Knitting Machine – Page 3 – Thoughts on knits

Steps I take when cleaning and servicing flat-bed metal knitting machines.

.. this article is a constant work in progress as I collect more information and personal experience… LAST UPDATE: June 2026

… Please, read the whole article first before proceeding. For a summary, skip to the bottom for simple bullet-point steps.

Abbreviations used below:

KM = knitting machine

If you purchased your KM serviced from a reputable seller, you can skip this post and go straight to the post where I recommend the very first steps/tests with your new KM.

If you were not as lucky and got a machine that still needs TLC, below are the steps you can follow. A lot of new machine knitters get a machine from friends and relatives or just find one at a garage sale, and feel very overwhelmed. Well, I hope the steps below will help you to guide your approach to cleaning and testing your KM.

First inspection, cleaning, and servicing steps:

Check against the manual if all parts are present. (If your KM did not come with a hard copy of the manual, search its model number, and you will easily find a free PDF file of the manual. The most critical ones are a carriage and a sinker; they are a MUST-HAVE. The secondary is a tension mast (I managed to knit on a machine by just holding the yarn in my hand and creating tension by hand, but this is far from ideal, but doable if you have to). Also nice to have are claw weights. If others are missing, you can probably manage to knit without them. If the major parts are missing, search on the Internet to purchase them, and while they are arriving, work on the steps below.
Clean/wipe the visible dirt from all parts.
Remove the retaining bar (metal strip sitting on top of the needles). Push it in from one side until the other end shows up on another side, and then pull completely out. The manual should mention the retaining bar in the section about needle replacement. If you have a long-tail brush, insert it into the channel for the retaining bar and clean the gunk out of there. DO NOT RUN THE CARRIAGE ON THE NEEDLE BED UNTIL YOU INSERT A RETAINING BAR WITH THE NEW SPONGE BAR. I have a separate blog post dedicated to the retaining and sponge bars and how to clean/refurbish/restore them.
After the sponge bar is out, remove all needles, clean/wipe them, and inspect. I visually inspect if there is deep rust (if there is just shallow rust – I gently polish the needles with fine sandpaper), and obvious bends. Wipe all the needles while inspecting them. Check if the latches move freely back and forth and do not stick (sticky latches can lead to incorrectly formed stitches, especially tucked stitches). This is the first round of inspecting needles. The second is by knitting on them (this is why I knit on the full bed, not just a small swatch, to make sure all needles form correct stitches).
I vacuum the needle bed from the top (simply run the narrowest attachment your vacuum has over the needle bed). I unscrew the top plastic panels, detach all the plastic components from the machine’s front panels, and vacuum underneath. If you are brave, do the same: it is not as hard as it seems.
If you are even braver, remove the plastic end-caps and vacuum from the sides as well. But if the machine is clean under those long front panels, you probably don’t need to remove the end caps, which is good news because they are kind of a pain to deal with. However, I typically remove the machine from the case to clean and inspect for rust. I wipe, vacuum, and clean in the crevices of the needlebed and the case panel. Sometimes I wash the plastic panels and metal covers of the lid and the case thoroughly, but I never apply harsh chemicals. I would rather leave a couple of stains than treat the panels with acetone or other solvents, which might damage these already fragile vintage parts.
While the panels are out of the way, check if the punchcard reading mechanism moves freely. Often, those gunk up too (or freeze simply due to time) and need to be cleaned. There are video resources available online on how to clean the punchcard reading mechanism. However, I do not recommend disassembling the punchcard mechanism completely without trying less drastic measures (like simply spraying with Kroil oil and cleaning with wipes and Q-tips). It is often not even needed to go that deep, and the error of assembling those intricate mechanisms back happens quite often.
Then check if the buttons on the carriage move freely (middle button and tuck/part buttons). Those often get stuck as well. Kroil Oil will take care of that: spray the Kroil oil over the frozen parts and try to jiggle them every several hours. Reapply Kroil oil as needed. I also, in most cases, remove the top lid and clean the mechanisms deeper.
Check the undercarriage for visible lint, dust, dirt, etc. Clean with Q-tips if needed. If the carriage is very dirty, use the LPS lubricant/cleaner for a faster (but significantly smellier) process. Make sure all levers on the undercarriage move symmetrically when you press the buttons on the carriage. Move the levers with your finger or a tool and ensure they move freely and snap back to the original positions without lag.
Inspect and clean the sinker plate. Often, yarn is caught around the brushes. Clean all brushes of lint.
Insert back all the freshly inspected and cleaned needles. Double check again if they are straight (I compare them to each other first, and then, if in doubt, to brand new needles). Double-check the latches: those are very easy to overlook when cleaning several needles at the same time. When the needles are inserted, and the retaining bar is in, visually inspect the distances between the needle heads: this visual inspection shows slight bends of the top section of the needles, which is sometimes hard to catch when pressing the needles to each other.
Insert a refurbished or new retaining bar with the new sponge. (Read my other blog post on how to clean/refurbish/restore them.) Make sure the retaining bar is inserted correctly (with the spongy part touching the needles and the retaining bar being on TOP of the needles). If you bought a brand new retaining bar assembly (metal+sponge), make sure the width of it is the same as the original retaining bar.
Put together all large plastic pieces (covers, boxes, and lids) if you removed them for cleaning.
Place the carriage onto the needle bed.
Attach the sinker plate according to the instructions.

