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I have wished for a sewing table that I could adjust for embroidery, normal sewing and for quilting for quite some time. So, when Bernina came out with their new state of the art machine - the 830 - I decided to bite the bullet and make a table to suit it.
It meant acquiring a lift mechanism to take the weight of this machine which is pretty heavy. I found one here.
http://www.sewvacdirect.com/regalhornairlift.html I also decided to get the top made by a professional cabinet maker who had the skills to do it properly. While I was at it I also asked him to cut the other panels exactly to size and apply trim to the edges that needed it. That left me to put it all together.
It meant acquiring a lift mechanism to take the weight of this machine which is pretty heavy. I found one here.
http://www.sewvacdirect.com/regalhornairlift.html I also decided to get the top made by a professional cabinet maker who had the skills to do it properly. While I was at it I also asked him to cut the other panels exactly to size and apply trim to the edges that needed it. That left me to put it all together.
The following is a very brief summary of a photo story of how I did it. The whole project can be downloaded as a PDF (488 KB) here
Plans (or working diagrams) are available from the Sewing Table Plans page here
I was able to buy the lift with the help of Carolina at
http://www.priceusa.com.au/index.html
http://www.priceusa.com.au/index.html
The top is 19mm thick MDF with a Laminex top surface. The edges are Kiln Dried (KD) hardwood. (Mountain Ash in Australia)
The side and back panels are 16mm thick Melamine covered MDF
and the sides have plastic edging adhered.
The side and back panels are 16mm thick Melamine covered MDF
and the sides have plastic edging adhered.
Bottom castor rail attached to back - and lift bottom piece attached to the lift.
Castors in their eventual places.
This shows why I needed the rails. The panels are too narrow to support the castors.
All the wood and exposed MDF edges will be sealed before the castors are attached.
This shows why I needed the rails. The panels are too narrow to support the castors.
All the wood and exposed MDF edges will be sealed before the castors are attached.
All the brackets are either under the top or at the back. Not seen unless actually looking for them. Picture of revised platform is posted below.
I had a machine platform made that has only an extremely narrow gap (about 1.5mm) around the left,right and front sides. I have discovered that I don't like pins etc. falling through the large gap!
The back gap is unchanged for the lift mechanism and cords. Update 24th Nov 2008 Here it is!
It has only 1mm (approx 1/16") clearance on the right, left and front sides. I HOPE that this is the last bit of fiddling for this table;-)
The back gap is unchanged for the lift mechanism and cords. Update 24th Nov 2008 Here it is!
It has only 1mm (approx 1/16") clearance on the right, left and front sides. I HOPE that this is the last bit of fiddling for this table;-)
13th Oct 2008 update
Well - here it is! I set it up with my 440 on it and it looks great! (At least I think so!) It will need an overhead shelf at some stage - I found this incredibly useful on my old table - but that can wait for a while;-)
N.B. One thing I found very quickly that had to be changed was the front bracing had to be removed - I couldn't get my hand under it to get to the bobbin easily. So if you use my instructions to make one please take note of this change.
Well - here it is! I set it up with my 440 on it and it looks great! (At least I think so!) It will need an overhead shelf at some stage - I found this incredibly useful on my old table - but that can wait for a while;-)
N.B. One thing I found very quickly that had to be changed was the front bracing had to be removed - I couldn't get my hand under it to get to the bobbin easily. So if you use my instructions to make one please take note of this change.
Another update!! 21th Nov 2008
I found my toes got caught under the bottom rail when doing a heel-down manoeuvre to raise the needle. So I have cut it lengthwise to be narrower and also cut the left end off.
I use my left foot so I can use right knee on the knee lift :-)
I found my toes got caught under the bottom rail when doing a heel-down manoeuvre to raise the needle. So I have cut it lengthwise to be narrower and also cut the left end off.
I use my left foot so I can use right knee on the knee lift :-)
Update 30th Nov 2008 I discovered that the weight of my machine on the platform caused the lift to sag a bit - so I made up some bracing to fix the problem.
There is a spacer plate under all those screws.
There is a spacer plate under all those screws.
Sewing Table
This is how it works
Front bracing is in 2 sections that meet in the middle. I couldn't get a long enough length of the angled stripping. It can be seen at http://www.carinya.com.au/make-a-bracket
Here it is in position
I found I needed a place to store the module when it was off the machine. The perfect place where it would be handy yet out of the way and still easily accessible was to attach it to the back of the table.
I laid the table front side down and positioned the module where it was most suitable, making sure it had room to be removed without damaging the lugs that connect it to the machine. I used 1" wide webbing with some Velcro stitched to each end. These were screwed to the table back. I arranged the brackets to conform to the curve of the module and padded it with EVA foam. I fastened this to the brackets with some heavy duty thread.
This is it in an upright position
Different views of it completed. The module is very well protected here
How it looks without the module in it.
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