Bernina 830 Record

 When I worked in Queensland, I asked my boss what is the best sewing machine ever made? His immediate reply was Bernina 830 Record. Fast forward a year or two and I've moved back to Melbourne. I'm friends with a sewing machine mechanic (Gordon Carr) who has worked as such since a young man in 1960. I asked him the same question and his immediate answer was also Bernina 830 Record. Both of them considered longevity, repairability and reliability. 

An 830 record in understated magnificence

As a person who also sews, I can add ease of use. These machines are the central bobbin (CB) type which can handle the widest variety of different thread and fabric. There have been, and still are, thousands of CB machines on the market, but these are different. How can they be better than the others?

1. They're quiet. The manufacturing tolerances are very tight. Unlike other CB mechanisms, these machines don't rattle. The bobbin, bobbin case and shuttle all fit in perfectly and everything works with no problems.

2. They're reliable. The 830 was the result of evolution of Bernina records, starting with the 530 in the mid 1950s, continued through the 730 (from 1963 to 1971), then the 830.  My ex boss had all sorts of machines as trade-ins, but would only sell on the 830s because he didn't want to fix a second hand machine under warranty and he had 100% confidence that he would never see any of the 830s again.

3. They all have a knee lift. Previous record models either don't have a knee lever at all or it was for operating the motor. That said, there were some from about 1969 on that had both a foot controller and knee lift, like the 830.

4. They have an easy five step buttonhole mechanism. The 530 and 730 had a buttonhole mechanism but it wasn't as easy to use as the 830s simple numbered dial.

5. Very sturdy. In March 2022, a lady came into the shop in Queensland with her 830 (that I happened to have sold her two months earlier). It was in her basement when the floods happened and was submerged in mud and water for three days! Gareth looked at the mess inside the case and to my surprise he said "yes that shouldn't be a problem". Afterwards I questioned his confidence, so he said that I could work on it. A bit over two hours later the machine was like new again! I doubt that another CB machine would have even survived such a trial, but for the Bernina it wasn't a problem.

You will find a lot said about these on the Internet. They keep their prices very well. I sold one in Melbourne for almost $1,000 in 2023, when other machines were hard to sell. You can buy a brand new Janome MyExcel for $599 but people will still spend much more on a 50 year old machine. The buyers aren't rich idiots.

Common problems and solutions

Pattern gear broken

The nylon pattern gear 

Problem: The 830s pattern gear is nylon on a steel shaft. Over decades, the nylon shrinks and the gear cracks. The symptoms of this start with a slightly tight spot in the pattern cycle. When the crack widens, the needle starts swinging at the wrong spot, breaking needles.

Solution: Fit an aftermarket gear. You can buy them from various places, but I would advise avoiding random ebay shops. Get one locally and it's more likely to work. Some of the cheaper ones are either 3D printed (these do not last) or the tolerances aren't good enough (they're either too tight or too sloppy). These are the Rolls Royce of sewing machines, so don't use cheap parts. If you really want to DIY, the service manual is available as a download on both the vintage Bernina Facebook group and the groups.io Bernina BTS group.

Capacitor explodes

Problem: There is a capacitor pack connected to the motor. Capacitors don't last forever, and when they fail, they usually explode. The explosion is accompanied by the release of smoke.

Capacitor pack is here

Solution: Remove the motor and the inside cover, and you will see it as above. You can usually tell when a Bernina capacitor pack is starting to fail. They swell then crack. The crack gets bigger, then the action starts. Occasionally the capacitor will fail without any signs, but this is very rare. If your capacitor has just exploded, you can remove it in the very short term if you need to finish a job, but it should be replaced. The proper way to replace a failed capacitor is to buy a like for like one from Theodor Bastberget in Norway. If you don't want to spend that much, or wait until it arrives from Norway, you can just make one for the motor only from a 0.1uF X2 polypropylene capacitor from your local electronics store. You can cut two of the legs from the failed capacitor for the connectors and use shrink insulation. This is what I do. If you don't have a capacitor between the motor wires, there will not only be interference (which affects digital signals too), but the motor brushes will wear down much more quickly, and will deposit a mess of grey carbon on the motor's armature.

Can't access the patterns

Problem: Either can't move the selector to get a pattern or it's stiff and the patterns don't work.

