diff --git a/bitbake/lib/toaster/toastergui/tables.py b/bitbake/lib/toaster/toastergui/tables.py
index b7d977ea03..14077e10ae 100644
--- a/bitbake/lib/toaster/toastergui/tables.py
+++ b/bitbake/lib/toaster/toastergui/tables.py
@@ -812,7 +812,7 @@ class ProjectsTable(ToasterTable):
                                    last project build. If the project has no \
                                    builds, this shows the date the project was \
                                    created.',
-                        hideable=True,
+                        hideable=False,
                         orderable=True,
                         static_data_name='updated',
                         static_data_template=last_activity_on_template)
@@ -836,7 +836,7 @@ class ProjectsTable(ToasterTable):
         self.add_column(title='Number of builds',
                         help_text='The number of builds which have been run \
                                    for the project',
-                        hideable=True,
+                        hideable=False,
                         orderable=False,
                         static_data_name='number_of_builds',
                         static_data_template=number_of_builds_template)
@@ -869,6 +869,7 @@ class ProjectsTable(ToasterTable):
                         help_text='The number of warnings encountered during \
                                    the last project build (if any)',
                         hideable=True,
+                        hidden=True,
                         orderable=False,
                         static_data_name='warnings',
                         static_data_template=warnings_template)
@@ -877,6 +878,7 @@ class ProjectsTable(ToasterTable):
                         help_text='The root file system types produced by \
                                    the last project build',
                         hideable=True,
+                        hidden=True,
                         orderable=False,
                         static_data_name='image_files',
                         static_data_template=image_files_template)
@@ -1076,6 +1078,7 @@ class BuildsTable(ToasterTable):
         self.add_column(title='Started on',
                         help_text='The date and time when the build started',
                         hideable=True,
+                        hidden=True,
                         orderable=True,
                         filter_name='started_on_filter',
                         static_data_name='started_on',
@@ -1116,7 +1119,8 @@ class BuildsTable(ToasterTable):
 
         self.add_column(title='Time',
                         help_text='How long the build took to finish',
-                        hideable=False,
+                        hideable=True,
+                        hidden=True,
                         orderable=False,
                         static_data_name='time',
                         static_data_template=time_template)
@@ -1328,6 +1332,19 @@ class ProjectBuildsTable(BuildsTable):
         # set from the querystring
         self.project_id = None
 
+    def setup_columns(self, *args, **kwargs):
+        """
+        Project builds table doesn't show the machines column by default
+        """
+
+        super(ProjectBuildsTable, self).setup_columns(*args, **kwargs)
+
+        # hide the machine column
+        self.set_column_hidden('Machine', True)
+
+        # allow the machine column to be hidden by the user
+        self.set_column_hideable('Machine', True)
+
     def setup_queryset(self, *args, **kwargs):
         """
         NOTE: self.project_id must be set before calling super(),
diff --git a/bitbake/lib/toaster/toastergui/widgets.py b/bitbake/lib/toaster/toastergui/widgets.py
index d9328d4cdc..d2ef5d3dba 100644
--- a/bitbake/lib/toaster/toastergui/widgets.py
+++ b/bitbake/lib/toaster/toastergui/widgets.py
@@ -168,6 +168,24 @@ class ToasterTable(TemplateView):
                              'computation': computation,
                             })
 
+    def set_column_hidden(self, title, hidden):
+        """
+        Set the hidden state of the column to the value of hidden
+        """
+        for col in self.columns:
+            if col['title'] == title:
+                col['hidden'] = hidden
+                break
+
+    def set_column_hideable(self, title, hideable):
+        """
+        Set the hideable state of the column to the value of hideable
+        """
+        for col in self.columns:
+            if col['title'] == title:
+                col['hideable'] = hideable
+                break
+
     def render_static_data(self, template, row):
         """Utility function to render the static data template"""