Roll top desks feature a flexible door or tambour made from several wooden slats which when pushed or pulled glide along side tracks to open or close the desk.
Repair antique roll top desk.
A roll top desk s door or tambour is what sets it apart from any other wood desk offering a way to keep things out of sight out of mind after the day s work is done.
Some people believe that disassembling a roll top desk to make repairs to the tambour is like finding the key to a chinese puzzle box.
A roll top desk wihout blemishes is likely an antique reproduction.
How to repair a roll top desk.
How to replace roll top desk cloth.
Roll tops can start.
Baloncici istock getty images each desk featured a rolling door that slid up and down to reveal or conceal built in pigeonholes shelves and a flat writing surface.
I inherited my father s antique rolltop desk and it needed some dust removed from the rolltop to make it open smoothly.
They were mass produced to satisfy the demand.
This piece came into the studio nearly destroyed by water damage and age.
The above 1850 s walnut desk arrived in cardboard boxes and left as this gorgeous heirloom.
With a bit of thought you will realize that although the makers of roll top desks delight in making their desks a little complicated they still must be simple enough to assemble and disassemble that furniture repairmen far from the maker can replace parts.
I vacuumned the rolltop while closed along every movable part and moved the rolltop up and vacuumed the channels it moved in as much as possible.
Today buying and restoring a roll top desk can be rewarding if you give it careful attention.
There are many markers that can help you identify the age and value of a roll top desk.