Can't believe I came close to saying no to this piece! It seemed so far gone. But at the last minute, I added it to the trailer of treasures I was getting from Dakota's barn. If anything, I could do something with the cute drawers, I thought!
Then I started disassembling it and under all the peeling veneer and dirt, it had some great sturdy bones! AND I didn't even need WD40 to get the treadle turning that rusty wheel! Boom.
I mixed up a gray chalk paint (Plaster of Paris dissolved in hot water and added to paint) and painted the base. It was tricky to get behind the wheel, even after putting a plastic sack over it and I had to resort to a small artist brush to do the trick.
The top obviously had a large opening where the machine once sat so I dug through my hoarded stashes of wood and found the perfect boards and cut them to size on my new Ryobi Miter saw. That sliding blade is a game changer, folks!
I put a couple brad nails in the top just to hold the boards in place and then screwed them in from the bottom to firmly secure them.
My fingernails always look like crap, so to stop adding to the crappy look I put on a glove. Stain on fingernails is about as attractive as the big scab I had above my lip a few weeks ago when I fell off my bike. Ugh. I swear I'm like a five year old who needs training wheels. I can put some serious miles on my bike but I've been thrown off of it twice in the last few months. What the wha....
I ended up painting the drawer fronts too, but sanded the pulls and restained them to freshen them up. Back to the wood stash to find a piece of trim to go on that spot where it's missing. And back to to the miter saw for a little 45 degree angle action. Secured it with my Ryobi brad nailer and added paint. Can't tell it was missing. Just how I like.
I'm convinced this is the perfect desk for the child with ADHD. The treadle still turns the band wheel, so it just makes sense that in order for a kid with the need to move and pay attention to that online instructor, they can keep their feet busy pumping that treadle!
The base of my grandma's kitchen table was an old sewing machine just like this. She would make Kraft Mac N Cheese and I'd devour five helpings of that special treat while pumping that thing so fast I thought it would take off into the family room leaving a jet stream in it's wake! It was annoying when my brother or sister tried to pump it from the other side and throw off my rhythm, but being the dominant sibling that I was, I usually won that battle.
This will be for sale at our Christmas barn sale - November 6 and 7, 2020!
Like it? I made the perfect graphic for your lovely Pinterest board:
The desk turned out great! I love it! What did you do with the old sewing machine?
ReplyDeleteI was planning on cleaning it up and seeing if it will sell in my booth at the Parma Antique Mall. :) Someone sent me a cool picture of one turned into a tractor... but it looks well above my skill level! Haha!
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