Basic Sewing Machine Base Tutorial
 

I mentioned I wanted to to a tutorial on assembling a base for a sewing machine that just about anyone could build with simple tools.
I'm not quite sure I achieved that goal. A tablesaw makes much of the cutting MUCH simpler though all the cuts I made can be done with hand tools.
I'm going to do this in three parts due to the amount of steps and pictures involved.
Here's what I came up with for a Singer 99 I have that needs a base.

Tools Needed.
Paper and Pencil
Sturdy work surface
Square
Ruler or Tape Measure
A saw. A table saw is preferred but you can get by with a chop saw, skil saw, jigsaw, hand saw or some combination of the above.
Hammer
Drill and Drill bits. If you're using Singer cabinet hinges like I did you'll need a flat bottomed bit 1 1/8" diameter and a tiny bit for predrilling your nail holes.
Wood Clamps
Chisels- I uses a narrow 1/4" chisel and a wider one
Sandpaper(could be put in materials)
A quick pic of at least most of the tools I used.
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Material needed:
Sewing Machine: You need to measure your sewing machine to get the right dimensions for your base. One size does not fit all.
Sewing Machine Hinges (optional): You don't need to make a base with hinges, The base gets simpler if the machine just drops into it. I chose to make mine with them. Different machines, different hinges, make your base to accommodate what you have.
8 ft 1x4 board (you won't use all of it) I used a hemlock trim board due to it was straight grained and had no knots. I also wanted something that should be in most hardware stores for the demo. Any species will work including cheap pine. Get the straightest one you can.

Small piece of thin plywood for the bottom. I used some 1/4" shop grade fir I had laying around. Again any species will work, or you can use masonite if you prefer. It can be any thickness you want.

Nails. 4d finish nails are about right for putting the sides together.

Brads. Brads are small (tiny) nails for nailing the bottom board on.

Wood Glue. Elmers white glue will do in a pinch. It's almost as strong but isn't water resistant like most
modern wood glues.

I think that's it for tools and materials. Now to get started.

Step 1: Make a measured drawing for your base. This is probably the toughest and most critical part.
I made my base so the machine is secured in the back by the hinges and sits on a recessed lip
in the front like on Singer sewing machine cabinets. I don't own any vintage cases to look at.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]482515[/ATTACH]

Step 2: Cut 2 end boards to length. In my case it worked out to 8 1/8" long.
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I made the first cut with a handsaw to show it can be done this way. I admit I used my tablesaw for most cuts though.

Step 3: Cut your front and back boards to length. My board was 3/4" thick. I made my front and back
boards the length of the machine plus twice the thickness of my end boards for a total of
13 5/8" each.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]482505[/ATTACH]
You should have 4 boards like this when you're done.

Step 4 (optional): Rip your boards down to what you want the finished depth of the case to be. In my
case I chose 2 3/4". I needed at least 2 1/2" below the machine to clear the moving
parts. You can leave the board full width if you choose too. No pics of this step.

Step 5: Cut your plywood to the finished size of your base. It worked out to 13 5/8 x 8 7/8" for mine.
You can also leave it just a tiny bit oversized and trim or sand to fit after the box is assembled
you like.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]482507[/ATTACH]

I think this is a good stopping point for the first section.
Rodney

Part 2: We're at the point where we need to make everything fit together.
I designed this box using pinned half lap joints for a good combination of strength and simplicity. It's
certainly not the only way to put a box together but is strong and much simpler than a box joint to make.

Step 6: We need notches cut in the ends of the front and back boards cut to the thickness of your end boards by
1/2 the thickness. In this case 3/4"x 3/8".
[ATTACH=CONFIG]482519[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]482520[/ATTACH]

You can do it by hand as shown or use a tablesaw like I did for the rest of them.

Step 7: Label your front and back boards. They're different from here on.

Step8: Cut a notch in the inside top of your back board along its length 3/8" wide by 3/4" deep for your hinge support
board to sit in. Omit this step if you're not using hinges.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]482528[/ATTACH]
I forgot to take a picture of the finished notch.

Step 9: Cut a notch in the top inside edge of your front board along it's length 1/8" deep by 1/4" wide. Your
machine's front will sit in this notch when the box is done.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]482521[/ATTACH]

Step 10: Assemble the sides. PREDRILL YOUR NAIL HOLES! If you don't you run a real risk of splitting your boards.
Make sure the tops of your front and back boards are at the top. Glue each joint. Put 1 nail in each end
of the end boards at a very slight angle toward the center of your front and back boards.
Put 2 nails in at each corner from the front and back boards into the end boards. You should end up with 3 nails at each joint, 2 from the front or back and 1 from the side. This effectively locks the joint in place.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]482522[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]482523[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]482525[/ATTACH]

Step 11: Glue and nail the bottom on. I used brass brads about 5/8" long on mine. They're small enough that no
predrilling is necessary.
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Step 12: Cut and install your hinge support board. Mine ended up at 1 3/8" wide by 12 7/8" long. Glue the notch in
back board that it sits in and the ends of the board. Nail thru the side boards into the ends of the support
board for added support.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]482530[/ATTACH]
The above picture shows the nail in the end of the hinge support board and the nail in the end of the side into the back board.
I also nailed the support board to the back board from the back. Be careful not to nail into the area where your hinges will be like I almost did.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]482531[/ATTACH]

This is a good stopping point for Part 2. The basic box is assembled and we just have a few details to finish it.
Rodney

Part 3: When we finished part 2 we had the basic box assembled at Step 12. On to the next step.

Step 13: Use a nail set to set all your nails below the surface. It just looks better.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]482533[/ATTACH]

Step 14: Measure and mark carefully the location of your hinges.
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Step 15: Drill the holes for your hinges to the depth of the hinges. The Singer cabinet hinges I'm using are 1 1/8" diameter. The only bit I had that would work was an adjustable auger bit for an old hand brace. Even though I was as careful as possible I still had a little tear out next to the hole that I had to glue back down.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]482535[/ATTACH]

Step 16: Using a narrow chisel cut out the slots for the hinge pins. Sorry, no picture for this step.

Step 17: If you're like me not all your joints are perfect. Trim or sand off the excess wood.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]482536[/ATTACH]

Step 18: Fill the nail holes and sand the whole box. I haven't done this yet, but will.

You're basically done. All that is left is to finish the box to your liking. You can leave it natural, varnish or paint it, or cover it with whatever you like. I'm leaving that up to you.
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I hope this tutorial makes sense and that I haven't left out some important detail. Mostly though this isn't rocket science and I hope it encourages you to make your own.
Rodney

I just went in and had a second look at all the posts together. Some of it is harder to read than I intended due to where I hit the enter key. I apologize but it looks like it's past the time limit to edit out the typos that I missed.
Rodney

Very nicely done! Great job, and Thanks

Thanks Rodney. I will let my DH have a look at it. He is the woodworker. Great tutorial.

Nice job Rodney the only thing I would do differently is to rout out the bottom so the bottom would not show. It would then sit flush inside the frame. Great job on the tutorial.Skip

Very nice tutorial. All your pictures came up!!!

Thanks for the efforts to post all that. I'm not sure I'll ever tackle it, but it's nice to know I could:>

great info,thank you