Homemade sewing table!
 

When I got my new sewing machine about a month ago I noticed one thing for certain and that was my table was not gonna stay still and sturdy with all the weight and power the juki has. So I went on the hunt for a sewing table! And let me tell you even small sewing tables cost an arm and a leg and are not all that sturdy!, so I changed my search to Craigslist, and after a little design brainstorm with my hubby he said yeah find a wood table and I can do it. Well 30 bucks later I did. A big kitchen table! I love it!! Especially for fmq! Table Space is essential for me so this is perfect! Anyone wants to know how we did it just let me know! Happy stitching everyone!!

Looks great! Enjoy your Juki...i love mine.

Perfect and clever.

Fantastic - I have a small sewing area and had hubby put counter tops in a L shape against a corner, work great but would love to have more room behind the machine. Maybe next HOUSE lol, I will remember your idea. thanks for sharing!

That would work perfectly. Good for you and your husband to be able to redo it.

Great solution, well done.

That is a great idea and great execution of the idea. He did good!! All that space and so sturdy. We will be swooning with envy.

That is a great idea !
Enjoy your Juki. I have 2 of them, and I love them:)

Would love to know how he did it. I'm sewing on a folding table. Have to have a flat board to keep is from jumping. Dh made our kitchen table out of solid piece of oak. Told him we would never get rid of it because it would be perfect for a sewing table. I know he could do this. If you want to post or pm me that's fine. Thanks!

Wish my DH was that handy, it is just perfect, great idea.

very nice!!!

DH did a great job! Sewing on your table with lots of space will give you many hours of sewing fun! So happy for you!!

Looks great! I, too, have a new Juki--are you having as much fun as I am? :)

Looks great & so much room! I have my Juki on a frame. I love it. They're workhorses!

I would love to see more pictures and explanation of the process you went through. My handy hubby could do it and I'm certain I could find a good size,sturdy kitchen table like you did.

Very awesome!! I'm loving that everyone is being so creative and thinking of things to use. I had my step dad do one for me about 6 years ago. Mine houses my Ellegante which I just use for sewing, no embroidery..

Beautiful setup--that table space will be awesome for quilting! I hope you enjoy your Juki as much as I do!!

Angelina! I am loving my juki!! I am still amazed at all I can do on it and it just keeps ticking like nothing! It likes to work that's for sure!!

Funny you posted this .. I have a table almost identical to yours and have been contemplating doing the same thing with it. Seeing yours has given me motivation. Can I ask what was used to support the machine on the underside?

very nice, good job. Thanks for sharing.

love your table and your Juki.
I used mine all day today for FMQ. Glad to see someone else is using Juki....

I had quite a few people that wanted to know how the table was done so my wonderful Husband was kind enough to type up some directions. We took some pictures during the build but not every detail was captured in a picture so if you have questions feel free to ask We started with a 5' x 3' kitchen tablethat has a solid pine top and legs
in all 4 corners found on craigslist


I got this idea off the internet onsomeones blog and just beefed it up. Not thinking there smallerdesign would hole up to the vibrations of the juki while freemotioning


Materials list


¾ inch cabinet grade plywood 4strips 3 ½ wide by length to be determined by your table (could usea 2x4 cut to length) and 1 piece big enough for your machine plus atleast 4 inches on either end


4- 3/8 inch carriage bolts 4 incheslong


4- 3/8 tee nuts


12- 3/8 flat washers


12- 3/8 nuts


4 springs ¾ inch inside diameter


screws 2 inches long


wood glue






tools


Skill saw with cutting guide or tablesaw


drill


pocket hole jig


1 inch Forstner bit


forstner bit with same diameter ascorner radius or machine base


speed square and t square


tape measure


jig saw and fine wood blades


2-9/16 wrenches







First you need to decide were you wantyour machine on the top. Make sure it is behind the front table braceby at least ½ inch or so and make sure there is at least 4 inchesclear on either side for the frame. Lay out machine base with asquare and some type of circle that matches the corner radius (I hada lid on my work bench that was a match). Next transfer themeasurements underneath and make sure its clear of the front and 4inches booth sides.


Measure from front table frame to backand cut your 4 strips 3 ½ wide by your measurement plus add a coupleinches for squaring up the ends. Now glue 2 strips together to make a3 ½ by 1 ½ board ( you could use a 2x4 for this but I couldn’tfind a decent board in may lumber stash and I had the plywoodalready)


Next Measure your machine base to findout how big your platform needs to be


My wife’s Juki has a baseapproximately 7x17 and I made the platform 14x30 just in case sheever wanted to change out to a bigger machine or add an acrylic tray


your platform should be at least acouple inches deeper then your machine is and at least 8 inches widerto accommodate the side braces where it will hang from the bolts.


