ELNA Supermatic User manual

Service Manual
Edition February 1954 - Revised December 2023
Supermatic - Transforma

1

INTRODUCTION
ELNAtechnicalmanualswereoriginallycreatedforexclusiveusebytrainedELNASalesandTechnicalpersonnel
only.
MynameisJimCavanaugh.Ihave30yearsofexperienceasatechnicalwriter.Icreatedthisservicemanual
based on my interpretation of the original ELNA Service Manual (Edition February 1954) with additional
informationfromotherELNAservice,trainingandusermanualsaswellaseveryYouTubevideoIcouldfind.
Ihavetriedtocompileacomprehensivesourceofinformationfor use by other ELNA enthusiasts. I have
enhancedexistingillustrationsandcreatednewoneswherenoneexisted.IacquiredmyfirstELNASupermatic
(a 1957 Two Tone Green Serial No. 7,883,352 shown below) and began to overhaul and troubleshoot my
machine. I found the available information to be lacking. In addition to this Service Manual I updated three
editionsoftheELNAPartsCatalogs.Irecommendyoureferencetheminconjunctionwiththismanual.TheParts
Catalogswillhelpyouidentifythepropernamesofcomponentsaswellastheirlocationandorientationinthe
machine.ThereisacolumninthePartsCatalogsthatliststheserialnumbersforwhenchangesweremadeto
specific components. Identify the serial number of the machine you are working on to understand which
revisionofcomponentsappliestoyourmachine.Keepinmindthatsomeofthechangesthatweremadewere
donetocorrectproblemsorimproveperformance.Itispossiblethatsomecomponentsinyourmachinemay
havebeenupdatedatsomepointinthepast.
To aid in my comprehension of these machines, I acquired two additional ELNA Supermatic machines for
reference,a1953Green,SerialNo.3,571,077anda1961Beige,SerialNo.1,288,854.
IwillpostthismanualinthefilesoftheFacebookgroups“ElnaSupermaticandtheElnaGrasshopper”and
“VintageElnaSewingMachines.”TheaforementionedPartsCatalogscanbefoundthereaswell.
Ihopeyoufindthisinformationuseful.Iwillcontinuetoexpandandupdatethismanualasmyknowledgeand
understandingofthemachinegrows.Iwelcomeanycommentsorinformationtothatend.

2

CONTENTS
NOTE!MakealladjustmentsonELNASupermaticonlyinthefollowingsequence:
1.TimingofFeedDog
2.CenteringofNeedleBarfor"Transforma"
3.CenteringofNeedleBarofZigZagStitch
4.AdjustmentofNeedlePositionCenteringDial
5.AdjustmentofclearancebetweenNeedleandShuttleHook
6.TimingofShuttleHookinRelationtoNeedleBar
7.AdjustmentofNeedleBarHeight
8.AdjustmentofNeedleClearanceusingDoubleNeedleClamp
9.AdjustmentofPresserBar
10.CenteringofPeedDog
11.AdjustingHeightofPeedDog
12.AdjustmentofStitchLength(“Supermatic”)
13.AdjustmentofStitchLength("Transforma")
14.TimingofNeedleBarSwing
15.AdjustmentofFullyAutomaticFeedControlforDoubleDiscs
16.AutomaticThreadRelease
17.AdjustmentofAutomaticThreadRelease
18.ThreadTension
19.AdjustmentofCouplingDeviceatFlywheel
20.BentThreadGuides
21.AdjustingtheAutomaticBobbinWinder
22.RemovingtheShuttleHook
23.Machineisnoisy(withstitchwidthsetat“3”or“4”)
24.SlippingofMotorFrictionWheel

3

Basic Procedures to Follow
Safety

Warning!ElectricalHazard!
Disconnectthepowercordbeforeservicing.
Deathorseriousinjurymayresultifthedangerisnotavoided.
Flywheel
WhenturningtheFlywheelbyhand,onlyturntheFlywheel
towardsyou.
RemovingtheFlywheel
TherewerethreedifferentFlywheelandCouplingdesigns.
ToremovetheFlywheelLoosentheCouplingKnobScrew.
UnscrewtheCouplingKnob.
RemovetheCouplingStop,CouplingSpring,Coupling
WasherandFlywheel.



4

Thread
Caution!ToavoiddamagetotheCheckSpringwhen
removingtheupperthreadfromthemachine,neverpullthe
threadbackwardsthroughtheUpperTensionDevice.Cutthe
threadaheadoftheUpperTensionDeviceandpullitthrough
inthedirectionoftheneedle.


