My favourite sewing machine died!

The subject line says it all really :-( .

My Viking 2000 SL Model 6460 started acting up a couple of months ago when we started on a new kite project but thankfully we have a Pfaff

1119 we keep as a 'back-up' and used that instead.

Tonight I decided to take the Viking apart to see what was wrong with it and discovered a broken plastic part. This particular model has interchangeable cam stacks for the fancy stitches and the plastic part the cam stacks fit into has broken.

The part is like a mini cam stack and has three square holes in it that locate the square 'dogs' on the interchangeable cam stacks. On mine two of the three square holes have hairline cracks in them and the third hole has a piece broken out of it.

It looks like replacement is the only option as the broken out piece has gone 'walk-about' somewhere and with the age of the machine I really hope this is not the end of the road as it is a truly great sewing machine. I have sent an email to Ron Anderson and hopefully he can come through but at the moment the poor thing is little better than a boat anchor.

The machine has great sentimental value too as it was given to me by the world renowned Adrian Conn and it was used to build all his wonderful multiple AKA championship winning kites during the 1980's. I would really like to get it fixed for that reason alone!

At least I still have the Pfaff to sew with and if all else fails a 55 year old Elna too. It just makes ya want to scream I tell ya! Boo hoo!

Reply to
Larry Green
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You have my deepest sympathy!

Beverly

Reply to
BEI Design

Thanks Beverly, hopefully I can find a spare somewhere. If not I will have to try and make one.

Reply to
Larry Green

Oh, Larry! Wah! Sob!

See if you can get the part, and if you need help, come and join us on wefixit: LOTS of Old Sewing Machine Guy help there! :)

Reply to
Kate Dicey

I know! Need a share of my tissue? It's only a little bit damp at the moment ;-).

Thanks, I just signed up and will have a poke around in the various areas for tips. Hopefully I can find a replacement and if not I will have to see if I can make one (I do have a table top lathe and milling machine available).

I am really missing this machine already as spring is just around the corner and I have a number of kite related projects designed and awaiting fabric. I am expecting a delivery of fabric any day now and have no idea how much there will be or what colours I will have to play with. I designed some logos for a kite parts supplier and he offered to pay in fabric (whoo hoo!) When I emailed with him a couple of weeks ago he said he had not sent it yet as he had instructions from a 'secret benefactor' and he was adding an extra $50 worth of fabric to the order for me! It turns out that an 'unknown' member of the forum he runs had told him to send me some fabric as a thank you for all my useful posts on the forum and because he had heard that I was disabled and could not afford to buy any (I have ME the sister condition to your FM). I guess I will be sewing up a storm when it finally arrives ;-).

The Pfaff is an excellent machine but it is not the same as the Viking and the Viking's 'low gear' option is very useful when sewing multiple layers of fabric and nylon webbing and the very stiff and hard 'Dacron' we use in kite building. I also like the Viking's fully variable stitch length and width compared to the fixed options on the Pfaff.

I will get by but it would be nice to have the old 'work horse' available again......lol.

Reply to
Larry Green

At least this bit *can* be turned, while the stitch selector for my Cub

8 can't... :( HOWEVER, if it doesn't cot toooooo much, there may be a member of wefixit with a spare part... :)

The sewing karma has just sent the Stash Fairy to drop on you! How lovely! helps you to cope with the pain, I bet! :) The FM is the pits, so I deeply sympathize.

Does the Pfaff have the built in walking foot feature? I always wonder how that works.

Indeed. I may fall heir to Big Sis's 20 YO HV if she upgrades/renews. She may be looking for something smaller, as the HV is quite big, she doesn't do the volume I do, or sew some of the heavier fabrics, so a smaller 'occasional use' machine like the Singer I bought mum last year might be better for her.

Reply to
Kate Dicey

On Sun, 22 Jan 2006 10:08:36 -0500, Larry Green wrote: Larry, get in touch with Bill Holman....he is the resident Viking guy on the Viking and We Fix It list. You may be in luck, I just found a supplier for the camstacks for the Pfaff's As this is an older Viking your in better shape than with the new ones to find a donor machine or the actual part. I will see what I have stashed in the barn. But do get on either the specific Viking list from Yahoo or as I keep saying WeFixIt guys are the best.

Reply to
Hanna's Mum

It would be a pain to try to make but 'needs must when the Devil drives' and all that!