Solution: Open the top cover and you will see this mechanism at the end of the selector lever. The two pronged part that moves is clogged with stuff that needs to be removed. Brush it with methylated spirits, move it then brush the part you just moved. Once it's clean you will be able to easily move it between the two extremes and it won't stay between them. At this time, a drop of oil or two where it moves will ensure that it keeps working. 

Stitch type selector 

Belt slipping

Problem: The belt slips

Loosen the Allen screw

Solution: You need a 4mm Allen key. Loosen the screw, tighten the belt and then the screw. Just be aware that the rule is to make the belt as loose as possible without it slipping. 

Vertical gear

The vertical gear is hard to access

Problem: The vertical gear is broken As it says in the caption, these are hard to access. Thankfully this problem is relatively rare. I've only seen a couple of broken ones.

Solution: Same as with the pattern gear, get a quality part for DIY or get a sewing machine mechanic to do it. This is a lot more difficult than the pattern gear. Neal Iund made an excellent video on doing this for the 730, but the 830 instructions are the same, as are the gears themselves. I think that there are some that are different but these only apply to 730s.

Top cover won't open

Problem: You have to apply a lot of force to open the top cover, and once open it's floppy. 

Solution: There is a small sliding part under pressure from a spring that moves when you lift and close the cover. The problem is that over time stuff accumulates and glues it to one spot and it won't go back. When you force it, it goes back and stays there, resulting in the floppy cover. 

The top cover's catch

You can get this back to normal by brushing with methylated spirits and applying some pressure. It is much easier as usual if you heat it a little first, which softens the goo. Push it back, brush with metho and forward again. Repeat until it's very free. In my experience it doesn't take much effort or time. There's another one of these keeping the needlebar cover closed.

These machines are always worth fixing. For an old machine they command a large price for very good reason. Test one out and you will want it. Good machines will make you actually want to sew.

Bernina 740 Industrie

This machine was found on Gumtree and was in Melbourne but it was the start of December and I was driving down there (it's 1,750 KM from me) for the holidays. The guy kept it for me and had thought I'd driven down just to get the machine and was driving back immediately, bless him!
Can't believe that it was advertised for 3 weeks without any other offers.
It's a 1967 Bernina 740-11 industrie. It had some surface rust from sitting outside, but overall is in excellent condition. Almost identical to the favorit, except for the needle, motor (clutch motor), bobbin winder (external) and knee lift (in the bench). The clutch motor looks almost new and the rest looks in excellent condition.
The first thing I noticed was how fast it is. He plugged it in to test and it went through that test fabric in about a second.

Bernina 740 Industrie

It didn't come with many accessories or any spare bobbins (and they're not common or cheap - got mine from Cyndy). The machine has a full rotary hook (hence the speed), loads the bobbin from the back and uses the industrial (round shank) version of the common domestic needle - 16x231/1738/287WH.
It had a lot of issues. After checking the wiring and cleaning the motor, the machine's timing was seriously out. The needle was timed to hit the bobbin case every time. Not sure why the previous owner didn't just get it fixed but the problem was that the needlebar height, hook timing and feed timing were all massively out of adjustment. I suspect the previous owner, an electrical engineer, had bought it to sell on and doesn't know anything about sewing machines - There were two empty ten packs of needles and a broken one up the spout. It took a while to fix it all but she now sews a perfect stitch. The ultimate test was a tiny stitch with an embroidery stitch.

Nicely balanced at last!

It has a full rotary hook, vertical bobbin with a reversed bobbin case (inserted from the back).
 I'm really happy with this, and it should get well used at my place, especially now we have this plague and the caregivers need us to make them scrubs.

Bernina 708 Broken Gear Replacement

A neighbour sent me an SMS and asked if I repaired sewing machines. It was broken, as in the bobbin gear was jammed. I freed that up then cleaned and serviced it for her (she and her husband are lovely people).
I noticed the zig-zag doing bizarre movements and took a close look under the top.

Very common problem on Berninas

Okay, ordered one from England, an eBay store. I won't mention which one because I don't want to be giving recommendations. Just search for Bernina 708 cam gear and you'll find it.

