My mother was given a family sewing machine from my father's side of the family. Lore has it that a great aunt sewed a vest for Tom Thumb on it. This man was a circus performer. My father was born in the 1890s, so our Singer was pretty old too. It had a very nice wood box and cabinet on decorative cast iron legs. I learned to sew on this Singer treadle machine and preferred it to the electric ones because it was so easy to control.

I had one that I used a piece of butcher block on it. I used for an island in my kitchen (one kitchen had 12" of countertop space; another had absolutely none!) The piece was 24 deep and 36" wide. After 30 years of hard use, the butcher block cracked (yea, I know .. I should have taken better care of it but by that time, it was plant stand!) So now ... I use it as a small dining table (for 2) in a small gazebo. We found an enameled top from an old kitchen table and put it on it. And when you look for stone .... go directly to the fabricator and ask to see their mis-cuts and mis-ordered pieces. If you are flexible, you can get pieces extremely cheap. I covered a 36"x48" island in solid surface for $25/ 9' laundry folding area in solid surface for $125 and a 36" vanity in quartz for $100.

Aloha Lamguy, What a sweetie you are to buy a treadle for your wife even if you don't see exactly what she would want it for! Consider it sort of the same as using hand tools to do woodworking. As a craft, woodworking or sewing with handtools has a nicer "feel" to it. I use a treadle for many of my sewing projects because it is a much more controlled machine than the electric ones. It also makes a better stitch and I find the treadle action to be soothing. I also use hand planes to finish wood and my husband doesn't understand that either. He did buy me a nice double action air sander - with an air compressor, too - which I'll use for the rough sanding, but will probably use the planes for the final finish for the flat areas. ( I'll do that when he isn't looking.) My newest treadle showed up last week, a White rotary probably made in the late 1800's. It is in real good condition with a fancy cabinet, but does have a few issues here and there. I've been doing a bit of restoration to the cabinet and it looks like the original finish is shellac. If the finish on your wife's "new" sewing machine is also shellac, it is an easy finish to renew. I've been using very fine steel wool moistened with a teeny bit of soapy water to clear off the accumulation of old wax and polishes. (Probably more elbow grease than water.) After getting the old stuff off, I'll just put another light top coat of new shellac on it using the "French polishing" method. One of the darker shellacs, probably either seedlac or garnet shellac. Very easy and will hopefully be the same as the original finish. The other way this is an easy finish is that it is renewing the existing finish and not entirely refinishing it. Much less work and then I'll be able to start sewing sooner. A hui hou, Cathy

I redid the one I have in my living room....it was a veneer that was all tearing off...I peeled it all off and found it was oak underneath. I've since heard that oak used to be a cheap wood and they covered it up with veneers to make it look more expensive. After I got it all peeled off...I sanded it good and stained and waxed it...It still looks old because it has lots of dings and scratches in it... I use it for a lamp table... patti