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Monday, August 14, 2017

Elna 3 Automatic Free Arm Zig-Zag w/ Cam Assembly No. 2

Goodwill strikes yet again, this time at the store fairly near my home.

The metal Godzilla case is hard to miss and seeing the price ($8.99), I grabbed it and proceeded to the cashier.  I didn't bother to check whether it included the knee bar (it didn't) and so I got home and had a machine that works but only if I borrow another Elna's knee bar.

Logging onto Facebook last week, the moderator of an Elna group to which I belong advertised a few spare parts including the missing knee bar I needed and now I have a machine that is complete except for the various presser feet, cams, etc.  Thank you, Randy!

This Elna 3 is actually fairly smooth for a vintage friction drive machine and so I'm guessing the pulley was replaced at some point or the machine was used often enough that a flat tire wasn't an issue.  It stitches beautifully and once completely oiled, it quieted down and is remarkably stable -- very little vibration from these Elnas.

This model requires the zig-zag cam in order to produce zig-zag stitches.  Surprisingly, this machine included its own cam.

The Elna 3 is neither as attractive as the Supermatic nor as modern as the Elna Star series (and it doesn't have the nylon gears found in the Elna Star machines) and so the 3 series machines tend to get overlooked.  They can be found for terrific bargains and if you're looking for a good free arm machine, this is a very good place to begin looking; you won't find many better.





  

2 comments:

  1. Hmmm, I don't think I have ever seen one of those in the wild. Look like it might be a nice portable machine.

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    1. It's lighter than the Supermatic but probably heavier than a Hello Kitty. Tough as nails, this thing is. And the stitches are amazing. This machine offers a lot of control over width and length and the 5(!) feed dog segments ensure even feeding. I especially like the large upper thread tension discs (lots of surface area means lots of control).

      I have two so if you ever think you'd like to step into the wonderful world of Elna, let me know. :)

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