Replacing the gear

Searching for instructions led me to here. It's for a 730 sure, but both have cams right? His looked a bit complex, hence the delay. I was planning on making the tools at my dad's tomorrow then just out of curiosity unscrewed the (three) grub screws. The shaft started sliding out very easily!
I got it all the way out and lifted the gear out.
Putting the new one on was a matter of removing the screws holding the cam to the gear (two flat screws) and transferring it, then putting it into the machine and replacing the shaft.
I tightened up the grub screws and of course the zig-zag wouldn't work.
After half an hour of removing the gear and replacing it in a slightly different position, I realised what a waste of time this was. Regardless of what I did, the swing always started at the bottom of the needle's travel!

Setting the zig-zag timing

The hard bit was fixing the swing. Before doing this you should look at the cam and see how it works. The swing happens only in the ridge between the lower flat and the raised one and you can set it like this:
1. Loosen the two screws holding the worm gear

Unscrew both of these

2. Now the worm gear can move freely.
3. Make sure the zig-zag width is at maximum.
4. Move the hand wheel toward you until the needle is on its way up and has already passed through the needle plate.
5. Now move the cam until the flat is just about to start swinging and tighten one of the screws.
6. Check that the swing occurs only when the needle is above the plate. The swing must finish at the same needle height on the other side. You have to make sure the swing is the same on both sides. Once you do, tighten the other screw. You don't want the worm gear to move.
7. Check it again, then test by sewing at maximum zig-zag width.

Certainly a lot easier than expected. The replacement gear has an aluminium base, and the original was steel. Not sure if this will affect the machine but if the plastic is the same quality as the original you can expect it to last 40 years. Not bad!

Bernina Favorit 540 1958

This machine was, let's just say, a bargain.
It's a home industrial machine with built-in cams! It came with an 80 watt Sew Tric motor which was almost fouling the knee lift mechanism. Yes, it has a knee lift! Just about everything here makes this an exciting machine. It's Swiss, knee lift, industrial, full rotary hook and pattern cams in a single machine. Additionally, it can be connected to an external industrial motor or a treadle. Can you see why I'm excited about this? It  is exactly the same size as a Singer and the hinge holes are in exactly the same place, but the front is chunkier than a Singer and in my treadle cabinet the front flap wouldn't go back in place. A little disappointed but to be honest I might have been overwhelmed and had a stroke if it got any better.

 The 540, 640 740 and 840 are all designated as 'Favorit' by Bernina (as opposed to the 530 etc. which are all 'Record'). All of them have a full rotary hook (they go faster), patterns, etc.
They also all have a plastic (nylon) cam drive gear. They do break, so I checked mine carefully but it is intact at this time. They're a royal pain to put back (I have one waiting for the drive gear to arrive from England so will make a blog entry about it).
There are 12 patterns on the 540 and 640 and 20 patterns on the 740 and 840. All of them are basically a heavier, faster flat bed Record.
Mine was missing its knee lift (slightly annoying) and the foot controller (more annoying). Since the motor was kind of generic anyway I replaced it with an 85W Wernard, with new wiring and a Wernard foot controller. To me this is still rather under powered for this machine and I'd really like to get the cabinet inside and mount the 1/4 hp Singer motor to it. It will easily handle the power and I'd only be worried about low speed control.

The picture from the ad

After a good clean and oil (with tri-flow)

Someone asked me the difference between the 540 and 640, and the manual has a whole page dedicated to answering this:

This machine will be a keeper, I'm pretty sure. It's extremely smooth, has the flexibility of zig-zag, and tough enough for anyone. Can't wait to get her into production!

Bernina 730 Record and oscillating vs rotary hook

Bernina 730 Record

I won the 730 on the auction site last week and only bought it because it was cheap (they usually go for much more). When I got it home it was way better than I expected. It hadn't seen all that much use, particularly for a machine made 49 years ago. This is commonly described as identical to the 830 Record but with an all steel body. Not sure why they aren't worth as much as the 830 but I've had the latter and this machine felt better, smoother and generally nicer. Also heavier of course but that shouldn't bother me for another 20 years or so.
This machine came with an adaptor for short shank feet (so I could use Singer feet if necessary) but it came with nearly every standard and optional foot. I stole one from the 530-2 and it seems to now be complete. My friend described her Bernina (a 740 Favorit) as "just very pleasant to sew with".
The machine has the same 20 built-in stitches the 830 has. 
Oh, and she's a keeper: Just too nice a machine to part with.

It's a free arm. Table removed with simple lever.