Once you are satisfied with all the cleaning, you can start testing your machine. Please read the first tests I typically subject my freshly refurbished knitting machines in my other article.

Bullet point summary:

Remove and check retaining bar. replace sponge strip if needed
Remove and inspect all needles; clean if needed
vacuum/clean the needlebed; open the case if too dirty
Insert the needles; insert the sponge bar

You can now start simple tests.

How to make punchcards for Brother KH800 and KH801 knitting machines.

Brother KH800 and KH801 knitting machines have unique designs for needle selection: they accept 12-stitch punchcards that are positioned flat on the special panel on the machine (called “card presser”).

Brother KH800 pattern center with the 12-hole card pressure in the middle.

If your machine came with original punchcards, you are super lucky! If you did not get the punchcards, or you want to make more cards for your own custom patterns, it is very easy to do.

Below are step-by-step instructions. You can also watch a video I made with these steps.

You need to cut a piece of paper, 20.5 x 6.5 cm (8 x 2.5 inches). Regular printer paper will work. Or print this file which shows blank cards for KH800. Another option is to print a standard set of cards (from the file downloaded here) and then punch the holes using the steps I will describe below.

Insert the cut-out punch card into the pattern card cassette holder. The manual describes all the steps of inserting the card really well. The only difference from the manual is that you will have to push the paper through the setting pins.

If your machine comes with a special puncher, you are again lucky. You can now use it to punch your pattern through the holes. If your machine did not come with it, you can use a marker with a relatively thick end. Ideally, find a marker that no longer draws (dried up or broken) so it does not draw on the machine.

Continue punching holes according to your desired pattern.

The holes do not have to be fully complete: they just need to be open enough for the patterning rods to go through upon activation.

Watch in the second half of my video how I tested and ensured that the rods indeed went through.

Happy punching and Happy knitting!

Also, read or watch about the patterning mechanism of Brother KH800/801.

Retaining bar vs knitting machine model chart

In progress. LAST UPDATED: June 2026

The table below lists the lengths and widths of various knitting machines I measured myself. Use this table as a reference to ensure you purchase the correct retaining bar for your knitting machine.

