Sewing Cabinet Project Completed

[KC7CN]

The sewing cabinet project is finally done and my better half is tickled pink. She's certainly waited long enough!

The original plan for this project was published several years ago in WOOD magazine. This plan is currently sold through Rockler. It has been revised since the original article -- if you plan to build one be sure to purchase the latest revision.

Building this cabinet has provided the opportunity to actually do some of the woodworking skills I've been reading about for years; raised panel doors, drawer lock miter router bit joinery, etc.

The cabinet is Red Oak with Minwax Special Walnut #224 and clear Polyurethane. The drawer components are made with Alder and finished with shellac.

Last, but not least, thanks to all of members that have shared their experience on building this cabinet.

-Don

Link to Album:
http://www.ncwoodworker.net/pp/showgallery.php?cat=1137

 

[ptt49er]

NICE WORK!! I keep hoping my wife will get good enough w/ her sewing machine that it warrants the completion of the same project

THUMBS UP!!

 

[LeftyTom]

Nice work, Don. Luckily, LOML does not like to sew, so I can sidestep that project.

 

[GregSmith]

Looks great Don! Nice tight joints, should last forever. :eusa_clap

Here's a link to a tool roll pattern. Maybe you know someone that could sew one for ya!:wink_smil
http://members.tripod.com/TheCarvingBench/PDFs/Tool Roll.PDF(warning pdf)

 

[Canuck]

Very nice work, Don!!!:eusa_danc:eusa_danc:eusa_danc:eusa_danc

I bet it is heavy!!! Certainly won't walk around the floor when the sewing machine is humming along!!!:wsmile:

I really like the feet...fits in well with the overall design.

Thanks for sharing.

Wayne

 

[Alan in Little Washington]

Very nice indeed!:eusa_clap:eusa_clap:eusa_clap:eusa_clap:eusa_clap:eusa_clap:eusa_clap

Nice execution and even reveals. I'll need to show that one to my wife.

Did you get the sewing machine lift from Rockler?

 

[Larry Rose]

Looks great. I really like that choice of wood and the finish.

 

[Travis Porter]

That looks awesome! Fit, finish, grain match, all excellent!

What kind of mechanism did you use to lower and raise the sewing machine?

 

[TracyP]

Awesome looking project. I really like the grain detail on the doors.

 

[DaveO]

That's awesome :eusa_clap:eusa_clap:eusa_clap That is one thing on my ever growing HDL. Thanks for the insight. Now if I can only keep my wife from seeing your pictures I can do the things I want in the shop for a bit longer :eusa_pray

Dave

 

[KC7CN]

..... What kind of mechanism did you use to lower and raise the sewing machine?

Thank you for all the nice complements. It seems like I worked on it all winter. One nice thing was that I was able to acquire a few new tools and related accessories.:tool:I explained to LOML they were required to finish the project:wink_smil.

The lift is from Rockler. I just noticed a recent sale for $124. That's a good price! It's a nice lift made in Germany. They also offer a hardware kit with all the hinges and related specialty hardware. Here's a link:
http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=7&cs=1

One of the more difficult tasks was to figure out out to secure the sewing machine to the wood base. The plan says it needs to be attached although one of the papers that came with the lift says otherwise. In any case, I think it works better attached.

The bottom of our sewing machine is not easily removed! My solution was to remove the four push-in rubber feet (one was already missing) and use the large holes for some shop-made hold down bolts; designed to be installed from from the bottom side. I can provide more details if anyone is interested.

-Don

 

[Trent Mason]

That looks great Don!!! :eusa_clap:eusa_clap:eusa_clap

Like a few others have said, I really like the design, choice of finish and grain. It might've taken a while but it was definitely worth it! :yes:

Trent

 

[WoodWrangler]

My wife has eyed that plan a while back ... and I'm sure one of these years it'll be on my "to do" list for furniture. Any idea on how many board feet of wood this took?

 

[Joe Lyddon]

Don,

You did a great job on the details!

Your wife should be VERY proud of you and the piece!

Very C O O L !!

 

[KC7CN]

Don,

You did a great job on the details!

Your wife should be VERY proud of you and the piece!

Very C O O L !!

Hey Joe, thank you for the complement. And thank you for sharing your nifty website. One question I've always been curious about. Who is the other guy in you picture; I assume your are the one with the white shirt.

-Don

 

[WoodWrangler]

Hey Joe, thank you for the complement. And thank you for sharing your nifty website. One question I've always been curious about. Who is the other guy in you picture; I assume your are the one with the white shirt.

-Don

Looks like Sam Maloof to me ....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Maloof

 

[Joe Lyddon]

Yep, that's Sam Maloof! A GREAT guy! He lives just up the street... not very far away... maybe 5 minutes or less away.

Back in 2005, a group booked a special Tour of his place which included Sam personally conducting his Shop tour... we sat in a rocker he was just finishing... talk about COMFORT!! Just sitting in it, a little while, would put you asleep for a nice nap!

He's down to earth... easy to talk to... easy to listen to... We were free to ask him anything we wanted... He gave us a wonderful demo of his band saw & how he uses it... Looked like he was just using it like a pencil cutting instead of drawing what he wanted to see from the wood... He warned us to NEVER use a bandsaw like he does... AND YOU SHOULD NOT DO IT... just watching him scared me several times at how close he got to that huge blade!

Was the best $25 I ever spent!! A visit of a Lifetime!

There were about 15 in our group; about the max. they like to do.

 

[bluewing92]

Looks great. :icon_thum I made that same one a couple of years ago and it was a learning experience to say the least. However I did not go with the raised panel. That was a nice touch on your part. Also I did not secure the sewing machine to the lift as my wife removes it often to go to a sewing circle.

 

[WoodWrangler]

He's down to earth... easy to talk to... easy to listen to... We were free to ask him anything we wanted... He gave us a wonderful demo of his band saw & how he uses it... Looked like he was just using it like a pencil cutting instead of drawing what he wanted to see from the wood... He warned us to NEVER use a bandsaw like he does... AND YOU SHOULD NOT DO IT... just watching him scared me several times at how close he got to that huge blade!

If any of you haven't watched Sam Maloof make his rocker (or most of it at least) on the video series at http://www2.multicastmedia.com/CustomPages/WoodworkingChannel/TheWoodworkingChannelRelaunch.htm, I would HIGHLY recommend it. Very interesting and you get to see his bandsaw techniques in practice.

 

[KC7CN]

Looks great. :icon_thum I made that same one a couple of years ago and it was a learning experience to say the least. However I did not go with the raised panel. That was a nice touch on your part. Also I did not secure the sewing machine to the lift as my wife removes it often to go to a sewing circle.

Thanks Norm. I have pictures of your cabinet and referred to them several times during the project. Jay Sr is another member that built this cabinet.

-Don