Sewing center

[Jay Aubuchon]

I have been working on my wife's new sewing station for a while. It has finally moved from my shop to hers. Ignoring the machine cut-outs, the top surface is 72" by 40".

Overview.jpg

If you think the molding looks like an afterthought, you would be right. After I was well into building, she thought that she would like to have molding.

Molding.jpg

There is a removable section to accommodate her embroidery module.

Insert.JPG Module.jpg

The corners came out pretty well.

Corner.JPG

Making the drawer boxes, I used a Whiteside drawer lock bit. For the most part, my results were much tighter than the first time I used this bit.

Drawer.jpg

Still, some were a little sloppy because of inconsistent handling of the material on the router table. Somehow I neglected to take a picture of any of those. A couple of drawers are set up for storing thread.

Thread1.JPG

The back has another six drawers, plus a space for sitting to work on designs or (gasp) another sewing machine.

Back.JPG

[Jay Aubuchon]

In no particular order, here are some things I learned along the way.

1. A friend of a friend gave me a bunch of leftover pieces of red oak, cherry, and ash flooring. I wouldn't be so quick to accept another such gift. For one thing, the finished thickness is limited because of the grooves on the bottom of each piece; and because these leftovers weren't all that flat by the time they got to me. And it took way too many glue-ups to get pieces wide enough.

In any case, I used up all of the red oak making the drawer boxes. That may seem like an odd choice, but red oak would not be my first, second, or third choice for a primary wood. And I got a start on the pile of cherry making the drawer fronts.

2. This was my first experience with non-borg plywood. Wow! It was worth the extra cost and the drive to Lewistown.

3. It turned out that the best tool in my shop for trimming the edge banding on the two large top pieces was a hand plane.

Plane.jpg

I tried hard to do this with a router trim bit, but I just could not get the control I needed. The plane made it easy.

4. This was the first time I used shellac. I brushed it on. Overall, I liked it. I have a basement shop with no outside ventilation. The minimal order was much less objectionable than anything else that I have used. But I have a long way to go before I can do a good job on large vertical surfaces.

[James Pallas]

Well done. Can't let the wife see this one over my shoulder or I'll be put to task for the summer.
Jim

[Larry Browning]

Well done. Can't let the wife see this one over my shoulder or I'll be put to task for the summer.
Jim

This was my thought as well. I'm not sure where I could put such a beast at my house. I'm afraid we would have to throw out the dining table make room. I like to eat, but SWMBO would probably rather have a fancy sewing station than me having a nice place to eat. No, she is definitely not seeing this thread. Hey mods, is there a way for me to delete this thread from my computer?

[Jay Aubuchon]

Thanks guys. I have to do what I can to support work like this:

image.jpg

[Joe A Faulkner]

Nice sewing station. My wife's love of quilts and quilting makes it easier for her to relate to my "border-line" obsession with wood and wood working, and like you, I deeply appreciate the beauty and function of the quilts she makes. I love coming in from the shop and seeing the progress she is making on her latest project.

[Wayne Jolly]

SON OF A . . . gun. SWMBO just saw it.

Wayne