Setting up your KS787 Machine.

The first thing I would recommend you to do is have a look at what came with your machine and figure out what is missing. The Toyota KS787 was made in 1985 and over time some parts will get broken or misplaced.  I found that I was missing punch cards, some transfer tools and needle pushers. The easiest way to find the missing bits and pieces is on Ebay. I check daily to see if anything else comes up for sale. If you know you will need it - buy it or bid on it straight away. There are heaps of other knitters out there looking for those elusive punch card patterns that you want as well!

These are the main items you will need to be able to make a swatch. If you are missing any of these items go to Ebay NOW!!

Setting up the machine.

It is time to get the instructional manual out! 

I have found 2 manuals for the Toyota KS787.  Below is the one that came with the machine plus a needle pusher for size but in my online research I have found another manual with more information for free! Follow the link here for the free PDF download.

 

 Place your machine on your table that sturdy but also long enough to hold it and open up the case. Place the lid behind the machine and it should look sometime like this..

Accessory Box

 On the left hand side is a box full of accessories for the machine (this is where you can find the items as mentioned above) and the carriage is secured on the right hand side.  The lady I bought this machine from did not put all the machine parts back into the case properly because she said it took her ages to pack it up if she did. Apparently - you can fit the extension rails, cast on combs, upper tension rod and upper tension wires in the top of the case.  I am still trying to figure out HOW to make it all fit. The sticker in the case is a little bit confusing.

Accessory box sticker.

A very important part to remember in the set up is to secure your machine to the table. The machine is quite heavy and you don't want it moving around or falling on you when you are knitting your masterpiece. Secure the machine via the two clamps in the metal slots on the bottom of the machine.

Right hand clamp secured to the table.

The next step is set up the upper tension rod and wire to the back of the machine. This is pretty easy to do, the rod sits in the back then the upper tension wire sits on top. Find the wax and place it on the wax holders that are in front of the tension discs. (A keen eye will see one of my shorter tension wires is broken and I am currently waiting for my Ebay delivery to arrive to fix it.)

Wax placed on the holders.

 Next grab your wool and thread up as below.

Image from instruction manual.

The final step to remove the accessory box on the left hand side, place it nearby then release the main carriage from the knitting bed.

Carriage.

 Next step! It is time to oil up the carriage so it will easily move along the bed. 

1. Slide the carriage off the machine bed and turn it upside down.

2. Place some oil onto a piece of scrap fabric.

3. Run the fabric along the bottom of the carriage and wipe along the black parts of the under carriage. 

4. Slide the carriage back onto the machine bed.

Remove the fabric presser from the cover and place it on the carriage and tighten the toggles so your carriage looks like the image below.

 Grab the wool that you have already threaded through the upper tension wires and thread it through the carriage. Make sure you get the wool sitting behind the bottom spring - the carriage will not knit if the wool isn't behind it.

You are almost there! This is the final step before we can creating our knitting masterpieces!

Pull the wool through the carriage and tie it to the right hand clamp. 

Now you are ready to create your first swatch! 

My next blog will be about how to cast on using a cast on comb.

Until next time - Happy Knitting! 

So I bought a knitting machine

Why did I buy a knitting machine?
 
I have always been interested in knitting machines ever since I taught myself to knit when I was in university. I thought they were interesting and maybe a "short cut" version of knitting. I am the slowest hand knitter you will meet!

One day I went on Ebay and found a Toyota 787 machine with ribber bed and lace carriage for sale for a nice price of $200. I thought why not? I will give it a go! So did my research and found out that the 787 is the best machine in the Toyota range as it had a lot of things built into it.

I have bought manuals off ebay to help me learn how my machine works/clean it. So I have spent every spare moment in the last couple of weeks reading them, staring at the machine and having a fiddle around with the machine. Today, I had a thought about 'blogging' my adventures and help anyone else who is starting to learn how to use a Toyota 787!

What have I figured out already?

The first thing I did was to replace the sponge bars as they were non-existent and became sludge in the bar. I followed the instructions on a blog I found online to replace the sponge (you find the link here)

I am annoyed I didn't take photos of the before and after but now I know how to do it, I am confident to replace them whenever they need to be and I will blog about it then. The only difference was that I used foam glue instead of a water-based glue as I didn't want the bar to rust.

Here is a picture of when I finally figured out how to set up the machine and do a basic swatch on the machine a few weeks ago. I just wanted to see "how" it worked.

- Yes, I am using the ribbing weights.
- Yes, I didn't use a cast on comb because I didn't know I had them/how to use them until I read further into the manual.
- Yes, I was VERY frustrated because I thought it would be easier.
- Yes, I did get hay-fever from the dust within the machine (make sure you clean your machine before you start! Plus keep it dust free!)
- Yes, I am proud of figuring out how a machine older then me works!

My next blog will be about the little things that made me frustrated when I first set up the machine and tried to knit a swatch.

Happy knitting everyone!