Project Idea: Tippmann Boss Wooden Table
by Arthur Stevenson
Greater Kansas City Area
Click on any picture to see a larger version.
Not all projects are standard. I was making leather tool rolls to make my wood and metal files more organized.
I have a
Tippmann Boss Leather Sewing Machine
. To use it, it needs to be mounted to a solid serface when sewing. I had the base from a Leader treadle sewing machine possibly made by the A. G. Mason Manufacturing Company, which I thought would provide an adequate surface. I had originally used a recycled board from an old piece of furniture as the mount between the base and the Tippmann Boss. That worked well until I tried to make my long tool rolls. I needed a wider table to help keep my tool rolls from sliding down and getting me out of parallel with my stitches.
I had recently purchased some hardwood on sale from my local
Metro Hardwoods, Inc
. I believe one of the pieces was oak, approximately 1/2" thick 8-1/4" wide, and 4' long. I cut it in half and mounted it to a frame made out of scraps from a previous project. I cut out a hole to slip over the sewing area. I then inserted a board into the slots in the treadle base and set the frame on it to test.
As that made the machine somewhat unstable, I then added a leg with a hinge on it so that it could be folded up when not in use. I used a single eye bolt to hold the table to the leg board setup, which has a t-nut, so I can easily pull the table off when changing the bobbin. If I had thought it out well enough before-hand I probably should have put in a trap door to change the bobbin.
Next was the application of shellac and sanding the table until it was somewhat slick. Finally, a coat of clear floor wax for finishing and then I was able to proceed with my tool roll sewing on my new table.
I have since added a pocked holed block and bolted the leg setup to the board under the sewing machine, as I found I didn't need to take it down when not using the table. I just remove the eye bolt and the table and I can use the machine just like that.
Return to
Wood News
front page
