for those of you whose sewing machine is flush with the table top...
 

especially if you made your own hole in the table...is there a reason that the sewing machine always goes a certain distance back from the front of the table? I'm thinking that it's probably an ergonomic reason, but my other machine was flush with the table and I remember thinking that I'd like a little more room between me and the sewing machine (right now, for the life of me, I can't remember why). My DH will be cutting the hole in the next couple of days and he keeps telling me to make sure it's where I want it.

Any thoughts on this would be appreciated. I'll check in later tonight. He's locking me in the sewing room today with the table so I can "sit and ponder" to make sure I know how close to the right end of the table I want to be also...

Tartan is right, however you also need enough room between you and the machine to support some of the fabric. I have a Horn cabinet with an insert for my Bernina 440. My machine's needle sits about 8" from the front edge of the cabinet, and that works well for me. I would not want it any closer than that.

Mine sits down in a computer table on a shelf. The front of my Janome 6500 sits 3" from the front edge .... perfect for me.

I just checked my Bernina 1530 which sits in an old Singer sewing desk from the 70s. My needle sits 9" back from the front. Tell your husband when you have decided on a measurement to be sure to "measure TWICE and CUT once". :)

So, 8-9 inches from the needle to the end of the table. Sounds good to me. Thanks all!

I suppose this distance relates to your size. I have short arms nd mine sits t 6" away.

The edge of my machine sits 4 inches from the edge of my machine table. I don't have to reach out to sew and it's not to close either.

The perfect width for me would be to have enough space to set my magnetic pin holder in the front, with a pair of small scissors.

Mine are cut about 4-6 inches back depending on what I use each machine for. My 1600p which I quilt everything for is actually a little closer at 4. I spend more time there in the the same position and leaning too far forward for an hour kills my back.