5

OpeningtheFrontCover
Caution!CaremustbetakenwhenopeningtheFrontCovertoavoiddamagetothemachine.
TurntheFlywheeltowardyouuntiltheTake‐upLeverisin
theraisedposition.
TheTake‐upLeverwillinterferewiththefrontcoveronolder
models.Thecoverwasmodifiedtoremovetheinterference
onlatermodels.
AccordingtotheElnaPartsCatalog,thischangeoccurredon
machineSerialNo.527,626.However,Ifoundanexampleof
anewermachinewithoutthischange.

ThePresserFootLevermustbeinthedownpositionbefore
openingtheFrontCovertoavoidinterference.

ThePresserFootLevermayberaisedaftertheFrontCoveris
openedifnecessary.
RemembertolowerthePresserFootLeveragainbefore
closingtheFrontCover.
Note!Forsomeserviceprocedures,removingtheFront
Covercanprovidebetteraccessandavoiddamagingthe
FrontCoverorhinge.



6

1. Timing of Feed Dog
Whenfeeddogiscorrectlytimed,itmustnotmovethematerialwhiletheneedleisinthematerial.Ifthis
requirementisnotmet,proceedasfollows:
Removeneedle,presserfoot,needleplateandfreearmcover(heldonby2Phillipsscrews).
Removeoilholescrewontopoffeedgearandremovealso
feedgearring.
Liftfeedcamrodsothatitcomesoffsimultaneouslyfromthe
feedgearandtappetlever.

Liftfeedgearoffaxle.
Makesurethatbearingwasherispositionedonaxlewithlip
overinsideedge.

Tocorrectlysetthetiming:
Turnflywheeltowardsyouuntiltheneedlebarisatlowest
position.
Repositionthefeedgearontheaxlesuchthattheroundhole
onthetopofgearfacesonetoothtotheleftinrelationto
thecenterofthefeeddogpinion.
(Besuretheneedlebarremainsatitslowestposition.)
Replacefeedcamrodbyplacingbothofitsends
simultaneouslyontheircorrespondingcounterparts.
(Donotuseforce!)
Replacefeedgearringandoilholescrew.
Replacefreearmcover,needleplate,presserfootandneedle. 

7

2. Centering of Needle Bar for Transforma
Whentheneedlebariscorrectlycentered,theNeedleGaugeNo.607801orastraightneedlesize90or100
(whenlookedatfromfront)mustbeexactlyinthecenterofthestitchholeintheneedleplate.Ifthis
requirementisnotmet,proceedasfollows:
Removeneedleandpresserfoot.
InsertandfastenaNeedleGaugeNo.607801orastraightneedlesize90or100.
LoosentheStopScrewattherightoftheheadportionofthe
uppercasing.

Openthefrontcover.
TurntheflywheelslowlytowardsyouuntiltheNeedleBaris
initslowestposition.
TurntheCradleSpringScrewclockwiseorcounterclockwise,
toadjusttheNeedleBarsothattheGauge(orNeedle),when
lookedatfromthefront,isexactlyinthecenteroftheholein
theneedleplate.
TightentheStopScrewafteradjustment.



8

3. Centering of Needle Bar for Zigzag stitch
Removethepresserfoot.
InstallCam"03"(Zigzag)intheELNAGRAPH.
Installasize110/18needle.(Mustbestraight!)
Setstitchwidthknobat"4"andCenteringDialatcenter
position.
Turnflywheeltowardsyouuntiltheneedlereachesitslowest
positionstotheleftandtheright.
Checkwhetherthedistancebetweentheneedleandthe
endsoftheslotinneedleplateareequalonbothsides.
Ifthesedistancesarenotequalonbothsides,proceedas
follows:
Openthefrontcover.
Loosenthecradlespringscrewfarenoughthatthecradleat
itsextremeleftpositiondoesnothittheheadofthecradle
springscrew.
NOTE:Thecradlespringscrewmustbeunscrewedenoughtonotlimitthetravelofthecradleduringthe
adjustment!
OpentheSupermaticcover.
Loosenthesetscrewontopofthecradlelever.
Adjustbyturningthecradleleverstud.
Tightenthesetscrewafterthisadjustment.
ConfirmtheNeedleisnowcenteredintheslot.
Replacethe110/18needle,withastraightsize60/8needle.Thisneedlemustpassthroughtheholeinthe
needleplatewithouttouchingtherearedgewhendeflectedtotheleftandtotheright.

9

TurnthecradlespringscrewCWuntilitbarelycontactsthe
cradle.Atthispointyoushouldhearaslightclickingnoise
withthemachinerunning.
Thisisthecradlehittingtheheadofthecradlespringscrew.
TurnthecradlespringscrewCCW1/4ofaturnatatimeuntil
theclickingstops.

Thereisastopscrewontherightoftheuppercasing.
Tightenthestopscrewuntilitbottomsoutagainsttheendof
thecradlespringscrew.
Closefrontcoverandreplacepresserfoot.
