Accomplishments and Failures

For several weeks I have been wanting to complete a few important machine repair tasks, this week I started knocking them over at last:

1. Re-wire a better pedal for my 401G.
2. Re-time my 320K after parts arrive from the UK.
3. Schedule my Pfaff 1222E service.

An additional task kept me busy last weekend when I finally found a 1980s Horn sewing cabinet locally for a good price. We brought the cabinet home and I set about cleaning every inch of it. It is in wonderful condition and has cleaned up like new. The hinges had some surface rust (very common - we live in a port city and sea air affects everything), but I lightly brushed some sewing machine oil onto them. The big attraction with a Horn cabinet is the built-in lifter, I tested the lifter and it worked - exactly three times before it failed.

When this happened I was so bummed and figured I had gotten another bad deal ...my husband took pity on me and we took the lifter off, and then examined it. The lifter would stop at the first two lock positions, but not the lowest storage position. I sat with it and fiddled until I thought I had identified the problem as the gas strut. This necessitated a weekday phone call so I shelved the project. The next day I sat down with the lifter and wondered if there was a way I could free the strut - it would be nice if it actually provided a gas lift, but I was happy to settle for it to just move, as I can easily lift and lower the machine on the lifter rails myself.

While I tinkered I noticed the strut pulley was a little bent, I set about trying to straighten it. I reseated the wire and the retaining bolt, and suddenly the lift dropped! So it had been the wire, not the strut. Also, because I hadn't expected the lifter to actually move, my finger was in a very bad place and I only just yanked it away in the nick of time - a free-falling lifter would cause an unpleasant crush injury. After all that, my Horn Air Lifter is pretty much perfect again.

Machine goes up, machine goes down.

I have had no success with timing my 1959 320K. I am timing with the original 206x13 needle but encountering needle strikes all over the place - if I get one area right, it strikes elsewhere. I've put about 20 hours into the timing and am giving up for now... it's too frustrating not having a starting point and having to guess every step.

• Accomplished: I did successfully attach a new Janome foot pedal to my 401G plug - now I have a full range of speed.
• Not accomplished: Progress on the Pfaff service... new car tyres must come first.

But hey, I have a wonderful (and working) machine cabinet!