Wednesday, April 9, 2014

The Trapezoid Cabinet is DONE!!

I finally had a few warmer days to put the final coat of polyurethane on the Trapezoid cabinet top.  Of course, it's 2 sides, so 2 days were needed.  It's so pretty!  And now the cabinet is done.  I'm very proud of this job.

Here's the before:



I got this at a garage sale for $30.  The machine is a Singer 15-91 dated 1954, and it needed new wiring, which I had done at Pocono Sew & Vac.  I think they do an excellent job. 

I stripped and sanded the severely damaged finish of the top and sewing area, and then stained it and did 3 coats of polyurethane in a gloss finish.  The top almost looked like veneer and laminate before I started, so I took it to Home Depot to figure out if it was.  Joe determined it was flaking off, so it would be best to strip.  

Here's a photo of Joe's tests of products on the top. 

After stripping and hours of sanding.
  
After stain and 3 coats of gloss polyurethane.


Back together again!

I LOVE the woodgrain on the flip side. 

I LOVED this cabinet shape when I saw it.  It's not a rectangle, it's a trapezoid.  The back is wider than the front, and the left leg pushes out to support the top.  The machine isn't centered in the cabinet.  The front panel opens to reveal the drop down knee pedal (the regular foot pedal is in a clamp inside the cabinet.  The knee pedal pushes the small button on the foot pedal, so if I desire, I could use this with my foot, but I learned on a knee pedal, and it's kind of fun to use it again.)  There's also a little storage pocket on the inside of the door.  It holds a few spools and has room for snips, a seam ripper and tape measure.  
Yes, the top opens on an angle.  So cool!  

I do actually use the machine for piecing.  I'm currently doing some Hunter's Star blocks, and a Quilt In A Day Braid in purple Island Batiks.  I think it's really cool that I'm using a 60 year old machine to sew 2014 fabrics and designs.  I enjoy having it in the dining room, because I can sit while something cooks or bakes and sew.  Even if it's for 10 minutes, I can have fun.  


These braids will be a quilt top soon, then I'll quilt it on my Viking, which is about 6 years old.  

Now on to the latest Vintage Singer and that cabinet.  Same process.  Strip, sand, stain, and probably just a semi-gloss coat. I'll have to see how the wood looks after it's stripped.  See my more recent posts for info about Leona's Singer.  

I'm connecting with Quiltsy Team's WIP blog.  Go see what the others are doing!  Thanks for visiting.  


6 comments:

AllyB said...

I followed your link over here from FB. Totally worth the trip. You did an awesome job on it! Thank you for sharing.

TIM MCAULIFFE said...

Awesome job on the cabiniet.

sewfunquilts said...

Beautiful job

Kristi Smart Romantic Fantasy Coats and Clothing. said...

Wow. You did an amazing job. The grain is gorgeous. I found this because I was looking for information on my cabinet. Nice to see what it could look like if I had your skills.
:)

Mary said...

I'm blown away - it's gorgeous! I'm refinishing one now. It was covered in chalk paint! Did you by any chance find a way to get the two door hinges out? The inside isfine and I don't want to have to refinish that part of it too. Thanks so much for posting your work and your story!

Anonymous said...

I also have a trap cabinet. Wanting to refinish it. The cabinet has a bracket inside for the foot pedal to be mounted but we can’t figure how to mount the lever! Is it even possible? Appreciate any comments.