1967 Bernina 707 Minimatic

 Found this one online to replace my other, later, 1970 707 Minimatic which got damaged in the post...

This one has the early suitcase style case in very nice order. The machine itself is also way better than average! Complete with most of its original equipment, including Accessory box with 6 feet, spare bobbins, Manual & original Bill of Sale, plus some other useful original labels, bills, etc.

Ebay pic here which shows it as I first saw it & decided to bid. Was here in 2 days superbly packed. No damage whatsoever: ) Many thanks Katie! It is a very nice machine for a 56 year old. Been well maintained, oil where it should be, all controls free & it stitches out of the box: )

Of course it's not perfect... It has the usual, expected, Camstack gear with a small crack & a little issue with a missing tiny nut on the original, early type foot control. Neither is a problem for me. Out of my previous 3 Berninas, 2 needed the Camstack pinion gear replacing & I managed both without  real problems. The more you do the easier it is: ) It'll cost £20 & 30 minutes to do, & then it'll be good for at least 10 years I'm certain.

The Bill of Sale is very nice to have. It dates it precisely, & £84 in April 1968 is equivalent to £1796 in 2023! Makes you think? I was 21 in 1967 & it was several weeks wages.

Berninas guarantee was for 5 years, but the motor only 2?? (Pfaff was doing 25years Guarantee then...)

Tonight it looks like this, after a service & check over. Pretty neat I think: )

 

22/11/23

Had a look at the motor today. Capacitor is looking fine, no leaks or swellings... Brushes are good, over half length left I reckon & the commutator arm is shinier than I expected. It all looks good.

Looks like this just needs a replacement camstack pinion/gear to be ready to use.

It'll stitch like this & I've spun it over a couple of minutes to circulate the oil, but it'll only get worse & needs sorting soon.

This machine being 1967 is one of the first Minimatics & doesn't have the 2 speed motor option that my 1970 model has. The controller on this one is also different from later 707 Minimatics. I think this model was superceded by the 807 in 1971.

The underside shows the 'little problem' & Model type. That one missing nut means the controller has a wobble! I haven't got one to fit so I need to buy one: ) But to buy one I need to know what size it is.

I'm guessing 2mm & it surely has to be metric?? I'll soon find out. I've ordered a M2mm sample nut & bolt online to see. Fingers crossed: )

Arrived in two days from Belfast. Sample nut too small... I try M2.5 next. More hopeful this time. I'm well aware Bernina use odd/obscure metric sizes.

It was a 2.5mm: ) So now the original foot control is good to go. Works like it should.

I just need the cam stack gear now & I will order one tonight... If I have any money left before Christmas. One less bottle of Vodka/Brandy will do it: ) This machine is very sweet & tidy & with the cam gear fixed it'll be good for many years sewing. It'll definitely outlast me.

10/12/23

Camstack gear arrived yesterday. Fitted literally within 20mins: )

It's very simple on the 707s. Loosen the one grubscrew, remove the axle, (it should just slide out) Remove the 2 screws that fix the 5 cams, (Clamp cams together so they don't move positions before you remove the 2 screws) Slide them back onto the new camstack unit & tighten up the 2 screws. I had to remove the 2 screws at the bottom of the selector unit to allow the unit to slide out & back in. You don't need to move the top 2 screws on the selector, there's enough flexibility to allow you to just slide a flat screwdriver between the cams & bottom plate to wangle it out & in. Replace the axle & job done. You will probably have to synchronise the cam drive, with the ZZ I think, as I will, but I haven't done my research on how to do it exactly yet: ) A Holiday Job for me, & I have the 830 Record to do as well: )

The cracked/damaged unit can allow the cam drive to skip before you remove it & it will not stitch correctly in the pattern variations, even with the new cam unit fitted. It will work fine on single stitch & ZZ though. And, strangely enough to me, on the Stretch Stitch, which is just like a wavy single stitch. So maybe that's why it works!?

Looking at the width of the crack above you can see why it may skip.

More later.