Arrow 98702 Bertha Sewing Cabinet for large machines - Cherry Finish

Arrow Bertha Sewing Cabinet

Was watching this cabinet for a number of years. Wasn't sure we had room for it. When I saw the price drop, I decided I would MAKE room for it. My wife loves it.

If i had to do it over again i would not have buy this table.It is made of cheap particle board, screws missing, where the machine sits it will not stay down,overall..I will not order anything else from this company. It is a piece of junk.

As good as it gets

Best price on the internet!!

Awesome Cabinet

I received the Bertha last year for Christmas and love love love it. It took me about six hours (I was recovering from a November neck surgery at the time) by myself to put this cabinet together. There is a video showing how to construct it which was so helpful when installing the lift. After receiving this cabinet I went on to add the Norma Jean to my sewing room as well. You… read more won't be disappointed in this purchase as it provides such great space to sew.

Wonderful gift!

Several years ago my three daughters gifted me with the Bertha and the custom insert for my Bernina machine.
This cabinet is a Godsend! The extra table in the back is wonderful for laying out blocks and even ironing with an ironing blanket/pad beneath the blocks. Before receiving the Bertha I did not hsve enough space for all of my thread spools. The custom indert allows me to… read more sew with all fabric on the same level as the sewing machine.
The caninet is very sturdy and is sldo very attractive. My husband put it together by himself in about three hours.
I'm sorry for not writing my review in a more timely manner. However, rest assured this cabinet continues to serve me very well.

Homemaker

I absolutely love my cherry finish "Bertha" and "Suzi" Cabinets. I had a Mason sewing cabinet for years and loved it. I thought I would never find a cabinet I liked as well for my new Brother Innov-is 2800 Machine. I needed a large work space and some storage. I got both with Bertha and Suzi. They are perfect for my needs. Love them!

Great for heavy duty machines!

Got this as a Christmas present to myself, and the cabinet is great. I gave 4 stars because the instructions and YouTube video together still misses steps! Hubby and I had to redo 2 steps after figuring it out on our own. Other than that, the oak finish looks great and matches a solid wood cabinet I got 40 year ago. Love the sliding quilt extender table on the back of the cabinet,… read more making it so much easier to sew on bigger quilts. Great storage on the doors and a very sturdy cabinet. Pretty high price for particle board, but it is what it is...if you have a heavy machine, this is the cabinet for you!

Cabinet great - instructions, not so

I love the cabinet, but the written instructions and packaging of small pieces were difficult to follow. Ended up with parts and no screws to install, and 5 extra screws that don't seem to go to anything. Important steps were not in the printed instructions but only on the internet, which delayed me in assembling for 2 days because my internet was down.

Arrow Bertha cabinet

I just purchased this cabinet and I am generally pleased with it. The negatives are: it took two men, who are very savvy on doing this type of thing, five plus hours, non stop, to assemble this cabinet. I ordered the custom insert and am disappointed in it. I think I would have been better off to save that extra expense. On the positive side, it is a beautiful piece of furniture… read more and is very well built. I ordered the cherry finish and am pleased with it.

Big Bertha Stays!

After much consideration, I'm giving the Arrow 98702 Bertha Sewing Cabinet a 3, and here is why:
As I had read in some of the reviews: For the price, it is laminated particle board. Most surfaces are sealed, but not all, so it could be subject to water, humidity warping in some places, be carful if you mop under it. It was packaged very well, but even with that, a door was slightly… read more damaged, which wasn't too bad, so we decided to go on with assemble after watching the on-line video and reading Assembly Instructions. My husband is a Master Electrician, so I believe he is qualified to put a sewing machine cabinet together, but I can tell you, he had problems. Pre-drilled holes did not match and had to be re-drilled. When he got to the Air Lift Assembly, after 2 attempts, he gave up, and re-drilled the holes. Once we got it put together, and knew everything that was wrong we called the 800 number. I will say that group is very helpful! We gave them a list of the damaged pieces and told them about the Air Lift Assembly, to which they told us "THAT IS A KNOW ISSUE WE ARE WORKING ON!" I said, well, to save your customers from the frustration of either not being able to put it together, or putting it together multiple times, wouldn't it be better if you added a note or piece of paper to the instructions that say that, and what to do or to call the 800 number for instructions??!! Anyway, after she got a list of the damaged pieces, she asked for pictures, which I sent. Within 24 hours I received an email saying the replacement parts would be shipped, and they were. Now, let me tell you about the parts. I think they were left overs! The door that was damaged didn't match, so I could not use is, so I'm using the original damaged door. The Quilt Leaf Extension metal bar was rusted, but we were able to use the legs off it, as we determined the original legs were 1/2 inch too long, which is what caused the Quilt Leaf Extension to scratch the entire length of the top when we installed and moved it. We were able to use the top unit because it was an entire unit, so the color was consistent.
We really considered sending it all back, but we didn't want to take it all apart and package it up! So we are keeping it. I don't know if I would recommend it, I would say, if you are willing to read a lot, cuss a lot, have someone to help you, give it a try. It is almost impossible to find a cabinet that is already assembled. So what's a woman to do?? I guess Big Bertha stays. She looks good now, and holds my machine pretty good! Now we can move on!