Mastodawn

update - solved by @fskornia - it's a "presser foot screw".. ha!

fellow sewing machine nerds: i am resurrecting a Pfaff Select 1546 from the dead - a thrifting find last week. after 20+ hours of repair work, the machine is nearly done.

i have one last job: i bought a replacement presser foot attach/release assembly. it's supposed to screw into the top feed as shown, unfortunately the assembly didn't come with the screw! (pic 2, shown in red)

can anyone help me identify the screw? i couldn't find it in either the user or service manuals, and web searches are only showing screws for other machines. it would help to know even what the screw is called at this location.

#sewing #vintagesewingmachines #permaculture #repair

happy ending to the missing presser foot screw mystery:

i decided to try a local sewing machine shop for help finding the exact screw that fit this presser foot or "ankle". i stopped by Johnson's Sewing Centre on 124st (near downtown) and described the missing part. the person at the service center, Luanne, showed me two different screws - both for various pfaff models.

i took a gamble and picked one of the screws. as soon as i got home, of course i had picked the wrong screw 😅

i brought the entire machine to Johnson's an hour later so we could find the exact screw. it turned out they had none in stock for this model, which uses a very specific screw not used on other pfaff sewing machines.

here's the happy ending: i got the best technical service i've ever received in 30+ years of computer/mechanical repair. Luanne brought my machine to the repair area, where a technician spent 5 minutes going through his junk screw box to find an exact fit, one screw at a time.

not only did they find the right screw, but they refused to charge me for it.

99% of computer/mechanics shops would have said "sorry, we don't carry _________ for a machine that old" and told me to buy one online. Johnson's (Luanne and the tech, specifically) went out of their way just to see this old beast back on the road.

10/10 business. this is how you earn customers for life.

#yeg #yegdt #sewing #sewingmachines

and finally: here's the Pfaff Select 1546 sewing machine in operation for the first time in probably many, many years after the previous owner ran it into the ground.

when i received it, the crankshaft was totally seized and the entire machine was full of 20 years of old thread and lint. 20 hours of cleaning, repairing broken parts, and lubrication got it to where it is today.

this will be an xmas present for my wife, who has been suffering for 10 years with a cruddy kenmore beginner machine.

#sewing #repair #permaculture #sewingmachines

coda to the pfaff select 1546 restoration project: my wife received it for xmas and today was her first day sewing with it

relieved to see that it stitches a straight line!

#sewing #repair #diy #permaCulture

AI6YR Ben Jan 1

@vga256 NICE job!

@ai6yr cheers!

Sarah E Bourne Jan 1

@vga256 Does she love it? I hope she was delighted!

@sbourne she seems pretty pleased with it so far :)

Ben Chandler Jan 2

@vga256 That’s awesome!!

@vga256 congratulations!

@vga256 but apparently the economy requires you to go out and buy a new one that’ll be obsolete next year… 🤣

Ben Chandler Dec 3

@vga256 Hey that’s awesome! Love outcomes like this.

@ThreeOhFour just when i'm ready to give up on my city, it's a relief to know that the "old" city ethic which i grew up with is still hidden away in small family run businesses.

Ian Turton Dec 3

@vga256 this is why I have a tub of small screws and, nuts and bolts in my toolbox. Probably one of the most used parts of the kit at repair cafe days. Plus you have to put the left over screws somewhere when you put things back together.

#repair #repairCafe

Frank Skornia Dec 2

@vga256 I did some hunting around, and I'm pretty sure you're looking for what they call the Presser Foot Screw.
I found this:
https://shop.archaicarcane.com/product/pfaff-presser-foot-screw/

and this:
https://allsewingmachineparts.com/products/screw-presser-foot-holder-2-0-3-0-4-0-413040401

Both with different part numbers.

Pfaff Presser Foot Screw – Part#93-036196-15

SCREW – PRESSER FOOT FASTENING – PFAFF

Archaic Arcane Shop

Frank Skornia Dec 2

@vga256 Although presser foot screw also seems to be used for the thumb screw that is on the top of the assembly (which I'm assuming is there to attach a quilting guide?)

@fskornia that's exactly what was screwing up my web searches before - they were all coming up with the thumbscrew due to the ambiguous name

@fskornia Thank you so much frank! that's exactly what it is - and you even found the matching one for this model. I really appreciate it.

Frank Skornia Dec 2

@vga256 No problem :-) It's lovely to see an old machine returning to life. I just figured out the problem with the foot pedal of my mother's old Singer 6110. I think I still need to rework the upper tension a little bit, but it is mostly sewing beautifully again.

@fskornia i'm excited to see what this little beast can do. i've never touched a sewing machine in my life, but the second i saw it in the shop for $30 i knew it was going to be fun to work on

Lea 💚🧵🛠️📊🥧🇺🇦🇵🇸Dec 3

Or just buy some screws of vaguely the right size at your hardware store (if they sell individual parts) and see which one fits!

Caius Pupus Dec 5

@vga256 @fskornia
Yes, indeed. If there is no documentation the first step is measuring the hole an finding candidates for the relevant thread (it is typically M4 coarse in this position both in Pfaff and Adler industrial machines. I don't know for the home market). Feel free to tell me the inside hole (you can measure it with a vernier ) and I can give you the candidates for the thread. If you want to do the search on your own you can have a look at any machinst's handbook or ISO-68-1

@CaiusPupus https://mastodon.tomodori.net/@vga256/115657841935911347