Model number	Retaining bar parameters
Model number	material	sponge strip?	length, inch/cm	width, inch/mm
Brother/Defendi/Empisal/ Jones/KnitKing
Brother KH500, KH531, KH551	metal	yes	41/104	0.375/10-10.5
Brother KH110, KH120, KH552, KH582, KH585, KH588, KH710, KH800, KH801, KH820, KH830, KH840, KH860, KH864, KH890, KH891, KH910, KH970	metal	yes	41/104	0.5/11-11.5
Brother KH230 machine, KR230 ribber	metal	yes	43/109	0.5/11-11.5
Brother KH260, KH270	metal	yes	47/119	0.5/11-11.5

Brother KR810, KR830, KR850 ribbers	plastic	no	41/104
Brother KR260 ribber	metal	yes
Brother KR230 ribber	metal	yes	43/109	0.5/11-11.5


JUKI
2500	metal	yes	43/109	0.75/11.0-11.5

Riccar/Silver/Empisal Knitmaster/Studio/Silver Reed/Singer
Silver Reed SK120	metal	yes	43/109	5 mm/0.2 inch
Silver Reed 260, 280, 321, 322, 323, 324, 326, 327,328,329,350, 500, 560, 580, 600, 700 840 SK270, 370, 830	metal	yes	41/104	0.75/11.0-11.5
Silver Reed SK150.151, 155, 160, 860, 890, HK100	metal	yes	43/109	0.75/11.0-11.5






Toyota

The difference between Brother KH965e, KH965i and KH965.

Just a quick note on the differences between Brother knitting machines under the model numbers KH965, KH965e, and KH965i. The reason there is a lot of discrepancies and misunderstandings about the additional “i” in the model number is that these machines are very scarce and because the functionality seems to be . They are very desirable and those that are still available on the used market are still in great shape.

First, about “e” :

Even if Brother KH965e indeed exists, it would simply mean an anniversary edition since “e” stands for “eleganza” (the latest anniversary edition model to the best of my knowledge is KH950E). This machine would be identical to the functionality of the KH965 knitting machine but the color combination of the carriage, end caps, and control panel might be different (like in the case of KH930/930e and KR850/850e setups). However, I’ve seen only the KH260/KH260e, KR850/850e and KH930/KH930e combinations. Brother KH965 was released to the market significantly later (by about 5 years), so there will be no even for an “anniversary edition”. If you’ve seen the KH965e model and want to prove me wrong, shoot me a message.

Now about “i”:

The differences between the KH965 and KH965i models of electronic brother knitting machines are subtle and might vary depending on which market the machine was made for.

Some think that “i” in KH965i stands for “intarsia”. However, both KH965 and KH965i have built-in intarsia knitting capabilities according to the instructions (as well as their a bit older analogs, KH930 and KH940).

I researched pictures of a lot of pictures of various KH965i machines and all of them have the intarsia option. … which kind of makes sense because KH965i is an updated version of KH930/KH940, which also had this option.

Some think that “i” might stand for is “interactive” or “interface,” and the difference is that KH965i has a compartment to insert the PPD disk, however, KH965 has the same disk port (and the manuals for these machines both mention the compartment and disk port). So, basically, KH965i can accept files from external sources without any modifications to the machine.

Knitters who prefer a more advanced way or pattern transfer use a special cable instead of the PPD disk. This cable is inserted into the slot for the disk for file transfer through special software.

The KH965i model has also the capability of inserting the cable into the machine itself (originally assumed to be for the FB 100 disk drive and file transfer). And this is one of the main differences between KH965 and KH965i.

Another critical difference is the settings on the selection dial on the carriage. Brother KH965 does not have a KCII setting…

…unlike Brother KH965i.

However, KH965 released to the Japanese markets (Topical-5) noticeably has also 4 positions on the selection dial, which probably implies KCI and KCII settings or maybe KC and SM settings? (Sorry – I would be more sure but I don’t read Japanese).

Thus, it seems that even if your KH965 does not have “i” next to its name, it might still have functionalities of the KH965i machine.

Thus, to identify whether you have a KH965 or KH965i, look for:

KCII option on the selection cam on the carriage (or four different options on that dial)
A port on the back panel of the machine.

All other functionalities of the KH965 and KH965i are the same (namely, memory, functions of the buttons on the panel, etc).

I really hope you are a lucky knitter who has a Brother KH965(i) in their collection!

