I think this was a project that I got done during the blitz last year.   Wife's sewing machine (well one of 8) is the one she takes out every week to a "sewing bee."   It's a Singer Featherweight, ca. 1940 and is light and compact.   Does a great job on basic straight stitches.   Anyway, the old case was getting a bit ratty, so I made her a new one.   One admonition, "Don't make it too heavy."    So I ended using 3/8" q/s white oak.

 

I tried doing box joints on the corners by my dado blade was not a true, even amount.   And by the time I'd made 30 cuts, it had trouble aligning.  You know, if you're off 0.0001" per cut, after 30 pins and 30 slots, you'd be off 0.006 and that's enough to inhibit a slip fit.   So I put angle supports inside and keys on the outside.

 

 

 

 

 

Nice job! And that is one sweet little machine!!

John

SWEET!!!!!!

Gorgeous!

 

Sure wish I had kept the old singer I had.

 Great looking piece Keith.  

My Mother will want one now.

44 minutes ago, Woodbutcherbynight said:

My Mother will want one now.

so get/give/make her one...

3 minutes ago, Stick486 said:

so get/give/make her one...

It is as big as a room.  Bloody thing is 8-9 feet long and 2-3 ft across.  My tablesaw build is small in comparison.  Makes quilts is all I know.  I learned to never ask questions concerning sewing.

4 minutes ago, Woodbutcherbynight said:

I learned to never ask questions concerning............

that's true for a passel of things.....

3 minutes ago, Stick486 said:

that's true for a passel of things.....

Mostly it is survival, trying to avoid moments like this:

 

4 hours ago, HARO50 said:

Nice job! And that is one sweet little machine!!

John

+1 to John's comment.

Beautiful case, Keith. Nice machine, too. Was it a restoration?

Nice work Keith.  Can you take a pic of the inside of the box?  I would like to see the angle supports that you mentioned.  My wife just picked up a little machine like this for our daughter, very cool.

Beautiful job, Keith.

 

That is a really neat sewing machine. Now I would like to have something like that around for those quick jobs that occasionally crop up. My mother had a 1952 vintage sewing machine that she gave to a friend. It was a monster sitting on top of an old 40's vintage typewriter stand. It took up half of a closet.

41 minutes ago, Cal said:

Nice work Keith.  Can you take a pic of the inside of the box?  I would like to see the angle supports that you mentioned.  My wife just picked up a little machine like this for our daughter, very cool.

She's about to run out the door with it for the Friday Sewing Bee.   I'll get some shots this evening.   We had the old case, so I modeled the interior after it.  There's a block in the bottom that holds the machine from sliding and the corner blocks hold up the tray with accessories that fit neatly into it.

 

It's called a Singer Featherweight and they're quite collectible.  (Some people have dozens of them).    I think we just took it to one of the repair shops and had them do a cleaning, lube and check-up.  

 

https://singer-featherweight.com/blogs/schoolhouse/timeline-history-of-the-singer-featherweight

 

Nice Keith.  The White Oak was a fitting choice for that era machine.

In between bandaids on fingers, scars on the hands, making jigs, cleaning rust, every so often you get to do a simple but elegant tailoring of wood to need.  Makes it all worthwhile.

Keith what was the finish receipe on the white oak?

6 hours ago, Michael Thuman said:

Keith what was the finish receipe on the white oak?

Wipe on stain

Shellac

Glaze (Guardsman Warm Brown -- no longer made ) highlights the grain

more Shellac

 

 

Inside is shellac only (no color).  It works great inside because it has no lingering odor.

 

 

Edited January 12, 20197 yr by kmealy

10 hours ago, Cal said:

Nice work Keith.  Can you take a pic of the inside of the box?  I would like to see the angle supports that you mentioned.  My wife just picked up a little machine like this for our daughter, very cool.

I reused the tray from the original case, it hold bobbins, feet, thread, etc.   The corner blocks hold it up off the machine and it's made to fit around/above the highest parts of the machine.