My neighbor threw out this desk, so I bought it home, drew around sewing machine, cut out the hole, took another board and cut to fit, then drilled 4 holes, put in 6 in 1/4" bolts with spacers made from small pieces of plastic tubing the length I needed for my sewing machine to sit down in. When the bolts were tightened, they could only go so far because of the spacers. When doing this you just have to make sure you have space to plug in your machine after you put it in place.

Now all I have to do is raise the back table 2 inches to be even.

Threw this beautiful piece of work out? Oh my. I am glad you were there to save it. It is excellent. (I like the quilt you are working on in the photo).

wow, love your sewing table, good idea and thanks for sharing!

Good days work with this table it looks useful.

Great job!!

I Love it.....you did a great job....& saved a beautiful desk.....my sewing machine would look just as good in it....I have that same machine .....
bopeep

There are actually 2 quilts on the back table. One is a baby quilt that I'm at the binding stage for my neighbor. I will take picture of it when done. The other is my buffalo quilt that I'm now working the sashings for it.

Looks great! I've been wanting to do this with my table too.

That desk makes a perfect sewing table! It is lovely, can't imagine anyone throwing it out!

Very unique! Thanks for sharing.

Very Clever ! Love the machine also :wink: Same as mine :thumbup:

What kind of thread is on the machine ?

It is a machine quilting thread by the name of Star #50 - 100% Mercerized Cotton.

AWESOME :)

Thank you :)

I still plan on refinishing it as you can tell from the middle drawer some little trim is gone. There are 3 drawers total. I'm just waiting until the weather clears up.

They say one persons trash is another's treasure. I'd say you got a pretty good treasure. Love the character of the desk, and you did a fantastic job making a cabinet out of it. Way to go!

They say one persons trash is another's treasure. I'd say you got a pretty good treasure. Love the character of the desk, and you did a fantastic job making a cabinet out of it. Way to go!

Wow, you are really handy! That is a fantastic job! Great way to reuse!

You did a wonderful job! That is a wonderful find and refurb!
My hubby has plans to modify my old sewing machine cabinet so that my machine will fit down in. It's on the back burner for now as he is totally swamped at work. Even is working Saturdays this month.
Enjoy! And don't forget pics of the wonderful creations we are just getting glimpses of. ;-)

How smart are you!

You are so clever AND thrifty!!! I love this idea and it turned out beautifully :D:D:D

Silly people to throw that out and lucky you to find it. And you are so smart to figure out how to make it into the perfect sewing table. Great job.

Thank you. I made one once before from one those huge office desks. That one didn't need a table behind it and worked great for quilting on. I posted pictures of the quilts I'm working on at another page. http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-43836-1.htm#991688

Wow..thanks for sharing. Great way to REUSE!

In the great big desks, you put the board you cut out in the drawer beneath and it raises the sewing machine just right in most. At least mine did, lol.

Great job!

What a great find.

Loved that you repurposed the desk into something functional. Who says a desk is just a desk???

love it

Awesome! So much more eco friendly than buying a new one - and much prettier to boot! Sweet!

Great carpentry job.

Thanks for posting the picture. Now I have a VISUAL to show hubby. Sometimes he thinks I'm crazy when I say I need to do something and I can't convey it correctly. Much easier with a picture - "SEE this is what I NEED you to do FOR ME!" LOL

I keep shopping Craig's List looking for a find such as yours. Thanks for the encouragement!

ok I have a question! I've been thinking about doing this for my Kenmore machine but haven't because i wasn't sure how it would be not having a flat surface to work on. I could get it as close to the machine as possible but there would still be a few gaps. Does that give you a hard time when sewing? Course dh might divorce me if I tell him I have yet another project lined up! lol!

Thank you, when the weather gets nice, I'm going to cut 2' off bottom and refinish it. I also put a 10' wide board on the back so the desk is the same width as my long table.

IF I get around to making something like this I'll use 'house insulation board' and cut it to fit the gaps. It's like styrofoam. Then I'd probably cover it with another piece of thick thick plastic (visqueen or something from Joann's deco department) to cover it all and make it really slick!

Great re-use of the desk. Looks like all wood, should last forever.

In the gaps, I don't have to much problem, but I understand what you are saying. What about putting a syrofoam tubing, the large type. You can cut it to fit. Than if you want, you can always put a tape on that. Makr sure if you put a bottom board in like I did, that you cut an opening on the cord side to get your hand in to plug cord in. I have a heck of a time getting mine plugged in unless I unplug it from the wall and the switch is underneath also so you need a little area to get into there on that side.

I didn't even think about the switch.....mine is almost right beside the power cord....probably below where the cabinet would be. I'll need to check on that...if i ever get around to it that is.

I did the exact same thing with a half sheet of plywood. We had the plywood under the mattress of our old bed (sleep number baby now).

I have the plywood on 4 plastic sawhorses that I got for $15 a pair at home depot or lowes. I also used an old leaf for a table that I no longer have to use as the base for the machine. I also covered it with a padded vinyl tablecloth ($5 from walmart) so it is slick and I can't feel the plywood.

I have a LOT of room to sew now. but I must say, yours is SOOOOOOO much prettier than mine. I couldn't find a desk cheap enough...even at Salv. Army

Those great big old school desks work the best, because you put the hole right where the drawer is. Then you use the wood that you cut out underneath the sewing machine and it lifts it up to the right size. I used to have one of those, but couldn't move it out here.