How to Re-Install the Automatic Mechanism on a Pfaff 1214 (1211,1212,1222, etc,) Sewing Machine

A tricky repair for many vintage Pfaff sewing machines.

[@rc3473]

Fantastic instructions, Without this guidance, I don't think I would have been able to correctly install the automatic mechanism.

[@mehere779]

Thank you for taking the trouble to upload this. It explains everything the service manual doesn't tell you, and resolves a lot of past frustrations with getting the thing to work ! Have finally got my machine running as it should. Great machine when working properly - very difficult to fix when it isn't ;o(

[@MsCynthiaPearl]

I just want to say thank you so much for this video. I was able to replace a cracked cam stack and then trouble shoot why the decorative stitches still didn't work!! It took some fenaggling to get the gear pin on properly but your video was a great companion. I have resurrected my pfaff!!!

[@geoffwilliams5522]

Wow, you just helped me repair my daughters Pfaff. It works perfectly, thanks.

[@tobyssewingmachinerepair8949]

You're very welcome!

[@webb_strings8687]

Thank you soooo much I never thought I'd see my pfaff 1216 sew decorative again!

[@tobyssewingmachinerepair8949]

Glad I could help! Thanks for watching

[@syedsayeedurrahmanzaini4221]

My machine had been lying for several years as I could not put automatic stitch mechanism back in place though I tried several times. Now after watching this video I will try again. Hopefully I will succeed this time. Thanks a lot. Best regards

[@tobyssewingmachinerepair8949]

I'm sure you'll have success! Best of luck, and let me know how it goes.

[@juliusganal]

Thank you for taking the time to post this! Helped get my machine (1222 SE) up and running after giving it some much needed maintenance.

[@user-re4zz5cs9k]

Ciao Toby, grazie al tuo video ho smontato, aggiustato e rimontato una pfaff 1213. Mia suocera ti ringrazia 😊. Complimenti per il video e grazie

[@tobyssewingmachinerepair8949]

You're very welcome! Glad I could help!

[@craigcornell2752]

Thank you! Super helpful explanation. That’s a tricky job and isn’t explained in the manual.

[@TRKelley]

THank you so much! I just acquired a 1214 for $20 - i'm a Singer repairer, so i opened it up to look. It's obvious that someone has taken out the automatic mechanism and re-installed it wrong. After watching this excellent video, I'm just going to take it to the Pfaff guy here in town and enrich his economy. :)

[@theredneckgeordie]

Great instructional video - thanks a lot!

[@johnvandepol2346]

This is just such a wonderful, to the point, spot on, super helpful video to my active need in a 1222E resuscitation (my first Pfaff) Thank you for taking the time to record and post this! I have a service manual, but that can't hold a candle to the clarity your video offers to this process John

[@tobyssewingmachinerepair8949]

Thank you very much for the kind words John. I had a hard time deciphering the service manual, and thought this video would be useful for others.

[@johnvandepol2346]

@@tobyssewingmachinerepair8949 I have mine now loosened from all sticking mechanisms. The final part I am working to get right, working through a different section of the obtuse service manual, is the positioning of the clutch lever arm of the stopmatic mechanism. I had mine touching, so it made a rubbing "wronk - wronk" kind of sound at on spot of each revolution of the handwheel.. When I lifted it too far, it makes a clicking sound when the micro switch board hits back, so I need to find a balance. I managed to let the little spring near the protruding pin "escape" into the air while installing, so I need to find that in the messy workspace. Just a small distraction to make the full conclusion of my 1222e's revival just not too easy.

[@tobyssewingmachinerepair8949]

@@johnvandepol2346 They are very finicky machines with a thousand little moving parts. I wish you the best of luck with the 1222E, I'm sure you'll be victorious in the end.

[@petersayers1156]

Thanks Toby, great Video. The long Rod placement was my problem.... which was loose under the slot... the video clear that issue up. Cheers.

[@syedsayeedurrahmanzaini4221]

Thank you very much for teaching me how to install automatic mechanism on my Pfaff 1222E. Two years back without realising that it would not be easy to put it back I removed it for oiling and cleaning. I tried many times to put it back but I could not succeed. I saw your video this morning I will try again. Thanks for uploading this very important video. Best regards from Aligarh, India.

[@tobyssewingmachinerepair8949]

You're most welcome. Were you able to put it back together properly?

[@syedsayeedurrahmanzaini4221]

Yes sir, I did it following your very clear instructions. If I had your WhatsApp number I could have sent you its video. Once again a lot of thanks.

[@joepzijp2892]

Hello Toby, thanks for this very helpful video!

[@simonbanks6641]

cheers toby I've just been given two of these both broken!!

[@funkiEst]

What a beautiful, well done, dedicated and useful video and what a beautiful and mint condition vintage machine!... i love this machine! the design of it, the serious mechanics, narrow arm, idt... i'm expecting to recieve a 1209 tomorrow and it wont be fully working yet... as your video shows this machines can be tricky to repair but it would be more tricky without this video, thank you !

[@merveceker2663]

Çok tesekkur ederim sayenizde tamire gidip toplayamadiklari makinami topladim.

[@ticat441]

Great video and explanations. Thank you!

