Hot Rod Forum banner

Pfaff 467R and Singer 211 Questions

7K views 17 replies 2 participants last post by  DanTwoLakes 
#1 ·
I'm new here and to upholstery work. This is one of the best websites I have ever seen. I'm restoring a prewar BMW 327 Cabriolet and I will be attempting to make my own upholstery and top for this car, a first for me. Here's a link to my car: BMW 327 Cabriolet Restoration by Douglas Cygan

I have a Pfaff 467R that I bought a while ago, it's an industrial machine with a walking foot, but I cannot find the correct welting feet for it. I found ones for a Pfaff 467 (not the "R" model), but they don't fit, they're too long, and the mounting slot is too narrow so it doesn't fit the presser bar. I then tried to modify one of the new ones so I widened the mounting slot, cut the length down to size and re-welded it providing the correct alignment and offset. Now the modified foot works fine, but the walking foot presents a problem, it's located directly behind the needle and because it's not offset it interferes with the cording/welting. Does the walking foot need to be removed to allow cording/welting to be made on the 467R?

Also, I recently bought a Singer 211G155, which unfortunately doesn't have a reverse, but it was only $100 so I wasn't too concerned. The problem I have with this machine is that I can't change the stitch length. I depressed the button on the bed and turned the pulley until the button engaged, but with it engaged the wheel will not turn at all to allow me to change the stitch length. I don't want to force it to turn so I'm wondering if I'm missing a step or is there something wrong?

Being somewhat new to upholstery work and sewing I'm sure I'll be asking a lot of questions.

Cheers,
Doug
 
See less See more
#2 ·
If you have a true walking foot, which is actually a generic term for alternating presser feet, the feet are in two parts. The middle part of the foot is where the needle goes through, and the rest of the foot is attached to another shaft which goes up when the other part of the foot goes down, hence alternating. You can't remove the walking foot, or the machine won't feed correctly. Welting is made with a welt foot. If you are trying to make welting with a presser foot, it will not work.

As far as the stitch length question, the machine may be set to the biggest stitch possible and can only turn one way with the hand wheel. You also may be depressing the wrong button. One of the buttons on the bed is for re-setting the safety clutch.
 
#3 ·
Thank you for responding. The two feet that I recently bought are for a Pfaff 467 and that's where they may differ from feet for a 467R. You can see the walking foot setup in the manual, it's quite a mechanical wonder, at least to me. These feet are sold as single feet without a second foot like what I purchased for the Singer. Are there any sources for the correct cording feet for the Pfaff 467R that you're aware of?

As for the Singer, there's only one button on the bed, about 2" behind the bobbin cover plate and I don't see a second one anywhere. When I depress it it does lock the feed eccentric so I believe it is the correct button. Also, the pulley/hand wheel doesn't move in either direction whit the button depressed
 
#4 ·
Tilt the 211 back when you are trying to change stitch length and see what is going on underneath.

The 467, either the 467 or the 467R, will use the same welt feet. If it is a walking foot machine, it has three shafts. One shaft is for the needle only, and the other two shafts hold the middle part of the foot and the outside part of the foot which are separate pieces just like the Singer 211.
 
#5 ·
Yes, you're correct that the Pfaff has three shafts, one for the needle, one for the presser foot and one for the walking foot. Here are the part numbers for the feet I purchased from Ultimate Sew and Vac [91-026473-05 and 91-026474-05. here's the link to the page: Industrial Presser Feet* Commercial Sewing Machine Parts
They assured me that they are correct, but they are not, they are completely wrong. Any suggestions? I could take photos if that would help.

As for the Singer I was finally able to get the hand wheel to move, but it wasn't easy. It seems like something is wrong.
Thanks again,
Doug
[/SIZE]
 
#7 ·
Attached are photos of the feet for the Pfaff. In all of the photos the presser foot that came with the machine is on the left (which has 184 stamped into it) and the new ones on the right. The first photo also shows the foot that I modified (in the middle). The last photo shows the narrower attachment groove than the one that came with the machine, which also fits very well. Is it possible the presser bar was modified to accept another type of presser foot system?
 

Attachments

#8 · (Edited)
I learned how to sew on a Pfaff 1245, and none of those feet are welt feet. In the first picture, the piece in the middle and the piece to the right look like they may be a part of a zipper foot or cording foot, one left and one right, but I don't know for sure. The piece on the left side is part of a hinged cording or zipper foot. The picture in the middle is of a presser foot, which is flat on the bottom. I think you are confused by the term "cording foot". A cording foot isn't used with welt cord, and does not do the same thing a welt foot does. A welt foot is hollowed out both on the left side of the middle part of the foot, and on the right side of the large part of the foot to guide the welt cord inside the fabric through the sewing machine.
Here are pictures of two welt feet. The one with the bigger groove that goes the entire length of the bottom of the larger part is a 3/8" welt foot, and the other one is a 1/4" welt foot that would be used for most auto upholstery. The 1/4" foot has a cut out at the rear to be able to turn 90 degree corners easier. I have welt feet that go from 3/16" up to 3/4".
 

Attachments

#12 ·
Remember, cording foot is not what you want, you want a 1/4" welt foot. They are two different things. I really don't know where you'd get one however. I will keep looking.
 
#14 ·
There probably is not a welt foot available for that set-up. That looks like something set up especially for one operation in a garment factory. If I were you, I'd get the Singer 211 working. That will be a better machine for auto upholstery, and parts are easy to find and a lot cheaper.
 
#15 ·
I too am realizing that it's not likely that I'll find any feet for the Pfaff so I suppose I'll have to make my own.

I've been fiddling with the Singer, but I still can't get the hand wheel to turn to change the thread length. There's a lot of lint buildup that I've removed and it seems like there's a lot of metal particles in it, thus implying that it's been used to some extent without lubrication. Also, I backed off on the presser foot spring pressure so the foot has less impact when operating, but it seems like there's still too much pressure. When in operation the vibration is so great that the entire machine and table shake violently. The foot also leaves waffled marks in the material and that too implies there's too much pressure. Is there another spring that I need to relieve the tension? I also believe that the throat plate may not be the correct one for this machine as it creates a raised platform, about 1/16" higher than the adjacent bed-slides. Any thoughts?
 
#16 ·
You need to take the Singer to an industrial sewing machine mechanic and find out if it is even worth trying to fix. None of what you describe should be happening. It's silly to waste any more time trying to make adjustments to something that might not be adjustable any more.
 
#17 ·
I took the Singer in to a shop on Friday and was told (without even touching it) that it would be between $300-$500 to fix not including parts . I suspect they didn't want to be bothered with it. Perhaps a servo motor might help. I did get the hand wheel to turn a bit so there's hope there, but it's probably best to return it.
 
#18 ·
A servo motor is not going to fix a bad vibration. The machine probably has a bent or broken shaft of some kind, which is why the handwheel won't turn. They were probably doing you a favor by not taking your money to try and fix it. If you can take it back, do so and keep looking for a good one.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top