Month: November 2023

…in progress…

This blog article is for Brother knitting machines (KH521, KH531 and KH551) that have a needle selection mechanism with four push buttons.

When I needed to replace the push-buttons in the Brother KH551 knitting machine, I could not find any information on how to do it. I could also not find a service manual for 4-push button knitting machines.

Thus, I had to figure out on the go how to do it and I successfully did it already three times. Since I do not do it all that often, out of fear of forgetting certain details, I documented the whole process and outlined it here and also in a video.

I started with removing the side screws to separate the needle bed from the case.

Removed these screws …

… and these too (from the table bracket holders) …

… and then separated the needle bed from the case.

The cover for the button mechanism can be easily removed: there is one screw on the right-hand side, kinda underneath …

…and one in the middle of the cover, easily seen from the back.

Flip the bed and remove the button-rod mechanism by unscrewing all screws on the back. The two screws marked below hold the whole mechanism together while all others simply attach the mechanism to the needle bed.

After these scores are removed, collect the following parts: 4 rods with torsion springs, four buttons and four tension springs.

Next steps are reinserting the pushbuttons back into the patterning assembly.

First, insert the tension spring into the pushbutton and then inside the holding plate.

There is an opening on the flat portion of the button that needs to go through the vertical panel of the holding plate. Insert the rod into that hole.

Repeat with the rest of the buttons.

The small holding plate has narrow and wider grooves on the opposite sides.

Wider grooves go on top of the rods next to the elbows an narrow grooves go onto the ends of the rods. Press the plate firmly, flip (while holding firmly) and attach the screws.

Once these two most critical screws are in, we can stop holding them firmly.

We now flip the assembly again to adjust the positions of the torsion springs.

While holding (very tight) the straight end of the spring with one screwdriver, we stretch the torsion spring on the curled-end side and hook the spring on the rod. It might take you several attempts because it is hard and awkward to do. Don’t get discouraged. Repeat for the remainder of the rods/springs.

Once the pushbutton assembly is finished, we’ll need to put it back into the bed.

Just follow the first steps in the reverse order. If confused – watch my video again. Or follow the outlined steps below.

Insert the plate with buttons into the bed at an angle, …

…attach to the hook …

and insert the remaining screws (on the back) into the push-button assembly. Watch for the screw marked in red below. This should not be too tight otherwise the mechanism that governs the selecting strips might not move as freely. If you experience it, loosen up that screw.

Before inserting the needle bed into the case, check if your buttons move freely.

Then reattach the cover.

Insert the needle bed into the case, and reattach the screws on the needle bedside.

Now you can test if your button selection mechanism works by inserting 8 or so needles and activating the pushed-in buttons by the ratchet tool.

Good luck and hope this was useful.

Brother KR850 ribbing attachment converts a standard (4.5 mm gauge) flat bed knitting machines made by Brother into a double bed capable of rib and more advanced patterning. It has 200 needles and is compatible with all punchcard and electronic standard-gauge knitting machines. It does not knit on its own – it needs a knitting machine.

Read more about this model in my Knitting Machine encyclopedia.

This particular ribber was tested and serviced by me on Brother KH860 knitting machine.

All needles were inspected and cleaned. All needles were also tested during knitting a 1×1 rib on two different needle configuration (to ensure that I knitted on all needles). See the test video for details and to understand what I mean more.

The bed and the carriage were cleaned as well.

This ribber comes with ALL assesories including hard copy of the manual.

It will also comes in its original box, which is in pretty decent shape.

I followed a nice video on how to adjust the distance between the ribber and the machine to form nice stitches and not to have dropped stitches. Actually, I found very easy to setup Brother KR850 unlike its other older counterparts (like KR830)

Knitting with a ribber requires an operator to pay attention to the edges: to add enough weight, make sure the yarn does not get stuck on pegs, etc. So, it is recommended not to knit on the very last 2-4 needles to ensure nice edges. I was able to achieve that during my tests.

The long panel knitted during these tests was converted to this hat.

About flaws:

The machine itself does not have any flaws. The cast-on combs, however, have slightly bent tees at the ends and the wire as 3-teeth short. I looked in my collection for another cast-on comb. It turned out that they are almost all like this. Probably damaged during storage and/or transport. Inserting the wire into the groves/holes was not a problem but to remove the wire at the end of your work, you might need plyers. The little hook at the end of the wire broke off. Again, all wires I looked in my supplies that are long enough had the loop broken or missing.

