Smocking Pleater Machines 16, 24 & 32 Row from Read South Africa, Princess 24 Row UK
Additional Information:
See Read Pleaters, Instruction Manuals, New Training Videos, Needles and Accessories, and History of Manufacture of the Original Smocking Pleater
AllBrands imports the Read 24 and 32 Row Pleaters which will continue to be available.
I want to clarify that the old system of the little metal sliders at each end of the removable roll being held in place by small screws, does not allow for any adjustment of rollers. Both the old Sally Stanley and old Read 16-Row used this method for removing the roller. the slider screwed down tight, is purely there for keeping the roller in place with no adjustment. I'm not familiar with the Pullen, but I'm pretty sure it works exactly the same; i.e. the screws should be tight at all time.
Assuming that a pleater has not been damaged and is in good working order, there are two main reasons why needles break. Firstly, if the fabric is not fed evenly into the pleater, or it is allowed to fold into the rollers, or secondly if the fabric is too thick or has too much starch in it (when a fabric softener should be used to soften it).