Customer Reviews

Arrow Model 98500 Compact and Versatile Cabinet with Convenient Air-Lift - Oak Finish

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Received this as a gift for Christmas 2010. Pretty simple to assemble, although it took us a couple of hours. The air-lift works great! We had to give it a couple of "tweaks" to adjust to the correct height, but all-in-all was again, pretty simple to adjust. We ordered the insert made for the machine as well, which works much better than the generic insert included with the cabinet. Using the correct insert makes for a flat sewing surface, which you cannot get with the generic insert.

This cabinet holds a small or large machine conveniently. The lift mechanism makes it a breeze to get the machine up out of the cabinet for sewing. It has nice cubby holes and spool holders. The wheels make it easy to move it in different areas of sewing - such as, following where the children are playing. I have been a seamstress for 30 years and have had different cabinets. I purchased this one for my daughter and I use it whenever I visit the grandchildren. Nice product at a good price.

I purchased this cabinet because it provided both a good work and storage area in one unit. The Air-Lift mechanism works well; we did not have to do any adjustments to the flush level stop. Assembly took a couple of hours. Unfortunately, some of small hinge screw heads became stripped when trying to screw into the wood. We're happy with the look and functionality of the cabinet; but we think it is a little overpriced.

I bought this cabinet for my mother who lives in an assisted living complex. She has limited space and it fit quite nicely in her apartment. Also, her sewing machine fit quite nicely in the cabinet. She owns a basic Babyloc machine. My mother does not have a lot of strength in her shoulder and upper arms but she has no problems in lifting the machine with the air-lift assistance. It does take some time and space to put it together. It is also very heavy because of being made of a wood product. There should be no problems with it tipping and the wheels help when it needs to be moved. I did get a chance to look at another cabinet from another company that looked just about like this one at a sewing shop. That cabinet was much more expensive and a bit smaller. As for shipping, it was fast and the boxes (2) came in very good condition. The only problem I can see is that it does have shelves on the inside of the door and if the user is not careful to leave the front door open before pushing the machine back down inside the cabinet there could be some damage done to those shelves or the door.

I've been back and forth on getting a sewing table and finally bit the bullet and chose the Arrow. It does everything I could have hoped for and I love the air lift. It makes it so convenient to close up the table and hide the equipment.

This cabinet was shipped in two boxes, each about 40 lb. Assembly was not difficult, and can be done mostly by one person. It was helpful to have another person when setting the cabinet on its feet and when installing the top. (The top and leaf come preassembled and is fairly heavy, making it a little difficult for one person to match all four pins to their holes).

I like the design. The air lift mechanism works easily and stops are adjustable, although I didn't need to. Our machine is fairly light and a fair amount of downward pressure is needed to move the platform up and down. I have not contacted the company, but I don't think the tension is adjustable. There is an insert included so a free-arm machine can be operated at the lower level without a huge gap between the table and the sewing surface. Two of the four casters are the locking type and should be mounted on the front to be useful.

Assembly is fairly typical of "flat box" furniture. Everything fit well and the necessary parts were all included.