Next I cut the hole for the machine byusing the forstner bit to drill the corners then a jigsaw to cut thestraight lines on all 4 sides. Go slow and take your time it shouldturn out pretty staight


Next Flip your table over and lay outyour brace on your right hand side of your machine a ½ from thehole. I attached it to the underside of the table with 2” screws asthe board was 1 ½ and the top was ¾ so I had ¼” to spare


Then lay your other brace the width ofyour platform away from your right hand brace ( outside to outside onmine was 30” same width as the platform) them attach that bracewith a couple screws. Making sure to square up braces beforeattaching


Next lay out the bolt holes for theplatform Mine were 2” in from both corners. Drill a 7/16 inch holeon your 4 marks and transfer marks to both braces. Then remove themfrom the table but make sure you marked out where they go and whichone is which


Drill a 1/8 pilot hole on your 4 markson the braces and flip over. Use your 1/8 pilot hole to drill in ½with your 1” forstner bit to recess the carriage bolt head and teenut. Then drill out with 7/16 the rest of the way through.


Thread your tee nut on to the carriagebolt and slide through the holes in the braces with the head settingdown in the recess. Gently tap the head to seat the tee nut. Slide awasher and thread a nut on the opposite side and snug down to seatthe tee nut the rest of the way


drill pocket holes in both ends of the2 braces to attach to front and back table frame. Reattach braces totable using marks and making sure braces go back to the same spots


slide platform over bolts and slide on1 washer and 1 nut per bolt. Set machine in and adjust to desireddepth then measure gap left between brace and platform. Cut springsto length twice the length of the gap but make sure they willcompress to less then the gap ( I bought 3 sets of springs and usedthe medium set all 3 sets were under $10 total at the local hardwarestore in the bulk fastener section)




Remove platform and put springs betweenplatform and braces with a washer between spring and platform the putwashers and nuts on bottom side and adjust to height. When desiredheight is achieved thread on a 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] nut and while holdingfirst nut still tighten second nut jamming it and keeping platformfrom moving locking in height


We added thread caps to protect ourlittle guys head if he ever gets under the table but not reallynecessary if you don’t have little ones running around Pictures to follow

Looks just like the table we bought on Craigslist, except ours if painted green instead of white - same wood top. DH cut the opening as far as possible over to the right, so I had as much table as possible for quilting. Ours was $30, too. Isn't it wonderful to sew now that you are no longer struggling with the weight of the quilt to move around? I made a pattern out of paper of the shape of my machine, and checked underneath to make sure the opening was well clear of the supports. DH drew out the opening on the top, used a drill on the corners and with a saber saw, cut out the opening and filed it till my machine fit properly. He bought long carriage bolts (with rounded tops so they sit flush on the wood top) that hooked through a piece of wood (to hold up the machine), and put the washers & nuts on. Adjusted those till the machine was flush all 4 corners and was level. That leaves room to fit the plugs on the side of the machine, and its under the tabletop. I plugged the machine into an outlet that goes on and off with a wall switch. Love it!

Thanks for such detailed instructions.

should we form a Juki club?

Awesome! Great job on the table...

Homemade sewing table
 

Same here, will you let me know too. Have my mothers old dining table that I think will work. My ex- husband wanted to throw it away. I have it in storage, I knew there was a use for it.:thumbup:

Looks really great

Wonderful table!

Looks sturdy.

Wonderful job. I used my old dinning room table raised up for my cutting table.

Clever idea--looks great !

I have a table like that too----hmmm and a machine that is similar.

Great idea. It turned out really well. It always feels good to save some $$ when it comes to these type of projects doesn't it? Enjoy your new baby (juki).

Really great job!

It looks like you are going to be doing alot of sewing and QUILTING maybe?
Don't know if you notice but the seems to be alot of quilters in Lebanon, Or. plus it has acouple of my relatives...
Happy sewing~~~~~~~~

It looks like you are going to be doing alot of sewing and QUILTING maybe?
Don't know if you notice but the seems to be alot of quilters in Lebanon, Or. plus it has acouple of my relatives...
Happy sewing~~~~~~~~

Thanks for all of the info!

Great job! Kudos to DH. It looks great. Your Juki looks like my mid-arm on my quilting frame. She's a good one and I really enjoy her.