Lol. I studied your posts before and after we started the project... There are several posts online showing people's altered desks... small world that I checked yours out :D

Hey! I'm glad they helped you out! :)

Part of your problem is the weight of the machine and the speed of it, for sure.

The juki is much heavier than a lot of the machines we use today. I would put it on par with some of my 50s and 60s Singers. The earlier Singers and the 15 clones still have it beat for sure.

The sturdier the table you can start with the better, and better still if it can have a permanent shelf that the machine sits on. You say the desk itself is pretty sturdy, so I'd do everything I could to make the desk believe that the shelf the machine is sitting on was always a permanent part of it. Brace like crazy!! Everywhere you can. Cripples, brackets, all of it.

I have built many a cabinet and desk for myself, for many different reasons. And judging by your pictures here, my best guess for most of your problem is going to be in the shelf support system you have going on. The metal brackets that once supported the drawer is NOT strong enough to support your machine for any length of time nor will it help stop the extra vibration when the machine is running. I'm not saying this can't be fixed, I just want you to understand why it is giving you so much problem. The added padding you put in will help for a while but in the long run, one day it's going to give in and I hope you are not using it when it does because you will get hurt.

With all that said, maybe I can help a bit in suggesting a better support system that will last longer and maybe forever if you can add it. The first thing I see is that the self you have in there is NOT going all the way across to the sides, it looks like it's just hang in mid air. This would seem like it's only support is on the brackets. I can't see the type of brackets so I can't help with that but you mentioned that they are to hard to remove so what I would do is get another piece of 3/4" thick plywood and cut it to go under what you have but extent it all the way across the bottom. Screw it in place so it is well supported by the whole frame of the table. If that doesn't fix most of the vibration and keep you safe I don't know what will. You guys are on the right track but it's a matter of corrected support for the machinery going on here.

I hope you take this as helpful and not just trying to be picking or something because it's meant to be as helpful as I can without coming over and fixing it for you. You really do have a great idea here so don't scrap it. You will get it done and be a very happy camper not spending tons of money.

You are getting good ideas. Some of those pads might squish down a little with time.

If you can get your table surface to be smooth and the same height from the front of the table to the needle, you would be soooooo happy. No bumps when you get to the machine from the table.

I've tried out some of the expensive tables and was surprised how much the faster sewing machines vibrate on these tables. So, I'm happy with the one my DH modified for me.

I did just the same,Ikea has some great ideas for quilters' rooms. Lettyx

Both of these desks started out life as ikea tables:
bluedinosaurs.com/diy-platform-sewing-table/
http://cheekycognoscenti.blogspot.ca...g-cabinet.html

I was going to do the first one, because I've seen that table in the thrift stores a number of times, til I found the rolling desk that I have.

My son and I built this sewing table. We used 2 drawer cabinets bought from a home improvement store. A friend gave me a counter top made for a customer that ended up the wrong size for the customer and we cut a hole in that for the machine. The last picture shows how my son made the box for the machine to sit in. He first made a sturdy box from 1/2" 3ply plywood and cut a hole for the cords. Then he attached a frame all around the top of the box (that's the white boards), then screwed that to the underside of the counter top using many screws. There's no vibration at all. Hope yours turns out well!:)

Thanks for posting this thread. I have been wanting my son to make me a sewing table and I love all your ideas. Now just to get my son over to check this out and see what he can do.

Someone suggested I shove a pool noodle between the table top and the shelf... I was at the Dollar Tree the other day and they still had pool noodles (a lot of them too) so I bought one... and am so glad I did! I shoved it in there and now I have no vibration at all :D

I gave that machine a good workout this morning and it was blissful sewing. I'm going to feel really really spoiled the next time I have to sew with my machine on top of the table (every 3 Saturdays when my guild gets together to sew) but wow, I'm so glad I did this!

Thank you everyone for your support and ideas. I knew that the quilting community would have an answer that I didn't think of... who would have thunk it? A pool noodle :D