Amazing condition and very shiny

Accessories swivel and don't have to be removed

What's with all this hook business?

The 740 has a full rotary hook (the hook keeps going around in the same direction) but the 30 somethings (530, 630, 730, 830) are all oscillating hook machines. I used to think the rotary hook must be better since it didn't have to keep stopping and changing direction, but that's not necessarily the case. Industrial machines nearly always have rotary hooks because going continuously in the same direction means they can go faster. However there are exceptions: The domestic 201 Singer has a full rotary hook while the 31-20 industrial (the tailor's machine) has an oscillating hook. Also, all model 15s are oscillating hook, and the 115 has a rotary hook. The 15 is widely considered to be a better machine than the 115, mostly due to the heavier components but the rotation of the hook seems to have no bearing on its abilities. The 115 was dropped about a hundred years ago, in case you were wondering. My conclusion is this: Rotary hook is fantastic for speed but tailoring and flexible domestic machines seem to favour oscillating hooks. The 201 is pretty hard to beat, but it only stitches in a straight line (and it does this perfectly).

Bernina manual 642-1 542-1 540

Bernina 542-1 and 642-1 manual

The Bernina I bought a few weeks ago came with a manual. The lady found it a few days after I bought it but in those few days, I searched for one online but it was only available as a paid download. Keeping information a secret bothers me enough but the fact is that these people didn't write the manual and have no right to sell them.
I'm quite certain they didn't get permission or pay Bernina for the right to make money selling their works.

I did the right thing here and asked Bernina if I could give the scan away. They said "You are more than welcome to pass on the  PDF book for this model machine for anyone that may need it."

So here it is. It's fairly low resolution and 4.4MB If you need it, feel free: The pdf is.

Bernina 642-1 semi-industrial 1960

I had my doubts as to whether a "semi-industrial" even exists, but it's just what Singer called "industrial - for home use" or "light industrial". The first sign is the motor, which seems as fast as an industrial - quite remarkable for such a small motor. This actually makes it hard to do some things, like, well, sewing slowly, embroidery etc. Real industrial machines never have an attached motor.
Unlike the 630/730/830 it has a full rotary hook, and still a vertical bobbin so you can do embroidery (in theory at least).
Also it's a flat bed machine, and no cam stack. It says on needlebar that it can be converted into a full automatic machine. I just Googled for this and couldn't find what an automatic machine is. Singer use the same terminology: In the adjuster's manual for the 206/306/319 series, they only list the 319 as automatic. Now the biggest difference between the 306 and the 319 is that the latter has a cam stack, or built-in stitch patterns. My new Bernina doesn't have a cam stack so I'll assume this is what it means. To be honest cam stacks are nice but who really uses them? I don't use decorative stitches for anything but demonstrating them as a feature and never when constructing a garment, so they won't be missed. During garment construction I only ever use zig-zag and straight stitch, which brings me to another feature of this machine: The longest stitch is really very long! Haven't measured it but it's longer than any domestic I have.
OK, on to the machine's specifics.
Bernina 642-1. 1960, straight stitch and zig-zag, super fast, flat bed and Bernina green a-la 730. Here's a picture:

She came in a really nice Swedish cabinet, too. My father is currently giving that the love it needs to look new again, but after cleaning I did some sewing with the head free standing. Nice but starts vibrating a bit at full speed. It was very clean probably due to being inside a cabinet. The previous owner used it all the time for a business, and the motor brushes were worn almost to the spring! It had the original green bobbin winder (it looked like it had melted), which I replaced with a more usable black one, and cleaned it for hours and am very happy with the result. It came with the original feet and some needles.
Didn't come with a manual but if the lady finds it she'll call me. They don't exist as free DLs anywhere on the Internet so if I get one, I'll scan it and make it available as a pdf, free of charge.
I'll update with cabinet pictures when dad has worked his magic.

Bernina 830 record stitch pattern decals

The ones on my recent acquisition were a bit worn, so I asked a friend on quiltingboard.com to photograph hers so I could reproduce them. Well here they are, hosted on Google docs in svg, pdf and png formats.
I plan to print them onto waterslide decal paper and will let you all know how it goes.
Update: It went extremely well. The backing can only just be seen, and since I printed them exactly the same size as the original I didn't have to rub the remains of the originals off, just slid the new one over the top.