Brother KH551 knitting machine serviced in November 2023

Brother KH551 is a standard gauge knitting machine with 4-pushbutton-based patterning mechanism. This blog is dedicated to one specific machine I serviced. If you want to know more about the Brother KH551 knitting machine model, refer to my Knitting Machine Encyclopedia article.

The machine (including carriage and all needles) was cleaned and serviced. All levers and the buttons on the carriage were checked and they moved and worked without problems. These levers were also tested while knitting. All needles were also checked while knitting on a full bed. No faulty needles were detected.

The 15 needles on each side (30 total) came from my refurbished stack. Thus, when I was knitting on the full bed, I was inspecting the edges especially closely to make sure all these refurbished needles worked well. Also, because of such a high number of refurbished needles, I am including the set of 5 spare needles (instead of usual 3).

The machine comes with all major assesories.

Several missing minor assesories are:

A hard copy of the manual is not included but can be found online.
Sinker plate yarn hangers, left and right. It can honestly be replaced with a regular paper clip (just unbent them to a desired shape). The manual describes their usage on p. 18. manual
The tool storage box is not included
Oil is not included also but I recommend Hoppe’s Elite Gun Oil.

Additionally, the small cast-on comb is not all metal – I pulled it out from my own stash.

On the full bed, I knitted stockinet, tuck, slip and hold patterns (see the video of tests – all went well). Butterfly stitch is my favorite on this machine.

Now about flaws and imperfections:

I had to replace the push-buttons but I did not have a part for the button marked #1. So, I replaced it with the button marked as #4 but it is of different shade of white. If you want, you can put a sticker on it with “#1” (I prefer not to put stickers on machines since it damages and stains the vintage plastic).

Despite being vintage, this machine will still serve your craft needs for many years especially if regularly serviced.

Happy Knitting!

Brother KR850 ribber prepared for Judith in December 2023

Brother KR850 ribber fits numerous standard-gauge Brother knitting machines. Read more about Brother KR850 ribber in my Knitting Machine Encyclopedia. The blog below is dedicated specifically to the ribber serviced in December 2023 for my customer.

Brother KR850 was serviced and tested for Judith in December 2023. My store offers other ribbers for Brother and other knitting machines.

This ribber comes with all assesories including a hard copy of the manual (not shown in the pictures).

The bed, carriage, and assesories were cleaned, inspected and tested. All needles were cleaned and inspected individually, first visually and then by knitting on a full bed 1×1 ribbing (in two different combinations to make sure all needles were tested).

Swatch test was performed first. Swatch tests are useful to ensure that the carriage functions work well. In the case of swatch tests, we do not have to worry about artifacts and problems (such as the correct tension of the yarn, yarn thickness, yarn texture, correct number of barrel weights, side weights, etc.) associated with large number of needles in working positions.

Then the machine was tested on a full bed in two different configurations to ensure that all needles form nice and correct stitches. Carriage is very easy to move on swatch and on a full bed.

All tests went great. See the video of these tests in my youtube channel.

When knitting on the ribber, tension, the correct number of weights and the distance between the ribber and the main bed play a very important role. This machine handled really well two different distances between the ribber/machine beds and three different yarns (with different thicknesses and texture, see my video). One of the yarns was a mohair-containing fuzzy yarn. The machine handles it well too although some tests on the correct tension was needed as well as some wax (fuzzy yarns are more prone to static formation than other yarns).

The machine will come in its original packaging: two Styrofoam forms to fit all assesories …

… and pads inside the bottom of the cardboard box to support and protect the machine.

The only obvious flaw was the tape attached to one of the cast-on combs. I did not remove it because actually it is convenient to have that tape to store the fine bar ( the long plastic and very fragile rod-like bar) more easily (often it is overlooked during unpacking and thrown away).

This machine would serve long years especially if regularly oiled, cleaned and stored in controlled environment.

Brother KH840 cleaned and tested in September 2023

Brother KH840 knitting machine is a knitting machine capable of creating patterns using a punch-card-reading mechanism. The machine has 200 needles, spaced 4.5 mm apart, which makes Brother KH840 a standard machine. Read more about this model in my Knitting Machine Encyclopedia.

