Help needed on Elna Supermatic made in Switzerland machine
 

Can someone please help me as i need help on Elna Supermatic made in Switzerland machine which i received from a old lady? I am a neewbie in sewing, but started this hobby recently. The machine worked very well, but a few days ago it just stopped sewing. I searched on Google what the might be, and discovered the pinion hook gear was damaged. My father took it off and i bought a new one. On the one which he took out, had a pin in, but the one i bought, didn't have a pin. We replaced it back, but ever since, i broke 9 needles already. I was told from a guy at the sew shop, the timing is out. Can someone please assist me on fixing my machine, for i dont have money to take it to a mechanic?

There is a FAcebook group for Supermatic and grasshoppers. I have not run into that trouble with mine ( yet0)

It is possible that the pinion gear was installed 180 degrees the other way from the one that was replaced. These pinion gears are not symmetrical, the teeth of the gears align with the holes for the pins differently on each side.

It's an easy fix if that's the case. You have two choices. (1) take the gear off, rotate it 180 degrees and re-install it or (2) Re-time the machine.

You might be best off re-timing the machine but if it's easy to remove the pin holding the pinion gear, you might want to go that route. Speaking for myself, I wouldn't do that because the gear is nylon and easy to break.

Rotate the handwheel until the needle is at it's lowest position. The tip of the hook should be right behind the centre of the needle when the needle is at it's lowest position. If the pinon was installed 180 degrees off, the needle will come down exactly wrong ie. on the opposite side of the tip of the hook.

The timing is adjusted by loosening the shaft that drives the hook, rotating the shaft then retightening. The screws are located on the right side of the machine near the drive belt. Loosen the screws, rotate the handwheel until the needle is at the bottom of it's travel. Make sure that the hook has turned so that the the tip of the hook passes the centre of the needle when the needle just as it starts it's upward movement. Then tighten the shaft back up. If the timing is 180 degrees out, after you loosen the screws, you will need to rotate the shaft with your fingers to turn the hook, once the hooks is behind the needle re-tighten the screws.

This will take between 5 and 10 minutes from start to finish.

There ae various YouTube videos on this. Search "Elna Timing" and "Elna Pinion Gear" and you'll find videos that will take you through it step by step.

The Elna Group also has most, if not all, of the service manuals for Elna machines. You can find the group here:

https://groups.io/g/ElnaHeirloomSewingMachines