Sewing Machine Work Stand
07-11-2016, 04:35 PM
#162
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Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: Denver, CO
Posts: 4,261
Field Trip To A Pipe Organ Builder
A good friend of mine works as a pipe organ builder in the Denver area. He knows a lot about wood. I arranged a field trip for myself last week to get a little advice on Russian plywood. They use this high quality plywood for making air-tight ducts, wind chests and air regulators for pipe organs. While I've known of Russian plywood for years, I've never used it. They have a pretty good wood shop, as one might imagine. I took a couple of pictures. They have a vacuum system going to all the machines that can be seen, so very little sawdust comes from the woodwork being done. A nice feature.
(Pipe Organ Wood Shop)
[ATTACH=CONFIG]553789[/ATTACH]
To help me get the same kind of wood they use, he accompanied me to the specialty lumber yard that they use, where I got a piece of Russian plywood. I got a 5 x 5 foot sheet of 3/4 inch plywood to use for baseboards.
He offered to cut the plywood into smaller pieces for me, using the table saw seen in the left picture above. I now have several blank baseboards that can be ready for use as I need them. The difference between ordinary plywood and Russian plywood may be seen below.
(Plywood Comparison)
[ATTACH=CONFIG]553790[/ATTACH]
Not only is Birch a better wood, but the greater number of plies, each perpendicular to the last, creates a very strong and stable material.
I first heard a story about Russian plywood many years ago. Many, many years ago. Since then, I have heard it more than once from different sources. My friend at the pipe organ company says that it's true. I've poked around the internet and I can't seem to confirm its truth, but I'll share the story anyway.
Russian Plywood Factory Ships
So the story goes, Birch trees from the Baltic region are loaded onto factory ships in Russia. They set course for the US. As they travel, they fish the ocean to feed the crew. Unused parts of the fish are frozen for later use. Very thin layers of wood are shaved from the trees, with unused wood products being discarded overboard, thereby feeding the ocean. As needed, fish parts are thawed and used to make glue for the wood. These thin layers are laminated together to make plywood. By the time the factory ship reaches its destination port, it is full of high quality plywood, ready for use.
I don't know if the story is true or not. But it's a fun story.
More soon,
John
A good friend of mine works as a pipe organ builder in the Denver area. He knows a lot about wood. I arranged a field trip for myself last week to get a little advice on Russian plywood. They use this high quality plywood for making air-tight ducts, wind chests and air regulators for pipe organs. While I've known of Russian plywood for years, I've never used it. They have a pretty good wood shop, as one might imagine. I took a couple of pictures. They have a vacuum system going to all the machines that can be seen, so very little sawdust comes from the woodwork being done. A nice feature.
(Pipe Organ Wood Shop)
[ATTACH=CONFIG]553789[/ATTACH]
To help me get the same kind of wood they use, he accompanied me to the specialty lumber yard that they use, where I got a piece of Russian plywood. I got a 5 x 5 foot sheet of 3/4 inch plywood to use for baseboards.
He offered to cut the plywood into smaller pieces for me, using the table saw seen in the left picture above. I now have several blank baseboards that can be ready for use as I need them. The difference between ordinary plywood and Russian plywood may be seen below.
(Plywood Comparison)
[ATTACH=CONFIG]553790[/ATTACH]
Not only is Birch a better wood, but the greater number of plies, each perpendicular to the last, creates a very strong and stable material.
I first heard a story about Russian plywood many years ago. Many, many years ago. Since then, I have heard it more than once from different sources. My friend at the pipe organ company says that it's true. I've poked around the internet and I can't seem to confirm its truth, but I'll share the story anyway.
Russian Plywood Factory Ships
So the story goes, Birch trees from the Baltic region are loaded onto factory ships in Russia. They set course for the US. As they travel, they fish the ocean to feed the crew. Unused parts of the fish are frozen for later use. Very thin layers of wood are shaved from the trees, with unused wood products being discarded overboard, thereby feeding the ocean. As needed, fish parts are thawed and used to make glue for the wood. These thin layers are laminated together to make plywood. By the time the factory ship reaches its destination port, it is full of high quality plywood, ready for use.
I don't know if the story is true or not. But it's a fun story.
More soon,
John
07-12-2016, 06:26 PM
#164
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: Denver, CO
Posts: 4,261
Carol,
What a hoot! That's a fantastic picture. Many thanks for posting it.
