Oops! I Pforgot

It's embarrassing when you have so many sewing machines that you can completely forget a number of them.  After I pulled out the four Pfaffs in my previous post, I remembered that I have a 138 on the bottom shelf, out of sight.

  The 138 is basically a 130 on steroids - same running gear but a longer bed and it uses a 1/4 hp to 3/4 hp industrial motor. This makes essentially three 130s in my stable and makes it a bit easier to decide what to get rid of.
  After remembering the 138, it reminded me that I have two more Pfaff industrials out in the garage.  The 144 is a double-needle industrial machine that I bought knowing it had a broken feed dog.

 
  I wasn't too concerned until my parts dealer told me a new feed dog would cost $695!  I wasn't about to spend that kind of money on a feed dog, especially when I also have a Singer 112 double needle industrial machine that is complete.  I did buy the closest Singer feed dog with the intent of grinding it down to try to fit it in the Pfaff but it's been so long I don't even remember where that feed dog is hiding.

Then there is the 463.

  This machine sews like a scalded dog but, after all, it is just a straight stitch tailoring machine and I already have a Singer 31-15 and two 96-10s, how many straight stitch tailoring machines does one need?  I am not an advanced sewist and speed means nothing to me except that I can make mistakes faster.

I think this has decided me to part out the 463, the 144, and 130#1 and keep 130#2, the 362, and the 138.  The jury's still out on the 330, It doesn't look like I can cannibalize a 130 hook to use in it, maybe I will make enough parting out the other machines to buy a hook for the 330.

Ed
Ed's Vintage Sewing Machine Shop

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