Hi all. I have an old Singer sewing machine that I would love to turn into a table by removing the machine and cabinet and just using the base. SciFiGal talked about doing this in a post in August, but she didn't mention how she went about removing the cabinet and machine. Anybody else done this? I keep looking at the cabinet and can't figure out how to get in at those screws. I'd appreciate any hints.

Is this one of the old treadle machines? Would it help to turn the whole thing upside down and work from the bottom?

Hi PHG..There is a project in a Country Decorating Magazine, the one that has painting projects....back a few yrs. I have it somewhere. Maybe the website would help you find it.

There are 4 screws. Get directly under it and you'll see them between the body of the machine and the drawers, just to the sides the swivel thread drawer in the front. 2 in front 2 in back.

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Originally posted by phg:
Hi all. I have an old Singer sewing machine that I would love to turn into a table by removing the machine and cabinet and just using the base. SciFiGal talked about doing this in a post in August, but she didn't mention how she went about removing the cabinet and machine. Anybody else done this? I keep looking at the cabinet and can't figure out how to get in at those screws. I'd appreciate any hints.

Hi, phg---

What a nice compliment to know that someone read and/or remembered a post I made several months ago.

In my case, there was no cabinet. The machine--a New Hope not a Singer but the same style-- was screwed into a wooden board and the board screwed onto the base. We just unscrewed the machine from the board and the board from the base.

Found a 48 inch round table top at Loews. It was ponderosa pine (not what I wanted) so we had to paint it. We originally planned on staining (and I even bought some matching stain to go with the kitchen cabinets) but the knotty pine came showing through. So I took a piece of cabinet to Lowes (or maybe Home Depot) and matched the paint. We sanded the tabletop, painted and varnished and then screwed it on top of the base.

I had four "ice-cream palour" chairs that we found in the dumpster years ago. They were black but my daughter had spray painted them ivory. A couple of cans of black spray paint brought them back to the original black. And we gave the base a nice new coat of black spray paint as well. Had the seats reupholstered with some fabic I found at Jo-Anns or Hobby Lobby and viola---a wonderful "old-style" table and chair set that blends with my Victorian theme!

I got the idea from an antique book.

Still have the machine out in the garage. One of these days I'm going to restore it and display it in the kitchen.

Hope this helps---and good luck with your project!

Hi! This is totally not what you asked but you might want to give it some thought. I have a friend that used his old treadle-type Singer to make a bathroom vanity. Still had to take out the machine of course, but made a great vanity taking up little room. Good luck all your projects! susaan

Once you do get it off, you could use the top of a small table that has bad legs.

again - nothing necessarily to do with the question.......There are so many things to do with those pieces and some are mentioned here. I have 2 of them supporting the top of my DR table.

Thank you ALL for your great input and ideas!! Margo and Always Thinking, I will flip the machine over and go at it!!

SciFiGal, your instructions are wonderful!! I can just picture how great that table must look with your ice cream parlor chairs. What a wonderful idea.

Thanks Kathy in ohio, I will see if I can find anything in Country Decorating Magazine.

Susaan, That's a great idea. I think I'd like to use the base as some kind of table, but your idea will certainly be passed on to friends who have several of these machines in their home.

Femail, I mentioned that idea to my husband. He just looked at me like I had lost it. He's not a handyman by any stretch of the imagination.

117becca, I wish I had two of these. This was my grandmother's, and I've had it for years getting no use. I love the base, and I'd love to put it to good use. I was thinking about using it as a sofa table with glass on the top. I have also thought about using it as a base for a writing table.

Does anyone have any idea how large a piece of glass this base could handle? If I use it as a writing table, it wouldn't be any larger than say 48" by 30" deep. Might be too big for the base to handle.

Thanks again for all your wonderful help and ideas.

i don't know what shape your machine is in - i use my treddle machine as a tv stand. On the bottom i have my satellite box and the vcr/dvd.

Depending on the shape of the cabinet, I would be hesitant to take it apart.

Now - i was at the local antique place last week, and someone had taken the treadle base and made a coffee table out of it - piece of glass on top.

Hi Pat,

Glad we were all able to help. Make sure you save the screws that hold the base to the top. These will come in handy if you put a board on the top of the base. Also, if the cabinet has those ornate drawers attached, you might want to save those for another craft project. I have seen a lamp made out of the old, Singer machines.

Here's a couple of other suggestions:

#1 My friend has a porch that is enclosed with glass windows. She took a wrought iron base and had a piece of "heavy" glass with smooth edges made for the top. She placed a lamp and some plants on it. I love the way you can see through the base and the top and see the outdoors through it.

#2 I found a large, rectangular wooden tray at a yard sale for $1.00. I painted the tray and did a mosaic project on it. I then mounted thetray on top of a sewing machine base. I use it to display african violets. It's a keeper

I would suggest speaking with someone from a glass company as to the thickness, size, etc. that you might need in regards to the glass.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: always thinking,

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Hi all. I have an old Singer sewing machine that I would love to turn into a table by removing the machine and cabinet and just using the base.

Hi all, I found this site today by accident and I am thrilled... finally a site that is talking my language...I thrive on this stuff.

Just another thought for you...I have an old sewing machine (not a treddle) but it is the old style. I put it behind my couch, opened it up and put a plant on the open flap and a vignette of my treasures, displayed some old spools on the machine and it looks great. You could also open it up and display against a wall with a lamp and plant, put a lace dolie or a nice vintage piece of material under the needle to create a little interest...good luck, I am sure it will look fabulous no matter what you decide to do to it.