Sewing Machine Cabinet for my Singer 185J

In an earlier post I talked about getting nostalgic and purchasing a Singer 185J just like my very first sewing machine. I ended up buying 2 of them. A portable I got on eBay and another one in a cabinet from Craigslist. I decided to put the machine in a different cabinet and this required quite a bit of work.

The Singer 185J is a 3/4-sized machine so the opening in a standard sewing machine cabinet is too big.The hinges used to mount the previous machine will not work for my 'Lil Green. The old hinges are mounted on the underside of the cabinet. The spacing is wrong and the post used to attached the machine to the hinge are the wrong size. The hinges are what allow the machine to swing down into the cabinet when not in use.
On top are the square hinges I removed. On the bottom are the round hinges that fit 'Lil Green. These will get mounted on the cabinet top.
First I dismantled the cabinet.
I made a filler piece from birch plywood and cut the holes (at the right depth) for the hinges using a forstner bit. It took me hours to carefully cut the plywood so I could get an exact fit. I then glued and screwed a couple strips of hard maple to the underside of the cabinet to support the plywood since the Singer 185J is an extremely heavy sewing machine.
All finished. At some point I will apply stain/finish so the plywood will blend in with the original.
'Lil Green in her new cabinet.
Front view.
Rear view.

Horoscope Necklace ~ Singer 185J

In my last post I talked about weaving a horoscope shawl. As part of the workshop you created a horoscope necklace based on the same winding draft as the woven shawl. The various packets below contain tiny beads in various colors. We were also given larger beads to represent planets.
Here is the completed horoscope shawl and necklace. Each tiny bead represents a warp thread in the woven piece. Every so often the woven piece has four threads that were threaded through the same dent and heddle to represent a planet. The large beads in the necklace represent planets.

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I think I am getting nostalgic. I've been pinning after my first sewing machine. I remember that first sewing class in Jr. High School as almost life changing. I didn't come from a family of crafters. My first sewing machine was purchased second-hand from a neighbor lady for $20. To pay for the machine I babysat her 3 children (real brats) for 75 cents per hour. It took forever to pay for the sewing machine!

I don't know what happened to my first machine but it looked identical to my new purchase (below). Isn't it adorable? It's a Singer 185J manufactured in Canada in 1962 (the 185K was made in Scotland). It's a flat-bed 3/4 sized straight stitch machine. It's all metal and it's heavy. I would call it heavy-duty because it will sew through just about any type of fabric. They were manufactured from 1959-1962. It replaced the black 99K, also a 3/4 sized machine. Basically, this is the 99 with updated green paint. I purchased this one with a cabinet. First thing I did was give it a good oiling and it purrs like a kitten.

My original 185J came in a carrying case like this one.
I found this YouTube video of an old commercial for the Singer 185. It was considered the Young Budget Machine. You could buy it on the Budge Plan for $119.50 ($12 down and $1.25 per week).