What to do with a treadle cabinet.
 

I thought this was a very cool idea:
https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net...79&oe=5D02E922

No, no and no.

I have to agree. I have my grandmother's treadle in it's beautiful oak cabinet in my living room. Everyone asks me if it's a wine cabinet. :rolleyes:

I think it's a great idea for an old stray cabinet!
Just have to make sure you've got a waterproof finish on it.
Very very cute. =)

I saw that one earlier this morning. Please... No! It can be so hard to find a nice treadle cabinet with the wood in good shape! I have yet to find one for my orphaned treadle machine, but I hope I do one day...

I’m with you Cari. It is very tough to find a good treadle to put an old machine into. Some of them have no motor boss so can’t be hand cranked no electrified.

Holy Molly...no way could I do that.

I thought this section was for Vintage & Antique Machine Enthusiasts. That picture has no place here, maybe a moderator can move it to the general discussion section.

Some people are enthusiastic to make use of their treadle cabinet when they do not have the machine. It's better than sending the cabinet to the landfill. There have been many such discussions in this forum similar to this one.

Noooooooo! I recently saw the exact cabinet I need for my Free No. 5 in near perfect condition at a shop. Opened it to look at the mechanicals and found it had been converted to a liquor cabinet/portable bar. I have been looking for a cabinet for over two years. So I repeat: Noooooooo!

You're right Quiltnnan there have been threads about this and it seems those who put a lot of time and effort into restoring old machines don't agree with repurposing but I guess to each their own. Just like it wouldn't be a problem to use your quilts to catch the oil drips under my old car as many objects can have multiple uses and it would be much better than taking them to the dump.

I meant to say old quilts. I use mine for dog beds. Maybe we should start a thread about repurposing quilts.

Finding a machine to go in a treadle is much easier than finding a nice treadle.

I think if I had such a beautiful cabinet with no machine, I would try to find someone who has a nice machine and needs a better cabinet. Although the setup is beautiful, I couldn't enjoy it, knowing that a wooden top like that probably wouldn't last, and someone else is dying to have it for their sewing machine.

Sadly, around here treadles aren’t of value. I’m fine with this repurpose and now it gets used everyday. I’m betting the top is not original. This house is small & my dear Grams treadle is in basement now so I’m just storing it. In fact i’m in favor of repurposed anything.

That was a very good condition, fully functioning treadle cabinet used in a manner I do not agree with at all. It sure seems like a shame to abuse a cabinet in this way. I was sorry to see this conversion. I certainly am a vintage & antique machine enthusiast.

I also disagree with taking an antique quilt in very good condition to use for a moving blanket or to catch oil drops.

It looks to me as if the top and front are most likely new wood.....if you notice, they are much lighter than the drawers.
So yes, I would say it has been repurposed....nothing wrong with that...
Most of the treadle's I see at estate sales are in pretty sad shape with the exception of the iron.....the wood is usually pretty rough looking; broken drawers, split veneer, etc...

Agreed, I think everyone definitely sees the new wood on top and front center drawer. Often the irons have broken/missing pieces also, but this one seems intact. I guess I would need to see the original front tilt drawer and top/s to evaluate their condition but the remaining original side drawers and hardware seem to be in great condition.

The top would have to be new, as none are shaped like that, but I have noticed many where the drawers appear different. One I know it was just an age thing as it was the treadle my sister learned to sew on. She really enjoys sewing with it. The treadle I have one of my 27 heads in has had some new wood work done to it (not by me) as some of the previous pieces were still in the drawers. I would have not known they weren't original if the pieces weren't with it. The parlor cabinet for one of my 15s isn't in the best of shape, but still is functional. Both are very fun to sew on. (I didn't think I would ever say that, based on my first experience with a treadle.)

I think it is foolishness to put an antique wood treadle in a bathroom or put polyurethane on an antique piece of furniture. There are better ways to preserve the surfaces.


Janey - Neat people never make the exciting discoveries I do.

I have one in great shape, sadly the 66 it contained was not in the same condition. I wanted a 66 to convert to a hand crank. While I found one in near perfect condition on eBay; it did not have the necessary hole on the side to attach the hand crank. So I swapped the 66 in the treadle cabinet with the 66 I bought. Now I have a beautiful treadle and a usable hand crank.

What a great idea! Wish I would have seen it before we remodeled my bathroom!

eeeekkkkkkkkk!! Where do you put the toilet paper????