Now about this particular Brother KH840 machine. This Brother Knitting machine was cleaned, serviced and tested by me in September 2023.

Removed, inspected and cleaned all needles. The ones that were bent were replaced with the new stock. I replaced sponge in the retaining bar.

The carriage, sinker plate and then punchcard reader were cleaned, serviced and oiled.

I also knitted on the whole bed (using all 200 needles) to make sure all needles form nice and even stitches. I knitted the whole bed using tuck-, slip- and fair isle patterning. See a video I created of these tests. I did not test lace and weave capabilities of this machine. All levers and knobs move freely on lace carriage.

This machine comes with all major â€¦(lace carriage, cast-on combs and extension rails)â€¦

â€¦ and minor assesories.

All minor accessories fit into a built-in compartment. All major assesories fit into the case lid when now in use.

A couple of very minor assesories missing are:

Bottle with oil (it was too old, and I had to discard it. I recommend using Gun Oil).
Wax
Cast-on thread (any silky and strong thread will work fine).
Hard copy of the manual will not be provided but I can be downloaded online for free from here.

The machine comes with a set of punch cards but they might be slightly different from what is shown in the manual. Please, swatch before knitting for garments and knitted panels.

About imperfections:

Everything works great on this machine. The only minor flaw (with the exception of minor bumps on the case) is the small rust spots on the sinker plate and tension mast. They can be barely seen and when I used this machine to knit a cowl, there was no static and everything worked smoothly.

Overall I did not encounter any problems with this machine (with the exception of couple of minor scratches on the case). I hope you will be a proud owner of it to make a lots of fun and warm garments. Like the one I created (shown below) while testing this machine.

Brother KH830, August 2023, for Vivian

Here is Brother KH830 knitting machine prepared for Vivian in August 2023. Read specifics about this model in my freshly published Knitting Machine encyclopedia. 🙂

This particular machine was cleaned and thoroughly tested on a full bed to ensure all needles worked adequately and that the carriage patterns correctly over the whole bed. The video of these tests is available here.

The sponge in the retaining bar was replaced. All needles were cleaned and inspected. One faulty needle was identified during the full bed knitting. It was replaced.

The lace carriage was not tested in knitting but all levers move as they are supposed to.

Carriage is very easy to move. The handle on the carriage folds for easy storage inside the case when not in use.

The machine comes with all major assesories including extension rails, lace carriage, two (one small and one large) cast-on combs, and all stitch manipulation tools.

Most of the small tools fit into a built-in stoage box.

Minor assesories not included with the setup are:

Wax and its storage container
Cast-on thread (any smooth and silky thread/yarn will work)
Tapestry needle (any sewing needle with a large eye)
Oil (I recommend getting a Gun Oil from Amazon)

Below are pictures of the fabric I knitted while testing the machine:

“Wrong” side of the fair-isle

“Right” side of the fair isle

“slip” stitch-knitted panel (using card #8)
Tuck-stitch-knitted panel (also using card #8)

Below is the cowl/neck warmers made from these fabrics:

Reversible hood/neck warmer made from fair-isle-knitted panel:

The “other”side:

The only imperfection of this machine (with the exception of the minor bents on the case and its lid) is the slight discoloration of the plastic on the carriage due to some UV damage (the plastic on the lace carriage is a bit lighter and has some UV-burn stains). It is typical for these old machines because back in the day UV-damage blockers were not added to the plastics.

Also, a hard copy of the manual is not included but can be found here.

Overall this machine was very easy to use and I did not experience any major issues with it. Hope you will enjoy it too!

Brother (Genie) KH710 for Larissa

This would be my 10^th push-button machine cleaned, serviced and tested for customers. I love push button machines for their reliability, resiliency, simplicity and hard work.

Brother KH710 (aka Genie) is a metal-flat bed knitting machine with 200 needles, 4.5 mm apart from each other. This distance (4.5 mm) makes this machine a standard gauge.

