Purpose of "shelf" under my cabinet machines...
 

Just curious. I have 2 old Kenmore cabinet machines. When the machine is put away inside the cabinet, there is a shelf right under the machine. What is the function of that shelf? Is it just to catch all the lint that I brush out of my bobbin case? It's not a sturdy shelf....

Do all cabinet machines have a shelf like this? Picture below of one of mine.

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Hi KenmoreGal2, Yes, I have that shelf. It came with the cabinet when I get it new back around 1970. My guess is that it would catch threads, stop an animal from getting at the bottom, or stop fluids from dropping on the floor.

My Singer 15-91 and the Damascus treadle both have that shelf. I thought it was to catch the oil from dripping on the floor under the machine. My little FW's have a drip pad but these 2 machines do not.

My Kenmore cabinet has the same; I've assumed what the others have said - there to catch drippings.

My manual makes no mention of the shelf. Catching thread and oil sound like good uses.

Those are called Drip trays. They are so that after you oil the machine and it starts spinning it does not fling oil all over the operators nice clothes

Actually, way back they were called "skirt protectors"....to protect your clothing from oil drips.

It might just be support for the cabinet since the DSM are kind of heavy. I have a lower shelf on my Singer drop thru but my Bernina just sits on the shelf that lowers because it doesn't attach to the shelf like my Singer did.

"Actually, way back they were called "skirt protectors"....to protect your clothing from oil drips."

So the shelf is actually more useful when the machine is not folded into the cabinet, but when it's upright and being used. Interesting....

I need to correct myself....they used to be called skirt guards (not protectors)! I was thinking it didn't sound quite right.....