Every Man Should Have a Roll-Top Desk

Metallicman ^ | 16DEC18 | Editorial staff

[vannrox]

Here I would like to discuss a long standing dream that I have had since I was a small boy; the possession of a large roll-top desk complete with a multitude of tiny drawers, chubby-holes, and spaces for all my personal junk and treasures. I have had this dream for a long… long… long time. With that in mind, let’s discuss this work of art; this magnificent idea and concept of the roll-top desk.

During the last century, the idea of a Roll-Top desk was appealing and very popular all over America. Many American homes had these styles of desks and throughout the 1960’s and 1970’s they faded into obscurity. There was a brief revival of Roll-Top desks in the 1980’s and then they have been forgotten as overly expensive and extravagant items of furniture. This is unfortunate, because every man should have a Roll-Top desk.



The first time that I encountered a roll-top desk was a very long time ago. One of my friends had inherited it from his father. It was in his bedroom and he would work on his various projects at the desk. He had this kind of glue with a rubber top that you could use to spread glue on paper and make scrap books with .

He also had a punching bag in his basement and me and him would try boxing at such an early age. Heck! We were only in second grade, for goodness sakes. It was kinda goofy at the time, but our fathers both thought that boxing was something that all boys had to learn.

What is a Roll-Top Desk?

A roll-top desk is a large

[HartleyMBaldwin]

I still have kitchen gear I pulled from dumpsters when the kids moved out.

[HartleyMBaldwin]

Fat chance I’ll ever be there again. Made my escape, and I’m not going back.

[KeyLargo]

LOL

[Keyhopper]

Try polyurethane imron. It’s airplane paint. Spray it on in 3 coats, let it dry, wet sand in 600 grit, then shoot it once more.
I prefer using car paints as once you clear coat it a few times it can take a beating.
Neat trick for metal work: shoot it in iridescent pearl, wet sand it in 600 grit, then one coat in (any color)=
red= candy apple
Blue= electric
Green= hulkamania
Want to see something really cool, look up chrome illusion paint.
The color patterns shift as the car drive towards you.

[SpaceBar]

DuPont Imron is one of the more dangerous paints to work with. Don't even think about applying it without a full respirator.

[GOPJ]

My grandmother use to have a bottle of that glue on her roll top desk... turn the bottle upside down and push down, opening the little hole in the top. Stand it right-side up and the hole closes so the glue doesn’t dry up.

[super7man]

Thank for the note and the cool car picture. And I think you may be somewhat correct about the East to West thing.

But I am guessing you are not a millennial.

My wife and I go to classic car and hot rod shows all over the western US. The car owners and those attending the shows are for the most part the over 50 crowd. We see very few 20-30 year olds at these shows. That is where my conclusion came from.

Below are my daily drivers

[Keyhopper]

We used to get the paint from a friend at the airport and the activator from another friend at the bus garage. All our motorcycles had very nice paint jobs.
We ventilated with fans in and out. We knew to wear phase 3 respirators.

[Buttons12]

I have a rolltop from Natl Mt. Airy — bought by my dad in the 70’s I think. It has a matching hutch on top of it, with another rolltop (tambour) in it. It was called the Presidential model, cost around $5k and weighs about 700lb.

It’s 6ft 6in high. And 5ft wide. I could fit inside my rolltop...given a good reason. If I couldn’t get out, it came with a built-in phone jack and a lamp.

I’ve seen the Presidential on ebay (I’m a sucker for antique furniture). Some with hutch, some not. Google it, it’s really stunning.

[super7man]

Its Mucilage

[super7man]

Me too. And my kids got the gene.

My daughter when in college made a lot of money visiting the dumpsters at her apartment complex at the first of the month. She was a master of Sharpie restoration of furniture and then she would sell it on Craig’s List.

[Joined2Justify]

Not finding “wood by you”, a lot pinterest stuff came up, a few unrelated fakebook pages...

Got me puzzled now

[Will88]

That is a large desk, actually a roll top desk plus an extra set of drawers on top. Is this it?

National Mt. Airy desks

My desk is 54" wide and 51" tall and 30" deep. The first desk pictured in this thread looks a lot like it. The side panels are identical, but my drawer pulls are plain and my hutch has fewer small drawers and more slots. Otherwise it is very close to mine in appearance.

I've used it daily since I got my first flat panel computer monitor which fits well on the work surface. I almost never close my desk except to clean and dust the roll top less often than I should. When I've had a desk top computer, I put the tower on a small table right next to the desk. Presently, I have a 17" laptop on top of the desk and run a cable to the 22" flat panel monitor I'm currently using.

[Keyhopper]

We have this store about 3 miles from me. Didn’t know if they have stores in other states or not. Plain wood furniture in different woods the you finish yourself. Pine, oak, burch, and some ash. Saw a cedar chest that was way out of my price range. I saw the most beautiful grandfather clock in mahogany.

[Does so]

Or rather he taught me how to work on my VW microbus engine.

I transported my 100-year-old rolltop desk purchase from New Hampshire to Florida in my 1971 VW microbus—a camper, which I still have. :)

It's got over 300,000 miles on it, so I've had to rebuild the engine twice—myself. Still running, I plan to put it on the road again with a 2-liter+ engine.

I paid $700 for the heavy oak desk, thinking I had a "forever" investment, and would help to organize my frazzled paperwork-world. It was to sit next to my inherited Civil-War era tea table and my $4000 "Sheraton card table". But FReepers are right—the antique market has disappeared.

At a NH auction, pieces that I formerly would have paid hundreds for—maybe thousands—went out the door for $10!

The solid oak desk breaks down into five pieces, including the "privacy panel". (So it fit readily into the VW camper—even allowing room to nap alongside).

The tambor roller is in fine shape, but Florida termites are invisibly working on the rest. :( There are a few thin spots, so it'll need work eventually. Even asking $200, I haven't been able to sell it. It's fully loaded with paper-working items.

'Guess it'll get moved again to my retirement home (in my VW camper?), and fumigated against termites into separate pieces. Maybe treat it in the camper, or use large plastic bags? It'll replace my present POS pressboard desk. :)

[Does so]

My maternal Grandfather had one. It was always locked,

It is well known among police departments that you should never lock a roll-top desk.

In case of a burglary, the perp will pry it open, damaging the tambor (rolling) top and hardware.

[Does so]

My rolltop—with the exception of the upper brass hardware—is identical to your photo. See my two other responses above. :)

[Irish Queen]

I have a rolltop desk from the former Union Train Station in Ventura, California. The original station was built in 1887. One side of the desk was darkened by a nearby potbelly stove. The finish and all the hardware are original. I bought it in 1970 when the old station was dismantled.

[HotHunt]

Some people buy old furniture, thinking it's worth something and they can resell it someday for a profit.

Who looks at the cherished items in their home like that?

My wife and I don't have any idea how much our antique furniture is worth. And we don't care.

Because we use it for our furniture in our home. It's functional, has character and we would never get rid of it, even if it was worth more than we paid for it.

We didn't buy our antiques as investments but as beautiful furniture.

[Daffynition]

At the time we were dissolving my parent’s estate, a son was setting up housekeeping, so he got most of their kitchen stuff. They didn’t appreciate it.

I wish I had kept it for myself b/c mom kept things nicely, and the quality was/is unsurpassed. The kids preferred more modern stuff...you know, things from China.

C’est la vie. :)