There are more grins, too. This evening, Janey got on to the internet before I did. She had your picture on her screen, but positioned so that I didn't see anything that would identify its source. Without knowing, I looked for a moment and said, "You know, that almost looks like chocolate covered Russian plywood."
She turned and smiled, then showed me that it was your response to the thread. So I guess we're seeing things somewhat the same.
I'll be grinning all evening. Where did you get the picture? Or were you inspired to bake?
John
What a hoot! That's a fantastic picture. Many thanks for posting it.
There are more grins, too. This evening, Janey got on to the internet before I did. She had your picture on her screen, but positioned so that I didn't see anything that would identify its source. Without knowing, I looked for a moment and said, "You know, that almost looks like chocolate covered Russian plywood."
She turned and smiled, then showed me that it was your response to the thread. So I guess we're seeing things somewhat the same.
I'll be grinning all evening. Where did you get the picture? Or were you inspired to bake?
John
07-24-2016, 03:49 PM
#166
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: Denver, CO
Posts: 4,261
Singer Universal Baseboard
I believe the Singer universal baseboard is complete. Shown below is a picture of the original baseboard, with all of my notes about different machines and what clearances around the inner edge that they require. I have tried every machine I can get my hands on and it now fits all of them. Over several months of testing, one sewing machine at a time, each change would require a trip to the garage, using a small saw or rasp to create the needed clearance.
Recently, I made a template to nicely cut the inner edge and produced this new baseboard. Behind it is the original Singer universal baseboard with all of its many modifications noted.
(Singer Universal Board Complete)
[ATTACH=CONFIG]554590[/ATTACH]
I'm very pleased with the look. While being homemade, the new Singer universal baseboard looks a little less so. It still needs felt strips, but I took this picture beforehand to show the inner edge more clearly.
I'll be posting a better picture of the old baseboard with its many modifications and how it has guided the development of fastening methods for securing machines into the workstand. That will be coming shortly in the next post.
John
I believe the Singer universal baseboard is complete. Shown below is a picture of the original baseboard, with all of my notes about different machines and what clearances around the inner edge that they require. I have tried every machine I can get my hands on and it now fits all of them. Over several months of testing, one sewing machine at a time, each change would require a trip to the garage, using a small saw or rasp to create the needed clearance.
Recently, I made a template to nicely cut the inner edge and produced this new baseboard. Behind it is the original Singer universal baseboard with all of its many modifications noted.
(Singer Universal Board Complete)
[ATTACH=CONFIG]554590[/ATTACH]
I'm very pleased with the look. While being homemade, the new Singer universal baseboard looks a little less so. It still needs felt strips, but I took this picture beforehand to show the inner edge more clearly.
I'll be posting a better picture of the old baseboard with its many modifications and how it has guided the development of fastening methods for securing machines into the workstand. That will be coming shortly in the next post.
John
Last edited by OurWorkbench; 07-24-2016 at 04:02 PM.
07-25-2016, 12:36 PM
#167
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: Denver, CO
Posts: 4,261
Improved Crossbar Hardware
When I built the first workstand, the initial machine I tested was a White Rotary 41. As may be seen in an early post to this thread, I used little clips, four of them, to secure the machine to the baseboard and frame. This required drilling holes in the metal swing frame for each clip.
I used the same technique for a Singer three-quarter sized baseboard. At this point, the first swing frame had two sets of four holes in it for mounting clips. One evening, in demonstrating how a machine could be secured in a swing frame using clamps and a crossbar of wood, it was accidentally discovered that this made an easier and more secure method of mounting.
http://www.quiltingboard.com/vintage...ml#post7216831
Since that time, we have used the crossbar method exclusively for mounting machines in the workstand. While I used two crossbars in the previous experiment, it has been learned that one is sufficient. I was just being overly careful at first.
With the Singer universal board being the next baseboard I made, the crossbar discovery turned out to be very advantageous.The Singer universal baseboard posed problems not seen with other types of sewing machines. The variety of machines that must be accommodated with this baseboard makes using mounting clips very difficult. So many different machines must fit into the baseboard that four standard mounting locations for the clips may not be found. Almost anywhere a clip is located will pose a problem for some other machine. Round bobbin machines and long shuttles may need different clip locations. Transverse shuttles are different still. And a Singer 301 (short bed) needs different clip locations than anything else. I made marks on the original Singer universal baseboard for each machine to see if I could find four "all purpose" clip locations. I could not.
(Original Singer Universal Baseboard)
[ATTACH=CONFIG]554636[/ATTACH]
Using the crossbar method with C-clamps solves the problem. Advantageously, the same crossbar may be used with all the different baseboards we have, and any machine.
