Possible Drop Leaf Addition?
 

Good Evening Every1,

I hope that all is well with you & your families. I have a desk that has 3 drawers on the left side. I sew and quilt on this desk. I found it at a thrift store in Snowflake, AZ for $5.00. It was painted gold. I sanded all the old paint off and stained it. Here is my question (for you). Do you think I could put a drop leaf on the back? I went to Home Depot on Monday, and a customer service rep, said that the wood would split. The wood cover behind the drawers is maybe a 1/4" thick. I would like to make the back of the desk longer for quilting. I can not afford to buy a beautiful desk that has all the ""bells and whistles", nor have my husband build me one because we don't have the tools. I was hoping to do it myself. I am asking all of you because your DH's have built you some sewing furniture. I turned to you all because I value your opinions and advice. I will post some pics so that you can see what I am talking about.

I eagerly await your suggestions and feedback. I would also like to hear from any gender that is on the board.

Thank you all in advance for your help with my dilemma.

Have a blessed day.

debra

PS.-I also was thinking of taking the laminate off and cutting a space to fit my sewing machine into. I would like the sewing machine to be fluss with the desk. I also forgot to download the pic of the back of the desk. Not sure how to do it. Thanks for help.

I am no expert, but what if you use cabinet hinges?

A long piano hinge would be screwed into the particle board that is the base for the laminate. Some particle board is strong enough to hold it. I assume you will be putting legs on the extension. That would help with the weight. As far as the top, you can cut through the laminate so it doesn't have to be removed. How are you going to support the machine?

They have what they call a piano hinge that is long and would go the whole length of the top.

Why couldn't you attach a 1"x 4" x length of desk or a 1" x 4" x length of desk piece of wood at the top of the back, the narrow edge flush with the desk top; and then attach the drop leaf with a piano hinge?

Jan in VA


This view is looking from the back of the table with the tan being the board added to hold the hinge and drop leaf.

Wonder what would happen if you got a heavy piece of lumber same size as your desk top, only longer/deeper and then glue and nail that piece over everything. ?? I suppose you would have to put legs on the extended part, however. I doubt that it would be good for bearing down upon to rotary cut things. Do not think it a good idea to try and cut hole for machine. What would hold the machine at that location? Wish DH were home right now I would ask his suggestion. Years ago I sewed upon a church-like luncheon table and it had plenty of room to each side. Then I would put ironing board to the back side at same level when I needed extra width. Just a thought.....good luck.

I have a 5 dollar desk that my husband cut a hole just right for my serger and it sits in the drawer. Had it for 35 years. If that is a piece of board on the back half of your desk, why couldn't you put another on the other side and let you drop leaf rest on those boards. that would take the weight off the desk onto the vertical boards. What do I know? Grin

Where there's a will, there's a way!!!! :)

Good Evening Again,

I had planned on putting some type of legs on the underside of the drop leaf to help hold the weight. I have a cutting table, so I don't need to use the extension for cutting out anything. . . Thank you all for the suggestions. Please keep them coming. I know that are alot of wonderfully smart people on here & I know my can help me come up with a solution.

Thanks again.

debra

Yes you can make a drop leaf. Home Depot is so wrong with what they told you.
just make sure you use enough hinges if not one long one And attach a leg for support that would swing away when folded

Have you thought about one of the folding tables that have a plastic top. I think they come in a 3' x 4' size. If it anywhere near the same height as your desk that might work and you could fold and put away when you don't need it. It may be less expensive than the wood needed to make the drop leaf. I think they are available at Costco, Sam's Club and maybe Walmart, & Target.

One one of the free shows last weekend, the quilter had used two dressers with drawers on either side and put a piece of plywood on top. You might be able to find something that would support the top and use as storage as well, or just add legs, sawhorses, even computer paper boxes on either side for support. Like the idea of putting part on desk and rest on backside that All Thumbs suggested. That would make it sturdier, less likely to separate.