LOL........this is not the first time a fellow kite builder has given me fabric out of the blue and I truly appreciate the kinship that exists in the kiting world. If you look at our page on our kite club's website you will see that most of our kites have been built from donated materials.

The sewing and kite building/flying certainly helps me to stay sane and keeps me from going 'stir crazy' but I know that an afternoon of kite flying will make me ill for the next 2-3 days but it is worth it just to get out and 'live' for a while.

I truly believe that only those that have it can fully understand what it means to be struck down with ME/FM. People look at me as if I am lying when I tell them that I can't do something because I am disabled. I used to hike a lot when I lived in England (mostly in Wales and the Peak District) and played competitive badminton twice a week but now if I walk around a grocery store I have to lie down for two hours to get over it!

Our Pfaff does not have that feature as it is one of the 1100 series machines and the 'dual feed' feature was introduced in the 1200 series and later models.

The dual feed is rather ingenious and consists of a small, single feed dog, mounted into the same shaft that holds the presser foot. As the presser foot lifts to allow the fabric to move the upper dog (controlled by a cam on the top shaft IIRC) pushes the fabric from the top at the same time as the lower dogs push the fabric from the bottom. This feature is very useful for slippery fabrics and is the main reason the dual feed Pfaffs are regarded as being *THE* machine for kite builders. I still like my old HV though as it is built tough and has that wonderful low gear for getting through thick materials. I swear it would sew through 1/8" plywood with a new needle in it!

As I said up there ^^^^ I really love my 80's HV. It is big, solid and has the power to get the job done. It's a bit like comparing a Land Rover to a BMW when you put the HV and the Pfaff side by side.

Reply to
Larry Green

Thanks for that. I have joined WeFixIt and sent a first post but have not seen it appear yet. Is it a moderated group with a delay before the posts appear or did mine get lost in the ether?

Reply to
Larry Green

hehehehe! Have you seen the pin crashes in my Dickens project? One picture is of a safety pin I sewed right through! The only time I DELIBERATELY sewed through metal was through the 'leaves' for a leaf mail costume: they were cut from ally drink cans, and I was using an older Bernina 1008 type machine in a school... Did it beautifully!

The Huskylock 910 is a bit like that: rather 'agricultural' compared to the Bernina, but somewhat tougher than almost all other domestic sergers!

Reply to
Kate Dicey

Please excuse my question, because I don't mean to offend, but what is ME? I have done medical transcription for over a dozen years and for many facilities, but I have no idea what ME could stand for and would like to add that to my vocabulary list so if I ever run across it in my work, I would know what it was.

Reply to
Melinda Meahan - take out TRAS

Hi Melinda, no offence taken ;-).

ME is the short form for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis which is also known in the US as CFS/CFIDS. ME sufferers worldwide are pushing for the standardization of the term ME as the 'syndrome' part of CFS/CFIDS implies it is a mental problem and many doctors 'pooh pooh' the condition as being 'all in the mind'. Recent research has shown that the condition is most definitely a 'physical' illness and could have neurological factors.

Whatever it is called I can tell you that I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy :-(. In five years it has destroyed my life as I knew it and I now have to live my life one day at a time as I never know how I am going to be feeling from one day to the next.

Reply to
Larry Green

On Sun, 22 Jan 2006 13:35:35 -0500, Larry Green wrote: =20

Yes, it is a moderated group and it will take a little while for your post to appear.

-Irene

-------------- You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.=20

--Mae West=20

--------------

Reply to
IMS

Thanks Irene, they are appearing now :-).

Reply to
Larry Green

Ah, thank you. I do know about CFS/CFIDS. I also happened to have transcribed a while for a fibromyalgia specialist who was a real hoot, and I learned a lot while transcribing for him.

I understand *****friendly sympathetic hugs***** Doing medical transcription has put a soft spot in my heart for people with chronic or acute medical conditions.

Thanks for the info.

Reply to
Melinda Meahan - take out TRAS

Larry, good Viking dealers can still get this part and will repair it for you. That cam shaft and the uptake arm are the most vulnerable parts on these old machines. There is a group devoted to the 6000 Viking series, and the machines are held in highest esteem.

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your machine in and have it serviced. Sharon

Reply to
Seeker

Thanks for the info Sharon. I have already joined that group and have found several sources for the part but have to get the funds sorted before I can buy one.

As to servicing/repairs I do all my own ;-).

Reply to
Larry Green

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