Some improvements have been made since the first crossbar was made quickly for the above experiment. First, the turn-key handle used to tighten the clamp is removed by cutting off one of the heads and removing it, as shown. This prevents the loose rattling of the turn-keys as a machine is rotated in the workstand. It also eliminates the possibility that the little handles would bump or scrape the finish of the machine. The turn-key handle is made into a little wrench, used only when installing or removing a machine from the workstand.
(Clamps With Turn-Keys Removed)
[ATTACH=CONFIG]554637[/ATTACH]
Another improvement to be made was to add small cups in the ends of the crossbar, which helps to hold the clamps while they are being installed. Prior to the detents, clamps were a bit unwieldy to get positioned and tightened on the front and back of the machine, at the same time.
(Crossbar With Cups)
[ATTACH=CONFIG]554638[/ATTACH]
A picture of the typical use of the improved crossbar may be seen below. The crossbar is best placed immediately inside the pillar, out of the way of most work. The bottom of the crossbar is felted. It is my preference to use a piece of manilla file folder material under the felt, as a safe, inert surface to contact the machine. Doing this, there has never been a mark left on any of our machines.
(Typical Crossbar Installation)
[ATTACH=CONFIG]554639[/ATTACH]
The machine shown is an Anker we got at a thrift store recently. It's shiny with great decals and turns very smoothly. We got it without much hesitation. While clamps may be installed with the threaded portion either up or down, we find that with the threads up, as shown, provides the best clear access to necessary parts of the machine to be worked on, particularly the underside..
More soon,
John
When I built the first workstand, the initial machine I tested was a White Rotary 41. As may be seen in an early post to this thread, I used little clips, four of them, to secure the machine to the baseboard and frame. This required drilling holes in the metal swing frame for each clip.
I used the same technique for a Singer three-quarter sized baseboard. At this point, the first swing frame had two sets of four holes in it for mounting clips. One evening, in demonstrating how a machine could be secured in a swing frame using clamps and a crossbar of wood, it was accidentally discovered that this made an easier and more secure method of mounting.
http://www.quiltingboard.com/vintage...ml#post7216831
Since that time, we have used the crossbar method exclusively for mounting machines in the workstand. While I used two crossbars in the previous experiment, it has been learned that one is sufficient. I was just being overly careful at first.
With the Singer universal board being the next baseboard I made, the crossbar discovery turned out to be very advantageous.The Singer universal baseboard posed problems not seen with other types of sewing machines. The variety of machines that must be accommodated with this baseboard makes using mounting clips very difficult. So many different machines must fit into the baseboard that four standard mounting locations for the clips may not be found. Almost anywhere a clip is located will pose a problem for some other machine. Round bobbin machines and long shuttles may need different clip locations. Transverse shuttles are different still. And a Singer 301 (short bed) needs different clip locations than anything else. I made marks on the original Singer universal baseboard for each machine to see if I could find four "all purpose" clip locations. I could not.
(Original Singer Universal Baseboard)
[ATTACH=CONFIG]554636[/ATTACH]
Using the crossbar method with C-clamps solves the problem. Advantageously, the same crossbar may be used with all the different baseboards we have, and any machine.
Some improvements have been made since the first crossbar was made quickly for the above experiment. First, the turn-key handle used to tighten the clamp is removed by cutting off one of the heads and removing it, as shown. This prevents the loose rattling of the turn-keys as a machine is rotated in the workstand. It also eliminates the possibility that the little handles would bump or scrape the finish of the machine. The turn-key handle is made into a little wrench, used only when installing or removing a machine from the workstand.
(Clamps With Turn-Keys Removed)
[ATTACH=CONFIG]554637[/ATTACH]
Another improvement to be made was to add small cups in the ends of the crossbar, which helps to hold the clamps while they are being installed. Prior to the detents, clamps were a bit unwieldy to get positioned and tightened on the front and back of the machine, at the same time.
(Crossbar With Cups)
[ATTACH=CONFIG]554638[/ATTACH]
A picture of the typical use of the improved crossbar may be seen below. The crossbar is best placed immediately inside the pillar, out of the way of most work. The bottom of the crossbar is felted. It is my preference to use a piece of manilla file folder material under the felt, as a safe, inert surface to contact the machine. Doing this, there has never been a mark left on any of our machines.