Ditto with Jan's suggestion. Screw a long 1 x 4" along the entire back. Set it a little down from the top of the current desk so when you swing the back up the edge of the drop leaf will cover the added mounting board and be level with the top of the desk. Do add legs to the leaf for support. Better yet- check thrift stores and watch Craigslist or Freecycle for a sewing cabinet, desk or table for conversion. You can find them very cheap or even free. Eleanor Burns has something on her website showing how her son converted a table years ago.

What might be easier is to get a tabletop double the size of your current desk (or more), attach two legs to the far side, and use the current desk as a support for the front half. So the new top is resting on top of your current desk, and is perfectly flat with no seam. You might find a wooden poker table at a thrift store, or a small breakfast table that you could take two legs off of. If it's slightly bigger, like a couple of inches all around, it wouldn't matter.

This is also what I has in mind. And of course you would need legs to support the leaf when it was set up. As for cutting a "hole" to drop your machine in to make it flush with the desk top, yes, it can be done. My DH made one for me. Only mine is in a large leaf that I put in the dinning room table when I need added space. He cut the hole, then built a sort of drawer and used L brackets to attach it to the under side of the leaf. It holds the machine just fine. I used it just today to sew the binding on a queen size quilt. Good luck with what ever you come up with.

Jan is right. The piano hinges are a good idea too. (and Darlene is right about 1-2 support legs, also)

From previous threads on this subject, remember to make the height of the throat plate even with your elbows so you don't get tired shoulders, etc. You could even take those feet off your desk drawers and then cut the two legs off. I just cut 4" off my 1967 machine cabinet. I cannot believe I did not do this years ago. If you can find those plastic drawers or even a 2 drawer filing cabinet cheap, you could put that next to the desk on the right, at a right angle, add a covered top and turn it into an ironing board. I just had another thought, cut a hole in the top for the machine, measure so it fits your elbow height, put a shelf with little "L" brackets, underneath the top, add a piece down the right side so the "L" brackets can be on that side, and that would hold your machine. You could even close the back and side with that gray board, I forgot what it is called, (like pfc board. It is cheap, just a few bucks, but very sturdy. You could even buy a piece of that peg board on the side to hang your rulers, etc. Good luck. Yes, use legs for support and a piano hinge.

I have the sister to your desk. My desk is 4' long, and I used a 30" piano hinge, a 5/8" x 16" x 4" long piece of pine or the cheapest wood in that size, and 2 Gate house Folding Support hinges for the side support. I did not put any legs on it and I have had no problems with it. I have done a king size quilt without any problems. I don't use it for cutting though, if I did I would add legs for more support. I have been using the extension on my table for about 1 l/2 years now. I plan on painting the whole desk and extension when the weather is warmer. I did it all myself so you should be able to do it too, If you need to cut the wood, the people at Lowes will cut it for you. I would like to add photos, but can 't figure out how to add them

Having vision and imagination go with quilting 101. I don't think the person at Home Depot has the vision or imagination to help you do this project. As long as the extension is supported well you should be able to add to the desk. You might want to be sure that you can drop the extension when not in use. The piano hinges are a good choice for the weight. Make sure your legs are foldable so that you can put things away nicely. It is doable as long has you have the vision.

finally figured out adding photos
 

Sorry it took so long but here are the photos of my desk with the attachment.

Good Luck

I made a typing error on my original post, the extension wood piece is 5/8" x 16" x 4' not 4"

agree. Try to google “gate leg table” for ideas or suggestions to proceed. I had a cabinet shop do a small job for me once. The guys did a great job, they were so nice, they didn’t want to even take money but I insisted.

I have a portable table that I use for freemotion quilting by setting it next to my larger table so the quilt is supported on the back the table. I also have a small extension table that goes with the portable table and sits to the right. Both can be folded up and put away easily. It might be easier to put a portable table (like a card table) behind your desk rather than go to all the work to add an extension especially if you don't have tools to do that.