Has Anyone Built Their Own Industrial Sewing Tables? --Can You Critique My Idea?

[Southerngunner]

Here is a top view of where the head will mount, the back holes will go through the table and angle, the front holes will go through the tabletop

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Edited April 5, 2024 by Southerngunner

[Southerngunner]

  I got a chance to do some work on my version of a sewing table today. Here is some updated pics . Let me know what your thoughts are.

[dikman]

Looking good, but you may find that having the leg between the two pedals might be a bit of a nuisance. Most tables generally have the two pedals side by side, makes for easier foot movement.

[Southerngunner]

9 hours ago, dikman said:

Looking good, but you may find that having the leg between the two pedals might be a bit of a nuisance. Most tables generally have the two pedals side by side, makes for easier foot movement.

Thanks for the tip, I've never had a machine with a foot lift before.And since I  haven't made the pedals yet I can fit them both on the outside of the frame. I was just going for a straight path for the foot lift cable so moving it 3 inches to the left is no problem.   

[GerryR]

The best "critique" you are going to have is when you actually use the finished product.  Then you will say, "I should have done this or I could have done that; all the shoulda, woulda, coulda's.  That looks very nice and very sturdy and already looks like a lot of thought has gone into it!  I took the easy way out and adopted a cheap work station from Harbor Freight to do the job:

[fibersport]

Not sure if this was brought up but a butcher block counter top would make a great top.  

[Southerngunner]

3 hours ago, GerryR said:

The best "critique" you are going to have is when you actually use the finished product.  Then you will say, "I should have done this or I could have done that; all the shoulda, woulda, coulda's.  That looks very nice and very sturdy and already looks like a lot of thought has gone into it!  I took the easy way out and adopted a cheap work station from Harbor Freight to do the job:

 At the end of the day it is all about usability and function. Your setup looks like you have everything that you need.

 This is like a personal challenge to me, I could have bought a set of legs with 2 pedals that just needed a new top for $75.00 from my only dealer  within 50 miles of my house.

I know that I'm just a stubborn old man trying to prove to myself that I can still fabricate a usable product. Who knows I may still end up with the one from my dealer.

 

[Wizcrafts]

On 4/6/2024 at 10:46 AM, Southerngunner said:

I've never had a machine with a foot lift before

It's a piece of cake if you are a pedal steel player, like me!

You have a movable foot pedal connected to the motor with either a rod or a chain. Adjust the height and angle to suit you right or left foot. I keep mine on the right. Mind you, I also like knee levers. Some of my machines have a knee lever.

[GerryR]

1 hour ago, Southerngunner said:

 At the end of the day it is all about usability and function......

I need things that are portable, as well as functional, because of space requirements.  I made a table/stand for my Chinese Patcher from 2" PVC pipe.  It has ball rollers at the bottom of the pipes and a handle to shift the weight to the rollers when I want to move it; functional and portable!  I made "T-nuts" from steel stock and used long bolts to fabricate the table using the pipe; not as sturdy as a weldment, but good enough for a small patcher.

 

[dikman]

Pretty clever, Gerry, as long as it works for you is all that matters.

SG, nothing wrong with fabricating it yourself, it's very satisfying to know you can still do it.. The table mine is on was originally a full-size table, then I decided to make a pedestal-style table and then it occurred to me I could achieve similar results by chopping up the table it was on. This also made it easier to move the lift pedal to the left.  In your case if you can use material you already have lying around that's even better!