This Canadian CSM arrived from abroad this summer. This machine is pre-uplift cams which the version after (the Improved Money Maker) had. A noted issue with the MM is that needles will sometime drop just because - others have shared they believe it’s because of the lack of uplift cams, while others have shared they believe it’s because of the needle design with lack of friction in the slot with the cylinder spring to stay put.
This post is my adventure into testing for a more reliable needle stitch creation. One suggestion from those online has been to switch from regular cylinder needles to another brand Gearhart needle.
As a Open Cam style machine, this machine uses the same 12 gauge needles that Autoknitters and the Legare CSMs use. For more info see AngoraValley.
Note how high above the cylinder that the regular needles sit on the MM compared to the Legare 400 (Chambord CSM AccuKnitter is identical to the Legare at this view) - and how low they come to form the stitch. That unlike the Legare, the cylinder spring does not rest smoothly in the cylinder spring divet on the cylinder (due to the curve of the needles).
Now we are going to cast on with the MM using regular needles. I was going to share an image of that but there’s no point in showing you dropped stitches here and there. So let’s change gears.
Things I see:
cylinder needle is maybe 4mm too tall in the slot. The lowest position in the slot is that far from the cylinder needle. Perhaps this is why the belly of the needle pushes the cylinder spring out of its resting place?
Others have suggested going for a flatter belly Gearhart needle, noting it sits a bit taller than the autoknitter needle so that the recommendation is to lengthen the cylinder slots by slightly raising the cylinder in its mount.
This Money Maker CSM is special. How is it different than an Autoknitter? This machine was made before the teardrop upthrow cams were added. (They did also later make a Improved Money Maker with those pieces). Not having these little pieces drastically changes how this machine reliably knits.
So one of the main issues with this machine is a needle can suddenly drop. Perhaps with a needle with a flatter belly - the tension is more even and thus the needle further supported - reduced needle drop.
I appreciate the work of art - any CSM is - but note this one isn’t symmetrical at the tension dial - by design?
The screws on this machine are all original - which is great BUT not. Original screws feature a super thin flat head screw and these are very different than screws for the same purpose on other machines. They are also pretty worn - I found two similar thread (but better screwdriver access).
CYLINDER
I tried my Legare 400 52 slot cylinder on the machine. With a very slight machine adjustment the cylinder fit great however it seems the slots on it aren’t as deep as the original 80 slot cylinder the machine had. I noted the needle butts therefore also had less clearance in the cam shell and experienced some needle to machine collisions near the bottom of the tension dial with tension changes. Changing to the Gearhart needles meant raising the cylinder from its mount position - ideally use a shim (a piece of something that covers the complete contact to the thickness to provide even support) but I tested this by using solid half washers which secured the cylinder evenly once evenly tightened.
I tried also a slotted two way adjustable yarn carrier to aid in best yarn path to help reduce stitch drops but found the experiment left the actual knitting range much less than I’m happy with. I ended up switching back as this machine has a shorter profile yarn carrier which maybe works better?
Final thoughts: Even without any changes the machine is unreliable - benchmarked to my Legare - this machine is a let down. I am not happy with this machine. I will be donating it.