Shrinking the Table

[bcurrier]

We moved from a much larger house, going from a 40’ x 24’ sewing and craft space to a spare bedroom ... 12.5’ x 11’.  Saving inches is critical and moving my leather stitcher (Artisan Toro 4000) is part of that.  I’ve been looking for a good, small table for a while now, finally finding it in a Merrow Machine Helmsman table.   My wife already has a Merrow machine on one of these tables, so I was able to measure for feasibility first.  It looked good, so I ordered another.

The result?  Very stable!  I moved the head as inboard on the table as I could while still keeping a good amount of free space under the cylinder arm.  The larger casters on the Helmsman actually roll better than the larger table (the room is carpeted).  

Although it might not seem to be the case, the pedal is completely comfortable to use.  I haven’t figured out a solution for a convenient foot lift yet (knee lift perhaps), so am using the hand lever for now.  

Please see the before and after pictures.  Also, the old table (in perfect condition) is for sale.  I’ll post that separately in the classifieds.

[Constabulary]

The old Adler machines had a knee lifter with longer rod - like this

 

Edited October 10, 2017 by Constabulary

[bcurrier]

Thanks - I had something like that in mind.  Problem is that the current knee lifts I see are all made to fit the bosses in oil pans.  The Adler’s has a nice A-brace setup.  I may end up fabbing something if I can’t find it.

[brmax]

What matters is your happy!

If your in Missouri please pm 

 

good day

Floyd

[bcurrier]

Brmax - I’m a long way from Missouri.  I’m in Northeast Florida (Jacksonville area).

I thought I’d toss in a few progress pictures.  Although this kind of machine move takes a bit of time, it’s not hard to do.  In this case, I used the old tabletop as a template for the layout and drilling.  

1) Blank (new) table in front of old setup

2) Disassembled!

3) Old Top

4) Old top clamped on new (with offset)

5) Drilled and marked

6) Slot cut

7) Speed reducer mounted

8) Motor mounted, guard installed.  Ready to turn over.

 

[GPaudler]

I really like that Merrow table, which I haven't seen before, and you did a great job on the conversion.

Thanks,

Gary

 

 

[bcurrier]

It is indeed a nice table.  It’s also available in colors (for extra $$).  It’s not obvious from the picture, but it’s also height-adjustable.  I have it set on its lowest position, which, on 4” casters (also extra) leaves it exactly the same height as my old table.

[Gregg From Keystone Sewing]

The Merrow stand is big bucks.

 

[GPaudler]

How big?

 

[Uwe]

$279 according to the Merrow.com website. Not really big bucks, but in the USA, any table over $100 is considered big bucks. I wish there were more Merrow and Kessler tables out there.  

 

Edited October 11, 2017 by Uwe

[bcurrier]

It’s expensive, no doubt. I like it better than others I’ve seen, though. It’s heavy duty, made of substantial steel tube ... and a 441 clone  is a heavy setup to put on a small table.  

[GPaudler]

Thanks Uwe. I could have a fleet of those nice tables if I'd billed by the hour instead of making my own - but I do enjoy the process of designing and building them.

 

Gary