12 What Is The Best Industrial Sewing Machine

What Is The Best Industrial Sewing Machine in 2023

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Make a New Table from a Metal Frame

Old world craftsmanship should never be destroyed. See how to repurpose a cast iron sewing machine stand into a tiled table. It cost less than $30 in materials and made a great gift.

Of course, it never went out of style. Scouring antique shops, I find a plethora of old cabinets made of old dressers that have shelving units built on top of them. New use for an old item.

Sometimes the best way to lead someone through a craft or project is to tell them about one I've done as I worked on it. This is one of those projects.

One item I truly had fun with was an old cast iron sewing machine frame. I can't understand why it was tossed out. I found it beside the road, rusted and worn. Still, the beauty of the iron, the decorations of flowers and leaves, and its intricate curves was irresistible. Into the back of the truck it went. It didn't matter if the wheel or treadle moved at all.

Once I got my treasure home, I began cleaning. First with soap and water, then with a wire brush. The process of cleaning and restoring cast iron is the same for an iron fence. It takes hard work, sometimes weeks, as in this case. To get the wheel moving, I used a lot of WD-40. I would spray the axle, wait a couple of hours, and gently tap with my hand or small block of wood to get the wheel to move. Eventually, it did and thankfully, the axle didn't break- it wasn't rusted through.

By the time the iron was cleaned up, I had my idea. I measured the frame- 20" wide, 14.5" wide, and 27" high. Perfect for a table. I measured my Grandmother's antique Minnesota treadle sewing machine. The measurements were different, but not by much. The tabletop measured 18 inches wide by 34 inches long. My decision was made.

I cut a piece of cardboard twenty inches wide and 36 inches long. Placing it on the frame convinced me my idea was too big. I cut the cardboard to match my Grandmother's tabletop dimensions and tried again. It seemed small. Taping an inch of cardboard to the dimensions came out looking right.

Using half-inch thick furniture grade plywood, I cut my tabletop 19 inches wide and 35 inches long. I placed the good side of the plywood on cardboard and turned the iron stand upside down. Using the tape measure, I centered the stand and attached it to the plywood with #10 wood screws and washers, ¾' long. The screws did not come through the top of the wood.

Turning everything right side up, I measured and cut wood trim to cover the sides of the plywood. Wood glue and finishing nails would hold it in place. Cutting the miters for the corners was easy with a miter box. My trim was ¾" wide. I know the tabletop was only half an inch. Read on and you'll see what I had in mind.

I decided the treadle plate would be better off not moving. After much deliberation, I used plain white glue and painted wood sticks to jam the wheel. If someone later wanted to restore this stand to its former use as a sewing machine, the wood could be removed.

At a garage sale, I found a box of hand-painted three-inch wide square tiles- perfect for my table. A three-dollar offer and the box of over two dozen tiles was mine. Apparently, they looked good in the store, but once in the owner's kitchen, not so much.

Grout and mastic (tile cement) is inexpensive at all DIY stores. Purchase plain white, or choose from different colors. Grout dyes are available, just ask the salesperson if the grout you're choosing can be dyed or not.

It didn't take long to arrange the tiles on the tabletop. They fit perfectly inside the trim. For the space around the square tiles, I used a tile cutter to cut edges from extra tiles to frame the inside.

I removed all the tiles and set them in order on a worktable. This would allow me to place the pieces in the grout quickly and accurately.

A coating of pre-mixed mastic with a spreader and the tiles were set in place. The work didn't stop there- the next day grout needed to be applied between the tiles to fill in the spaces. Even tiles placed next to each other need this step. Once the entire top was coated with grout, a wet tile sponge was used to remove the excess. This step tends to be tedious, but necessary.

After a couple days of allowing the tabletop to dry, I was ready with the next step. Using a small paintbrush, I applied primer and paint to the trim and the bottom of the table. Yes, this step could have been done in the beginning, but sometimes hindsight looks better when you're almost finished. I had spent less than $30 on my project.

Once the paint dried, a quick application of grout sealer and my new table was spectacular. I was kicking around an idea of adding small wire baskets under the tabletop, or perhaps small drawers for utility, when a friend stopped by and gushed over how pretty it looked, and (you guessed it) how perfect it would be in her kitchen.

I left the table alone, and on her birthday, I delivered her new present. She screamed with delight. It now houses her laptop computer. Her husband, a skilled handyman, fashioned drawers using the extra tiles as drawer fronts. Attached under the tabletop, they look perfectly normal. And, the treadle is a perfect place for her to rest her feet while she's working. Her husband removed the wood shims and readjusted the treadle so her feet rest at a comfortable angle.

Materials I used:

• One old cast iron sewing machine frame

• Half-inch furniture grade plywood

• Wood trim, available at DIY and craft stores

• Wood glue and clamps

• Finishing nails

• Hammer

• Saw

• Miter box

• Table saw

• Measuring tape

• Steel wool

• Soap and water

• Wire Brushes

• Metal primer and paint

• Stain

• Grout, spreader and sponge

• Tiles

• Cardboard

• Metal epoxy

• Popsicle sticks and plain white glue

• Wood paint and small brushes

• Tile cutter and sanding block

• Grout sealer

When I browse antique and "junque" shops, I always spend a few minutes looking at cast and wrought iron pieces. Even modern discarded metal frames can have new use if one uses their imagination. Perhaps not a wooden tabletop, sometimes I use Plexiglas, Lexan or glass. Aquarium glass sheets from yard sales, or stained glass sandwiched between sheets of Lexan are only a couple of ideas on my "new table" list.

Would a small metal piece or two be perfect as a new knick-knack shelf frame? The possibilities are endless.

Best of all, these projects make wonderful one-of-a-kind gifts that can't be found or duplicated in the stores.

Isn't that the definition of "Repurposing?"