I'm working on the thick foam board extension for my machine. I decided to cover it to hold it together when I move it around instead of fighting with the two layers. Hopefully, I will finish it up soon and be able to test a quilt on it.

Funny, tho, how exciting it was when free arm machines came out, and now we're all wanting big, flat areas!

I have an acrylic extension table that 'fits' my machine if I tape it on. It was made for my last machine. What a pain!

I would love to do the foam board thing, but I am having trouble finding what I want locally. All I can find around here is full 4'x8'sheets. I would need 2 sheets, (1) 2" and (2) 3/4" sheets. It would be about $40 to make - more than I care to spend. Lowe's has 2'x4' sheets online, but those particular items they won't ship to store and will only deliver via truck. I'm sure that would be costly. I've even investigated other types of foam, from upholstery foam to floral foam, but they are all too expensive. The only thing cheaper is regular styrofoam, but I don't want those little bits all over the place. Any other ideas?

You may still need to add a slippery covering like the Supreme Slider or cover with oil cloth as suggested, or with the heavy clear plastic tablecover you can get from JoAnns to reduce the friction.

I was just wondering if I could use oilcloth, having been looking at a site selling it this morning, when I was searching out a wipe-clean tablecloth. Thanks for the confirmation!

deemail, you are very clever and resourceful :thumbup:

Thank you so much for starting this thread. I have the same issues. I will be interested to hear what others have to say.

I've heard of people that use a silicone baking sheet ... cheaper than the Supreme Slider.
Suzy

I think you may need to smooth the rough edges on the extension table. I am using car wax on the bed of the sewing machine and table - makes a nice smooth surface!! Car wax is safe for all plastic and metal parts. I support my quilt on a large table and an ironing board on my left side lowered to the same height of the table. This has worked for me with little extra expense. Good luck and enjoy the process!

Yes, my little table sits in the closet now and my machine is level with the table.
I posted about quilts getting caught on edge a long time ago.
Now have a long arm frame with a short arm machine. I just keep wasting money trying to save money.
Now I need to save up for a long arm machine.

I love my extension table. I actually broke the first one when I took it on retreat with me. Luckily my husband is a machinist. He used the broken pieces as a pattern and cut me out another top from clear acrilic. He also rounded off the corners and screwed the original legs back on. While I only machine quilt Linus quilts what I love about my table is that I can keep notions and stuff like my scissors, extra feet and lots of stuff I need all of the time under it. That way they don't get in the way but are perfectly visible and accesable while I am sewing. If I need to have a bigger area to say sew a binding on a bed size quilt I just set up a folding table behind my machine to support the quilt I am working on.