No other imperfections were noticed. The machine works great and is highly recommended.

Brother KR850 ribbers as well as matching machines are regularly available in my store for purchase.

Brother KH860 is a knitting machine capable of creating patterns using punchcards. Read about pros and cons of this model in my Knitting Machine Encyclopedia. But in the mean time, read below about this particular machine.

This machine was cleaned and fully serviced. The sponge in the retaining bar was replaced. All needles were inspected and cleaned. The needles were also tested by knitting on a full bed (see the video).

This machine will be sold with ALL assesories. All looked brand new (even wax and oil). Even its own hard copy of the manual will be included although it can also be found online for free.

The row counter included with this machine is brand new (new stock).

The machine was tested using the same punchcard for tuck-, slip- and fair isle patterning on a full bed and all tests were great: no missed stitches, not tucked stitches where they are not supposed to be (tuck stitches often form due to bad needle latches).

The picture below shows the fair-isle pattern upclose knitted using a custom card.

This knitted fabric was then converted into this beautiful Christmas present bag.

Now about imperfections:

There is slight discoloration on the carriage handle – probably the motor was attached to the machine at some point. The plastic around the connection point has slight UV damage but is NOT damaged where the handle was attached to the motor head.

There is a little bit of delamination on the top plastic layer on the carriage. Also, the corner of the name plate is a bit chipped.

A plastic section of the rail guard/slider on the left-hand side of the carriage broke off. All my tests were performed without it. I did not experience any problems knitting. I still have the piece and it will be included with the machine but it will not be glued on.

If knitting on a full bed with the patterning option engaged (for tuck, slip and fair isle), the carriage needs to be pushed a bit down on the very edges otherwise the sinker plate touches the needles a bit. Maybe the bed is a bit warped on both ends. When knitting in the middle of the bed (when the panel is not knitted on all 200 needles), I did not need to push the carriage down a bit. Only when I knitted on all 200 needles in tuck stitch. As you will see in my video, it did not affect the knitting: I was able to knit without trouble and without too much effort. It is just something the operator needs to be aware of. All knitting machines have their own character and this is simply one of those character features.

Despite these minor flaws, the machine knitted and worked great. Other punch-card Brother knitting machines are available in my store.

Brother KH890 knitting machine is one of the latest knitting machine models with punchcard-based patterning capabilities that Brother made. More will be coming soon in my Knitting Machine Encyclopedia on this model.

In the meantime, about this particular KH890 machine.

It was tested on tuck-, slip-. stockinet and fair isle patterning on full bed to ensure all needles function properly and do not have any faulty latches. All tests are shown in my video. All went great without ANY hiccups, which made me very happy!

It comes with all major assesories, including cast-on comb, lace carriage, tension mast and a row counter. Hard copy of the  manual will not be included but can be purchased downloaded for free.

The cast-on comb is of a later model, where it consists of two parts – small and a larger one and they connect together by a metal clip to fit the full bed.

I put together a set of most minor assesories, including a brand new 20-card punchcard set. The claw weights are also brand new (from new stock). So is the row counter (this is why the color is different).

All these minor assesories fit into a built-in box with a lid.

The minor assesories that are missing are:

• wax – it was too old and I threw it away
• crochet needle – any will work. It is not even needed for machine knitting – just sometimes for the work on the knitted panel
• tapestry needle – any needle will work
• oil – it was old and I discarded it. I use Hoppe’s Elite Gun Oil for all my knitting machine needs
• Cast-on thread is not included but any strong and silky yarn/thread will work the same

Now about some minor flaws:

• The lid and the case are in pretty good shapes but might have minor scuffs and scratches.
• The plastic layer delaminated slightly on the carriage. It is mostly visible around the bottom right-hand corner where the brand name is

• There is a slight crack on the carriage handle

• There is a discoloration on the handle. It is very likely that this machine was attached to the motor for a long time. The plastic around the mount to the motor got UV damage and under the mount did not. Thus, different shades of plastic.

• There is a small crack on the yarn feeder lever

None of these minor flaws prevented the machine from knitting. This machine is sold out but other are available in my store.