haven't sewn on it for a couple of years so I will have to give it a workout before I decide its fate. It has a  light and a 1 amp motor.

Then there's the 330. It has several serious paint scrapes, the stitch length knob is broken, and thread often gets caught under the throat plate. I believe some of the screws on the hook assembly are snagging the thread.



  The 362 is in nice condition cosmetically but the plastic knob on the embroidery unit is cracked and no longer grabs the shaft of the embroidery unit.



That is not a show-stopper because all my sewing is straight stitch and zig zag and I have the Janome 6500 for any possible fancier sewing. I think that one is a keeper.

My first thought was to cannibalize the hook from 130 #1 for the 330 and the motor for 130 #2 and part out 130 #1 but I hate to strip a machine that performs so well. Another thing is that I can't find out whether the 130 and 330 hooks are interchangeable.  I spent about an hour yesterday surfing the internet to find a part number for a 330 hook and came up empty. Apparently, the 330 was not a popular model, there isn't even an instruction manual for it on the Pfaff manual web page.

At this point, the 362 and 130 #2 are keepers but I can't decide between 130 #1 and the 330.

Ed
Ed's Vintage Sewing Machine Shop


5 comments:

Jonathan said...

Have you considered selling these machines on etsy? I bet the Pfaff 130 with the cracked paint on the bed would sell.

Carol Roger said...

Rare and nice collection of vintage machines.

Anonymous said...

I think I bought some machines from you several years ago. I'm interested in a Pfaff. I bought 3 old Singers - Red Eye, another 66, and a 201 - around the same time but unfortunately the emails got deleted so can't trace back where I got them but your name looks familiar!
Susanna

Unknown said...

I have the New Home Light Running machine pictured in your blog. Do you have a manual available? Also, the link to etsy that shows the motor pulley wheel, is this the wheel for New Home Light Running? I need to order the wheel if it is the right one.
Kathy

Petrushka said...

The Pfaff 330 hook seems to be unique. Fortunately you can remove the burrs from the gibb screws by running it lightly against some 400 or 600 sandpaper. I bought a pile of miscellaneous unidentified hooks to get the screws.

One interesting thing is you can remove the hook for unsnarling thread without losing the
timing. Just unscrew the reverse threaded screw in back, and it pulls out. There's a pin in the hook shaft that engages the hook gear, so it maintains timing.

Other than that, it's a 130 with a free arm and a nice, large harp.