[@528ochtak]

This is wonderful and your explanation is understandable. Thank you. I'm attempting to repair the zig zag mechanism as the machine won't return to a straight stitch after I sew a zig zag. The service manual says reduce any play in the worm to .01mm, hope I can figure it out. I have a Pfaff 1222, my first sewing machine given to me by my mother. I love it. Thanks again very much!

[@gerryritacco754]

The one thing that seems missing is when you depress the blind-hem button, the camstack needs to be rotated counterclockwise until the follower is in the lowest position at the base of the rising cam so it will be in the proper position on the mainshaft gear when reinserted into the machine. I may have missed it but thought it worth mentioning again.

[@RJ-hq5gc]

Wonderfull you are my Hero 👍👍👍👍

[@brigimo4974]

Excelente vídeo.,muy bien explicado. Yo tengo una pfaff 1217 ,la primera avería en 38 años ha sido un bloqueo en la rueda y no me ha permitido hacer canilla y también ha quedado bloqueado el funcionamiento de la máquina.Agradecería un vídeo sobre esa parte y también cómo cambiar la correa. Mis felicitaciones por esa forma tan didáctica de explicarlo.

[@ericcommarato7727]

Toby, Can you do a video on adjusting the button hole feature on a 1214? I have an issue with this, and my needle position dial will only rotate in the clockwise direction. Thanks for posting this it has been a help re-installing the automatic mechanism.

[@nealiund7284]

Excellent......

[@ricklaplante8147]

Curious. Looked like it would be important to have the large came stack aligned just so when it slides into the worm gear on the shaft that drives it. Is that automatically aligned when the two little hammers you spoke of are in an upmost position?

[@funkiEst]

Hi again, do you have an idea of the way to take the wheel selector apart ? i have to repair it but i don't know the way it disasembles...

[@mchaves7663]

Hi, I need to adjust the dial on my PFAFF 1221. The white marker is not in the middle, the stitch length doesnt work and niddle position is also off...any help will be much appreciated.

[@tobyssewingmachinerepair8949]

Hi, it sounds like your machine is out of adjustment and potentially has a frozen mechanism. It requires repairs that are beyond most users abilities. You can find the service manual quite easily online. If you don't think you can fix it with the service manual, I would highly recommend bringing it to a reliable technician.

[@mchaves7663]

@@tobyssewingmachinerepair8949 I have the service manual but it doesn't cover the dial repair unfortunately

[@samlang5538]

Hi Toby, I have a Pfaff 1229. Can you explain how to remove the Master Selector. The red indicator is half an inch to the right. Regards Sam.

[@funkiEst]

Hi Toby... i can't find the information of the weight of the 1209 machine in its case... it doesn't have to be exact, i need for a delivery (to me) maybe you can help me with it ? thanks !!!

[@ervaozturk7878]

Selam mildeki dişli ayarı hangi pozisyonda olacak

[@ervaozturk7878]

İğne pozisyon düğmesi görev yapmıyor nasıl bir ayar yapmalıyım

[@jericho56ify]

хорошая машина

[@ronalddevine9587]

I noticed that you used a small Kenmore screwdriver! Needlessly complicated machine. Typically European. I'll take a Kenmore 158 series from 1968-1978 any day.

[@tobyssewingmachinerepair8949]

Yes I do! It works perfectly for adjusting bobbin case tension and other small screws. I must agree with you, they are a bit over-engineered with a thousand little parts that work on springs and washer. God forbid a plastic gear breaks, you have to disassemble all sorts of things and then re-install them in a very particular way or nothing works. When they are working, I must say they make beautiful decorative stitches. Still, I used a Kenmore 158 as my primary work machine before going industrial and would never switch to a European machine like this.

[@ronalddevine9587]

@@tobyssewingmachinerepair8949 your honesty is commendable. You can't get any more precise zigzag stitching than a Kenmore from 68-78, or a Singer 400/500

[@tomspielman6298]

They were products of their time. By that I mean that decorative stitches were what consumers wanted. The way the Japanese (Kenmore) machines and many others accomplished this was through the use of interchangeable plastic cams. The Kenmore I had this Summer came with a whole box of them. And it works. But using a decorative stitch meant searching through the cams to find the right one, - and hopefully it wasn't lost or chewed up by the dog. The advantage of this system was that a picture of the stitch was on the buttons and all you had to do was push them and set the controls dials. And there were no cams to lose. And frankly, when the mechanism is adjusted right, the decorative stitches come out looking much nicer than the ones on the Kenmore, - because of the close tolerances on the machine. And those close tolerances partly came from that fact that these domestic Pfaff's were built in the same factory as their industrial machines and shared a lot of parts. This might have been the last series where this was the case. Not part of the video was the killer feature that the Pfaff 1200 series had: Dual feed, - and it's still a sought after feature today. Kenmore's didn't have it. Where I will agree with you is that all I really want out of a machine is a good long straight stitch and zig-zag. Anything else is an unnecessary complication. But I do really really like dual feed. But my needs are fairly specialized, - sail repair and light canvas work. Modern domestics aren't robust enough. Vintage domestics aren't ideal either but I don't have room for an industrial at my house.

[@sukeshbabulal1668]

@@tobyssewingmachinerepair8949 hi mate can you make video how to replace brushes on Pfaff 1222e thanks.