I have a question for all you brilliant and talented quilters and handymen! I have a Bernina with a front loading bobbin. I would like to take a table and cut an opening for the machine to sit down even with the table. My hubby says to cut a hole along the edge would take out some of the support of the top so he suggested something to lift the machine when I need to change the bobbin. Does anyone know of such a gadget?

There are electric lifts on the market. You'd have to google to see if you could find one to your specs.

I also have a Bernina with a front loading bobbin and a sewing table that attaches to the left end of the sewing arm. It is a model 1080. I took an old desk with a center drawer, cut a hole in the top so that the machine sets in the drawer. There is enough room to replace the bobbin without lifting the machine.

Check some woodworkers magazines. I can't think of the one my hubby got, but they sell the lifts in there, sort of work on a spring. HUbby just said one was Woodcrafters, and one was Woodworking supplies. Hope this helps.

I can't be of any help with that. I have a New Home and Singer that sit on the table

I have a sewing cabinet that is about 11 years old and it has a pneumatic lift. It's great-one level for sewing, goes up another level to access the bobbin and can move down 2 levels to completely recess the machine. Then there is a piece that fits on top to cover the recess and it looks like a piece of furniture. When it's all closed up there is no way to tell that it's sewing cabinet.

You can find a sewing machine lift at Rockler ( a woodworkers supply company). www.rockler.com. I purchased one for a sewing cabinet my husband will make for me.
Denise

Thanks guys, you all have given me some ideas. I will let you know what I decide to do!

I found a video on YouTube that showed a gal raising the rest of the table around her machine, and I did it, too. All it took was a sheet of styrofoam insulation, cut to size and double stacked. I cut smaller pieces to fit in front and to the side of my sewing plane. Now my featherweight is in a HUGE sewing table (old dining table), and the foam cost less than $10 at the hardware store.

Here's the website for Rockler....http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=2

The lift is $159.00 there!!! I went to Amazon. They sell it for the same price...and the reviews mention something about issues with the measurements and fitting it in cabinets.

Thanks again all of you. I read on another blog that someone had used a dining room table with a center leaf. They cut the leaf where the machine was at a good spot and just fit the 2 cut halves of the leaf around the sewing machine. (Build a support for the machine to sit on.) The leaf part in front could easily be taken out to change the bobbin, etc. Hubby looked at that and said he could do that and it wouldn't cost as much. On to some garage sales to find an old dining room table! We'll keep you posted!

I have a Bernina that sits in a Horn cabinet (with a lift built in) but I never use the lift in order to change a bobbin. If you want to use the lift, you have to take out the acrylic surround first, which means removing what you are sewing on. All I do is drop down the little door in the front, take out the bobbin and replace it. (Don't forget to shut the door after, otherwise some of them don't sew so well) My 1260 doesn't mind the door being left open, my 730E objects, and needs its door shutting.

With Horn cabinets, there is about 3in of the front of the cabinet before the cut out where the machine sits. Then you would need a shelf/support for the machine, set below at the right height for the bed of the machine. Also, it's possible to buy an acrylic surround that is precisely the right shape for your machine from Horn to fill in the gap. I have three different ones now. They all fit the gap in my Horn cabinet, but surround different machines. The Sewezi table people also sell acrylic surrounds for about every machine on the market.

I have a computer table with the piece in the front that stay level or drop down, have had no problems with using my front loading bobbin Bernina

I have a computer table with the piece in the front that stay level or drop down, have had no problems with using my front loading bobbin Bernina