Brother (Genie) KH 710 is an 8-push button machine with a full pattern center that makes needle selection much easier and more automatic. The pattern center consists of the slide display, 8 push buttons to select the needles, one push button to deselect all selected needles, A-B lever to select the needles according to either pushed (position A) or unpushed (position B) buttons and a L/R sliding knobs which enables knitters to slide the needle selection by the corresponding number of positions. I know it might now make any sense now but refer to the manual â€“ it explains everything very well.

The machine is in excellent shape including needles and there are absolutely no signs of rust. I still cleaned and inspected the needles. Additionally, all the needles were tested on a full bed to make sure all latches function properly. (In my video, you will see that one needle started mispatterning, which I identified by the tucked stitches first but then by its bent latch. This needle was replaced and the swatch- and the full-bed-tests were performed again to make sure all needles function properly).

A completely new sponge was attached. I reused the retaining bar. Because the sponge is still very puffy, it is somewhat resistant to go into the retaining bar channel. The ends of the retaining bar need to be pushed down when inserting it to make sure the tape does not come off.

The machine comes with all major accessories.

The minor ones not included are:

Cast-on thread: any smooth strong yarn will do (not too thick though)
Wax â€“ the one that came with the machine was too old and just crumbled
Oil â€“ the one that came with the machine was too old and yellow so I discarded it. A good oil for knitting machines is gun oil available on Amazon.
A toolbox and a toolbox lid will not be included. They did not come with the machine. The toolbox is to store the tools right on top of the bed when the machine is put away. The way the toolbox sits on the main bed and clings to it is convenient for storage. However, I find that I do not use the tool box when the machine is out because it is hard to easily get the tools out of it. All the tools will be packed carefully for transport.
A hard copy of the manual will not be provided but an electronic copy can be found here.

The machine was tested on a full bed and everything works great. I knitted hold-stitch pattern (butterfly pattern), tuck-stitch pattern and stockinet. The lace carriage was not tested but all the buttons move freely. It is not a complex carriage and it is very unlikely it will not work. The fabric I knitted during these tests was converted to these two cowls/neck warmers:

A general recommendation: tuck-stitch requires somewhat higher tension than stockinet on the same machine with the same yarn. However, for slightly thicker yarns (even sport weight) it might be a problem because on higher tensions the machine might choke up). This is why I tested the tuck-stitch with 1×1 needle selection using two different yarns: a thicker one (green) and a thinner one (power pink color). I was able to knit a nicer tuck-stitch using the thinner yarn.

However, with the cast-on on every other needle (also shown in my video), even yarns slightly thicker than sport weight can be used.

A couple minor flaws and hiccups that came up during tests are:

The wrench tool has a cracked plastic handle. I could still use it without problems.
When using a pattern that requires switching between A and B positions, I strongly recommend putting the L/R indicator onto the 2 or above position (but not at 8). When L/R indicator was on one, the switching needle position when A/B knob was used sometimes did not work as expected. I suspect that the gear is not engaging properly at the very starting position but it engages very well when the L/R is on two. I opened up the machine and checked and there are no visual wear/tear signs on the plastic gear. When I used the settings I just described to knit tuck-stitch (where every other needle was brought to C position and those needles were alternating on every row), I absolutely did not have any problems. My video confirms that.
I discovered that the ratchet tool (the wrench) needs to be used with confidence and medium-strength force, especially when a significant amount of needles needs to be moved to C positions (like, in my video, where I had to move 100 needles to C position). Force lighter than medium might result in not all needles being moved forward. Just be on the lookout for that while adjusting to this machine and to which force to use to move the needles forward.

Despite these two potential hiccups, which just need a bit of adjustment and a bit more paying attention, everything else was great on this machine. I hope you will enjoy using it.

Brother KH836 tested in July 2023

Brother KH836 knitting machine is one of the many models of knitting machines with punch-card capabilities manufactured by Brother. The machine is standard gauge (which means the distance between the needles is 4.5 mm). There are 200 needles. It accepts punch cards with 24-holes (which makes it capable of knitting patterns with 24-stitch repetitions).

