Lindsay Ikin
Mt Beauty, Vic

Dressing table

‘When my daughter started her first year in high school, I made her a desk with a Murray pine top that had an open section below to hold a typewriter. The frame was an old Singer sewing machine, and I made a seat from the treadle.

‘Recently I saw three very old sewing machine frames advertised in our local paper, so I drove to Albury and bought them all. I made a coffee table using one frame, and decide to make a dressing table with another. The frame was taken back to base metal and finished with black gloss oil paint, after priming.

‘The timber in this piece consists of redgum and stringybark with a highly figured grain. One of my daughters recently had a rotted wooden fence replaced, and I helped her pull the old fence down. It had 5 x 3” redgum posts in perfect condition and I used this timber for my piece. The red stringybark came from left over pieces from a floor that had lain in my home.

‘The inserted sections of the stringybark are of laminated construction in both the top and the drawer fronts. The drawers are dovetailed, with raised panels on the drawer fronts, and antique reproduction knobs. The edging on the top was done with a half round router bit. The carcase is of conventional construction being of redgum with a red stringybark fascia. The mirror frame and supports are of redgum, the mirror has bevelled edges and has locking swivels. The piece was finished with fine sandpaper followed by Organoil and furniture polish.’