PFAFF 330, Breaking needles ?

[Michael Chudzinski]

David,

Watertown or Plattsburgh NY,both about 100 miles away. Amelio's in Watertown is the place I was thinking of taking it to. Very limited up here,middle of the boonies.

[David Olsen]

You might call these folks and see if they have any ideas
or a referral.

http://www.southstarsupply.com/

[Michael Chudzinski]

Thanks David,

I will give them a call.

[Roger Caffin]

> The zig-zag knob is very erratic,at times it will move the needle so far left it will hit the feed-dog(correct term?).

Without looking inside the top of the machine, it is clear that the arm which drives the zigzag is loose or broken, or the crank which drives it is somehow loose. This is in the top section. It is not a matter of timing at all.

Cheers

[Michael Chudzinski]

> The zig-zag knob is very erratic,at times it will move the needle so far left it will hit the feed-dog(correct term?).

Without looking inside the top of the machine, it is clear that the arm which drives the zigzag is loose or broken, or the crank which drives it is somehow loose. This is in the top section. It is not a matter of timing at all.

Cheers

Roger,

The more I investigate,the more I think the Zig-zag has gone crazy. I can not physically see anything wrong though.

I really do think it is something in the top. I will try to take it apart in the morning,looks rather tricky. I need a fresh start.

[James D Buch]

You describe the needle hitting the feed dogs ?? Those are the serrated metal things that move up and down and back and forth to move the fabric through the machine. On my Pfaff 230, the feed dogs are 1 mm beyond the end of the zigzag slot in the plate. If this is true, then the needle can't get below the needle plate to get down to hit the bobbin case.

The service manual gives instructions on how to set the maximum swing of the mechanism, so from your description of what you did, somehow this mechanism was forced or otherwise gotten out of adjustment.

Then, evidently, you appear to retract this and say that the needle now centers.

It is time to stop doing things and take a complete break.

I found that my worst times in troubleshooting computers was when I hadn't taken notes on what I had tried and what the results were.

Usually, the solution would come from taking a break, then writing down what I could "positively" remember were the symptoms and the corrective actions that I could clearly remember only if I could clearly remember the results.

Then, the next day, I would restart the troubleshooting. This time, I would take notes of actions and nreactions (symptoms). I would go slow and think about what was happening. If need be, I would look stuff up. And record that.

It is time for you to take that break.

When you restart the troubleshooting process, record everything. Don't thrash around trying everything under the sun.

Hopefully, you have downloaded and read some service and user manuals for the Pfaff machines of about that age.

Many people who have these old machines complain that it is nearly impossible to get good service. The guys who used to do these repairs have largely retired and sometimes, the remaining repair guys attempt to give you outrageously high prices for estimated repair work, and try to sell you a new machine and maybe take in your old one for "parts".

If you followed Yahoo discussion groups on old sewing machines, you would hear these stories from time to time.

I did get confused from the things that you said, and I too need a break.

If you have good interlibrary loan services, see if you can get "The Complete Handbook of Sewing Machine Repair" by Howard Hutchison, TAB books 1980. It includes a chapter on repair and adjustment of Pfaff machines from the 19650's and 1960's, as well as good general introductory materials.

And, whatever machine you do get, make sure that you get a User Manual to go along with it. Maybe even a service manual. But a newcomer shouldn't try to fly airplanes blind.

I do hope that things work out well for you.

Jim

[Michael Chudzinski]

Jim,

I have the machine stripped down as far as I dare. The plate is not on,that is why the needle can hit the feed dog. It did not do that earlier when the plate was on. The more I try to fix this thing the worse it gets. I guess I bit off WAY more than I should have.

For the last two or three nights I have been up until the early morning hours messing with this. I know,I know…I am a fool.I have gleaned a ton of info on the web,but have had NO luck.

I applied to the yahoo PFAFF group,still waiting for approval.By the time I get to join it will surely be a *parts* machine.

Thanks for the help. Don't sweat it,thats what I am all about. Hopefully this will have a happy ending,if not…someone can have some parts for their old PFAFF 330.

[James D Buch]

See email for offer to send service manuals.

[Michael Chudzinski]

James,

I responded to your e-mail.

Thank You

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