Unlike its younger counterparts (Like Brother KH892 and KH894), it does not have built-in intarsia. But KH836 works with KA8210 intarsia carriage.

After working on both punch-card Singer/Studio Brother machines, I can see clear differences and personal pros and cons. But both machines are still great and offer a variety of possibilities. The thing I like about Brother punch card machines compared to Singer/Studio ones is that the lace carriage comes as a standard accessory. I like that rails are included as well to put the second or lace carriage to the side while using the main carriage on a full bed. I very much like the presence of the cast-on combs since using them is my favorite (and quickest in my opinion) method to start knitting.

However, unlike Brother lace carriages, Singer/Studio lace carriage (even though it is sold separately and is quite pricey) needs only one pass when knitting lace since it transfers the stitches and knits them at the same time. To me, Singer/Studio’s patterning with drums seems a bit more straightforward and easy to follow, unlike a needle selection mechanism on Brother hidden inside the bed. But again, those are minor differences. I also don’t understand why a rod is needed on Brother to hold the punch card together: it always disappears/loses itself and honestly, I always forget to insert it and the machine knits ok with it anyways. There might be other differences but these are the ones that seem the most substantial to me. Yet, they still do not affect the usage of those machines at all and both companies made very solid hard working machines.

Now about this particular knitting machine, Brother KH836, that I serviced in July 2023.

It comes with all major and almost all minor assesories.

All accessories can be stored in a convenient built-in compartment.

The minor assesories missing are:

Cast-on thread: any smooth strong yarn will do (not too thick though)
Wax â€“ the one that came with the machine was too old and just crumbled
Oil â€“ the one that came with the machine was too old and yellow so I discarded it. A good oil for knitting machines is gun oil available on Amazon.
A hard copy of the manual will not be provided but an electronic copy can be found here.

The absence of these assesories absolutely does not affect the functioning and use of the machine.

The work done on this machine:

Inspected and cleaned all needles;
Cleaned the main bed and under the lid;
Serviced the patterning mechanism;
Replaced sponge in the retaining bar
Serviced carriage â€“ oiled and got all buttons unstuck

The machine was tested on a full bed (to make sure all needles and needle latches are in excellent shape) using stockinet, tuck-, -sli- and fair isle stitch-patterning. All looked perfect. See the cowls/hoods below I made from the fabric knitted during tests.

The beige/greenish yarn was somewhat borderline thick for this machine to knit on all needles (not every-other needle). The slip- and tuck-stitch patterning were still perfect on a full bed (see my video of all tests). So, the fair isle with beige/green yarns was giving me some minor mispatterning. When I switch to thinner yarn (brown/camel natural colors), I did not have any troubles with fair isle.

Case is in pretty decent shape with only some minor dents and scratches. Overall the machine is in great shape and no visible rust on the main bed.

I cleaned the lace carriage and checked all the knobs and levers but I did not test any lace-patterned knitting.

This machine and other Brother punch-card machines are easy to maintain. Spare needles are still available for purchase new and on a used market. Sponge-bar needs to be replaced 1-2 times a year depending on usage. With regular cleaning (suck out by vacuum all lint and dust from the machine) and oiling will prolong the life span of this machine to almost forever. This machine is perfect for people who want to knit something quickly with predetermined patterns, who like creating their own patterns by punching holes in the cards and for those who are looking a bit more functionality than simple manual machines. There is a myriad of additional assesories available for Brother machines, which makes this machine a very desirable tool for volume knitters and for those who just like to experiment and create garments for family and friends. Now about imperfections. Some minor rust on the carriage â€“ it is typical whiteish rust. A potential problem might be additional static, which can be handled with wax. I did not experience any static with this carriage/machine and did not need to wax my yarn (I used acrylic yarn). These rust spots are actually very minor (compared to some carriages I’ve seen and those still worked). So, besides mentioned above, I do not anticipate any problems and I did not experience any during my tests.

Hope these imperfections will not stop you from adopting this hard-working machine capable of creating a lot of beautiful garments and things.