sewing desk plans

[speedbuggy]

Anyone know of a good sewing machine desk plan. I have googled a lot and found nothing like what the mother-in-law would like. She want one that looks like a regular style office desk and the machine fold in to the top. While the machine is folded away you can use it as a desk. All of the ones I have seen either fold completely up and serve no purpose or have some type of lift )rockler plan) the you would end up smashing you knees on when you use it as a desk. My mom had on when I was a kid, it was pretty slick.

Thanks

[CW]

Good luck. What you are describing is an old style cabinet for plate mount machines. Most every consumer sewing machine on the market for many years now has been a free arm, essentially portable machine. That is why the ones you find have a lift. The free arms don't have hinges.

[Sonny]

My mother, a seamstress, has a sewing machine and cabinet that I think is similar to what you are looking for. It has 3 drawers on the right side, one small drawer on the left side, plenty of leg room and has the original stool (horse hair padding in the seat, BTW...pretty neat). Once the machine is folded into the cabinet, the very solid lid folds over the whole topside. I suppose it dates back to, at least, the

1950s. I could take some pics and measurements for you, if you'd like....if so, email me: [e-mail]

Also, my cousin is a sewing machine repairman, domestic and industrial machines. His shop is loaded with many old and new machines and cabinets. I am certain he has something that plans can be drawn from. One of my upholstery machines is being repaired, at the moment, so I can soon check with him to see, exactly, what he might have.

Sonny

[Tom]

I got my plan from Ubild-Plans. Woodcraft also has their plan.

[J T]

Wed, Oct 11, 2006, 9:43pm (EDT+4) [e-mail] (speedbuggy) doth queryeth: Anyone know of a good sewing machine desk plan. end up smashing you knees on when you use it as a desk. My mom had on when I was a kid, it was pretty slick.

At least you googled, so many don't.

My ex had one, that was close to what you want. I thinkk. The top folded to the left. Then you lifted a hinged section up, pulled the sewing machine up - on a hinged section also. Lay the first section back down, lower the sewing machine until its hinged section rests on ithe first section. Viola, that's it.

When you put it away you pushed the sewing machine back, lifting the front section up enough so you can raise it out of the way. Lowev the seewing machine down until it stops, then lower the front section down. then fold the to over the sewing machine. That's it. She never used it as a desk, but it would have been entiredly practical to use it as a small desk, as I recall your knees would have been below the sewing machine. It didn't hang stright down, but at an angle. Very simple, quite foolproof, works.

I'd say check thrift shops until you found one you liked, probably get one for $5-$10. Then copy the workings of it. Put however many drawers you want in it. You could make it wider, but I wouldn't change it front to rear much, might make it too mard to reach for sewing. Don' need no steenkin' plans.

Oh yes, be sure to make it out of cherry, that always makes for nice furniture. Then pick a really nice color and paint it.

JOAT It's not hard, if you get your mind right.

- Granny Weatherwax

[Upscale]

My mom had one of those too. And the construction was simple enough that one should be able to jury-rig their own table without plans. It also occurs to me that if the OP can't find any pictures or plans of this construction he might look for the same type of plan used in conjunction with typewriters. If memory serves me correctly, the operation was virtually identical to the sewing machine table.

[Jesse R Strawbridge]

As a woodworker who also sews, your M-I-L might like the lift type, just built longer with a knee space when closed. Sewing takes up a lot of space. A storage/file cabinet on casters that fit in the space would be an option or just use the space to store the chair when not in use.

You might get some ideas at

[CW]

Older machines were the same size as the newer ones. I have a 1960 Singer

401G sitting right behind me at the moment. It is bigger than my 1996 serger. It is only slightly smaller than my industrial hemstitcher. I do have a 1948 Singer 99K that is smaller but it was made as a 3/4 size machine. The first thing the OP needs to do is determine if the machine he wants the cabinet for is a plate mount or free arm. Most all modern machines are free arm and do not have hinges. This is the reason that most cabinets these days have lifts. Older ones were usually plate mount and did have hinges.

I'd like to suggest you maybe Google for Singer Sewing Machines circa 1920 to 1965 for potential photographs of the type of table/desk your Mom had when you were younger.

Machines these days are considerably larger than their ancient forebearers, I'm not sure you'd manage to comfortably fit one into a similar table to the ones I certainly remember from childhood.