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Tuesday, 7 August 2012

Tuesday's Top Tip - Rubber Feet




Old sewing machines with worn out feet have a nasty habit of sliding around the table and scratching it.  For this reason I strolled into our local hardware shop a couple of years ago and said I wanted rubber feet for sewing machines.  The assistant hesitated all of two and a half seconds and said "You need seat stoppers."

"What?" I asked, following him as he beetled around the corner inside the shop.  I didn't have a clue what he was talking about, and had strange images of moving armchairs in my head.

Then he thrust a little packet of four rubber feet at me, and the penny dropped.  Evidently I don't spend enough time gazing at the underneath of a toilet seat to have thought of the solution earlier.

The feet came with their own screws, but I had to buy some tiny washers to go inside.  If you slide the machine a fraction sideways the feet come off their screws if there isn't a washer in place to prevent it.  And then you end up with a scratch bigger than the one you were trying to avoid.

Hello Ellie - thank you for following!

2 comments:

  1. Oh, that is a good idea. I think mine are fine but I'm going to double check!

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  2. Just found this tip. I've been thinking about doing this for years! Being an avid DIYer I spend hours walking around hardware shops to see what's available (sad).
    Glad to see that what I was thinking of works and thanks for the tip about the washers - I'm thinking maybe panhead screws might work with out the washers as they are flat not countersunk like the ones in your photo - though I do like the washer idea.

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