(Typical Crossbar Installation)
[ATTACH=CONFIG]554639[/ATTACH]
The machine shown is an Anker we got at a thrift store recently. It's shiny with great decals and turns very smoothly. We got it without much hesitation. While clamps may be installed with the threaded portion either up or down, we find that with the threads up, as shown, provides the best clear access to necessary parts of the machine to be worked on, particularly the underside..
More soon,
John
08-04-2016, 04:49 AM
#169
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: Denver, CO
Posts: 4,261
Solved With A Strip Of Brass
I think I finally resolved a problem that has been an issue since the building of the original prototype stand. From the beginning, the operation of the lock pin was sometimes a little more difficult than it should be. Janey has mentioned having some trouble with it. Sometimes it would work easily, sometimes not. While I built the second workstand a while ago, I have waited to drill the hole for the lock pin in the new base until after solving this.
The problem turns out to be a result of using hardware store parts that were close, but not perfect in their fit with one another. The 5/16" bolts are exactly that, .3125 inch. But the pipe that fits over it, curiously is called 1/4" pipe. In fact, it actually has an outside measurement of .55 inches, with an inside diameter of .364 inches. Quarter inch? Go figure.
I believe I have solved the problem with a tiny strip of brass.
(Brass Strip Insert)
[ATTACH=CONFIG]555301[/ATTACH]
(Placement of Brass Collar)
[ATTACH=CONFIG]555302[/ATTACH]
The pivot shafts of the swing frame are made from pieces of pipe, with a bolt running through them. These bolts also go through the holes in the uprights of the swing frame and form the two perpendicular shafts for the frame to pivot on, rotating in the base of the workstand. The bolt is exactly centered. It is the slight mismatch in measurement that creates the problem. The inside diameter of the pipe is slightly larger than the bolt going through it. This allowed the pipe to be slightly off-center, which varied the tracking of the holes in the lock disc with the lock pin. It made the lock disc slightly eccentric in its rotation.
The small strip of brass, formed into a circle, is slipped in between the bolt and the pipe during assembly, keeping the pipe centered on the bolt while the bolt is tightened. This is only necessary on one end of one pipe, where the lock disc and pivot shaft pipe meet.
(Brass Collar Fills Gap)
[ATTACH=CONFIG]555303[/ATTACH]
This adds just slightly to the process of assembling only one of the pivot shafts, but its fairly easy to do and the results are well worth it. All the holes in the lock disc will now work equally well with the lock pin. And, now I can drill the hole for the lock pin in exactly the right place.
More soon,
John
I think I finally resolved a problem that has been an issue since the building of the original prototype stand. From the beginning, the operation of the lock pin was sometimes a little more difficult than it should be. Janey has mentioned having some trouble with it. Sometimes it would work easily, sometimes not. While I built the second workstand a while ago, I have waited to drill the hole for the lock pin in the new base until after solving this.
The problem turns out to be a result of using hardware store parts that were close, but not perfect in their fit with one another. The 5/16" bolts are exactly that, .3125 inch. But the pipe that fits over it, curiously is called 1/4" pipe. In fact, it actually has an outside measurement of .55 inches, with an inside diameter of .364 inches. Quarter inch? Go figure.
I believe I have solved the problem with a tiny strip of brass.
(Brass Strip Insert)
[ATTACH=CONFIG]555301[/ATTACH]
(Placement of Brass Collar)
[ATTACH=CONFIG]555302[/ATTACH]
The pivot shafts of the swing frame are made from pieces of pipe, with a bolt running through them. These bolts also go through the holes in the uprights of the swing frame and form the two perpendicular shafts for the frame to pivot on, rotating in the base of the workstand. The bolt is exactly centered. It is the slight mismatch in measurement that creates the problem. The inside diameter of the pipe is slightly larger than the bolt going through it. This allowed the pipe to be slightly off-center, which varied the tracking of the holes in the lock disc with the lock pin. It made the lock disc slightly eccentric in its rotation.
The small strip of brass, formed into a circle, is slipped in between the bolt and the pipe during assembly, keeping the pipe centered on the bolt while the bolt is tightened. This is only necessary on one end of one pipe, where the lock disc and pivot shaft pipe meet.
(Brass Collar Fills Gap)
[ATTACH=CONFIG]555303[/ATTACH]
This adds just slightly to the process of assembling only one of the pivot shafts, but its fairly easy to do and the results are well worth it. All the holes in the lock disc will now work equally well with the lock pin. And, now I can drill the hole for the lock pin in exactly the right place.
More soon,
John
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