PFAFF 138 Double Needle conversion to Single

[mebacher]

Good Morning from Kingston, Canada

I have a PFAFF 138 set up for double-needle sewing.  Do I need to change the needle bar if I want to use it as a single needle/zigzag?  I removed one needle and used the needle position settings to move the remaining needle over more centre but I still can't use the full zigzag range without breaking the remaining needle...  I asked local SM technicians in my town (not many) but did not get any usefull suggestions.

Thank you.

PFAFF 138
PFAFF 145 (x2)

[Gregg @ Keystone Sewing]

Interesting question, and I have to put on my thinking cap for this one.

I have a lot going on in front of me, but I'm thinking that you are going to have to use both needles threaded, or the stitch formation is not going to work on that machine.  Double needle single hook zig zag is a rare bird. 
Let me think more about this one. 

[mebacher]

Thank you for answering.  I don't normally bother people unless I am really stuck!

The only thing that I could come up with, short of replacing the needle bar each and every time that I wanted to do a different stitch was to drill a hole between the two needle clamp mounting holes on the bottom of the double-needle bar.  I could remove both clamps and mount one of the clamps using the new hole:  this would give me an easy way to mount a single needle centrered with the bar, with the position selector lever on "middle".  Since the needle would be at the same height, this should not (??) affect the timing or loop formation.  But I am just guessing here...

There has got to be a ready-made solution to this problem, but I am at a loss to find it.  The parts book shows two different needle bars but it is no small job to change it. 

Single bobbin / double needle machines are rare indeed, and I love both my PFAFFs, but I still would like the option to use a zig-zag stitch, since the machine is capable of doing this.

[lamx]

Double needle single hook zig zag is a rare bird.

It's rare on industrial machines, but many family machines sew with one hook and two needles.  Zig zag width is limited by the spacing of the double needles.

I think before anyone can provide an intelligent answer, we need to know what your setup is like.  Do you have a single needle bar with one needle clamp that holds two needles?  Is your needle bar split with two separate needle clamps?  What is the distance between needles? Is either needle centered in the throat plate?  How would you change to different needle spacing? A photo would really help.

Ed
http://sewing-machines.blogspot.com/

[mebacher]

https://picasaweb.google.com/michael.ebacher/138?authkey=Gv1sRgCP_ivc6cndXVHQ#

Here are the photos (follow the link to my Google album) ...  and thank you for suggesting that I go through this process:  I solved my issue!!!

When I actually started taking things apart (I just got the machine), I realized that the mounting bracket at the end of the needle arm had slotted holes, making the needle width adjustable from slightly less than 1/8" to slightly more than 3/8".  The left slot is wider than the right slot.  Removing the right needle mount bracket (or just the needle....) and moving the left needle mount all the way to centre positions the needle properly for FULL zigzag range, with the needle position lever set to the centre position.  Problem solved.

Needless to say, I feel like an idiot:  I should have trusted German engineers to design something practical.  I now have a double-needle machine that can also do single straight and zigzag stitches.  Plus my walking foot PFAFF 145, I am all set!

Thank you to those who answered and tried to help.

[lamx]

Interesting setup.  I saw a similar thing in the instruction manual for a German-made family machine I once owned but the needle clamp was missing from the accessory box, so I never got to see it in person.

I checked my Pfaff 144 double-needle machine (currently down for a $695 feed dog) to see if it had the same style needle clamp.  My thought was to move the 144 needle clamp to my working 138.  Alas, the 144 has the standard type needle clamp with fixed needle width and a throat plate with two holes the same width.  Some day, I would like to find a needle clamp similar to yours that I could put on my 138 to have the capability of double-needle sewing and adjustable widths.

Ed

[mebacher]

Ed

The PFAFF P/N for the 138 double needle bar assembly is:

91-064 652-91

I printed the page in PDF but the file appears too large to attach (51K)

If you need the parts manual (or the operator's manual for that matter) you can send me your email and I will forward.

Mike