One downside is that people will see this cool idea on the internet and possibly want to do something like that themselves, which creates a market that wasn't there before, competing with those who want them for their original purpose.

I have frequently seen the treadle bases with no tops at antiques/junk stores. They sometimes also have the drawers being sold with no cabinets. The reality is that many of the cabinets have gotten completely delaminated after years of storage, and most people are not going to realize that there are some who might treasure the old thing. I can't say I've ever seen a complete treadle cabinet offered without a machine in it. The triangular shape that they needed to fit the vanity into the corner means that they had to have used a different piece of wood. Probably the original top was in very bad shape, if it's any consolation to those who would have liked it for a sewing machine.

I've seen a lot converted sewing cabinets offered for sale - in most cases, the restored treadle cabinet would have sold for more than the converted item is selling for.

The best (worst) item I encountered was a necklace using part of the embroidery control nob from a Pfaff 130 embroidery attachment (it kind of looks like a skull) . They were selling the necklace for $25, the part (unaltered) would have sold for $50.

And the necklace made from welding treadle cabinet keys together - about 30 key total. Individually they sell for $5 - $10. This necklace also had a $25 price tag.

And then the Featherweight table that someone had epoxied the lift out portion in place- again taking something worth about $150 as it was and creating something worth about $10.

Most of the problem with this stuff is location - I have several treadle cabinets I'd give away to someone that didn't want to re-purpose them. But they need to be picked up.

Question: Many of you disapproved of what was done with this treadle. I have to ask if you would attempt to save any treadle machine regardless of condition?

Here is the treadle machine that I am asking this question about. Would you try to save this??

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I doubt if that machine can be restored to any kind of original beauty but I might have a nice one that might fit in there if you would like it.

Not talking about the machine, I am talking about the treadle base.

There are people on other forums that restore treadle bases in much worse shape.

Thanks for your reply. I was trying to gauge what shape a treadle must be in to be considered un-salvageable.

I think it depends on a person’s ability to do what ever it takes. For me it has to pretty much be able to be all there. I don’t do any veneer work but people do that and fabricate metal parts if needed. That one is pretty unusual so it might be a great candidate for restoration rather than repurposing. It may be worth more restored than repurposed. It would be some project. The machine is one of many but it could be reconditioned and used. I have a smaller one like that - Glenn reconditioned it and it has been used to teach kids to sew. It is odd looking and a kid magnet.

I would certainly attempt it. If nothing else, clean off all the old shellac and restain it and new shellac. Here's a pretty good tutorial. https://www.quiltingboard.com/vintag...ts-t97670.html . For the cast iron, a dremel will help, but it will be slow going.

Again, it's certainly worth an attempt.

I love the sink "idea", but I personally object to having one. I have a couple of old treadles and a coffee table made from an old base. Let me tell you, the metal frames attract dust and are hard to keep clean in my farm home. (We live on a gravel road, and I like to have my windows open.) I see all that open space under the foot pedal as a hard place to get clean especially as I get older. Oh did I say I hate to clean! It really is a cute idea.

I've seen examples that bad and worse brought back to life. There could be some beautiful details under all that dirt and you could refinish and recane the chair too.
Where there's a will, there's a way!

Before making an attemp, a person should research to discover if they have a one of a kind, rare item that people will pay a lot for and will restore, or something that was produced by the millions.

I have seen people get a hold of a fancy leg florence cabinet (worth about $1,000 for the legs in any condition) and then paint it or cut something off. They had no idea how rare it was. I've also seen people take a basic Singer treadle and put a lot of time/funds into restoring, and then wonder why they can't sell it for $200.

But often it's the challenge - I spend $200- $300 and lots and lots of time to make a specific quilt because I want the challenge - and then I give it away. But at least I'm not cutting up a $1,000 antique gown to make a $300 quilt.

I absolutely would try my best with that treadle. The chair would need to be re-caned, but there are people who can do that, or show you how to do it. The treadle base needs care and attention, but it can be done, even if the veneer is perished the wood will turn out beautifully - hopefully there is no woodworm in it? If there is woodworm, it will take a bit longer, providing the base has not been feeding a generation of worm. The machine will take longer to fix than the treadle and the irons.

Yuck. What next, a treadle toilet? I also dislike the tables made from treadle irons. Such a waste.

About as cute as a Singer machine doorstop... or boat anchor. :eek: