Last Pix of the Desk
I measure the pressure and press more to revive the old work of another man, a working man, and gold ripples of texture speak to me of where he levelled his plane to level the unlevelled and the unsmoothed and I stroked the more where it seemed to me something turned to a twist. Revival begins first with a glance at a flea market and then a thought of the wood and the man maker and then with a single pass of the plane and a chisel’s pristine edge to sever the waste from the wanted and the past from the present. Ribbons of golden oak fall away and at first I look more to the waste I create that spilled away, but then I look back to a day past and a man like me shaving the same piece of wood. I listen hard as my heart pumps and I hear his heart beat in a slow, rhythmic thud, thudding and the sweat of his brow and the surge of blood pulsing through his veins as in mine now and I smile in thoughts that work past and present is still being revived in recycling. I turned the knobs and added the shelf beneath for a spare laptop or some books. Everything fits well now and it looks nice.
In this piece I calculate my work in making one from scratch to be 12 days if I were to repeat every step and make all the lapped and half lapped dovetails and the secret dovetails to the two top corners. Quarter sawn oak here would cost me about £300. £35 is a small amount to pay and a few hours work was well worth the outcome.
An old discarded item from a flea market tuned up for modern day living excellent Paul.
I’m sure the original craftsman would be well pleased.
It’s certainly a joy to see the images and your dialogue of the “rescue”
Quite a few of us will be scanning the market, car boots etc for our own finds.
The outcome I believe is yet to be weight or measured in full.
the result will be priceless!
Very poetic.
Beautifully written!
Chris hit the nail on the head. In addition to the utility (as the economists like to term it) that you have given back to this piece, you have honored the original craftsman with your time and skill to give many more years of life to his creation and as a beautiful piece of work, just as he intended years ago.
Paul
If I may be so presumptuous to ask?
What chair would you intend to sit at this desk to do your writing.
Would you prefer a modern office chair or something more in period for the desk, some modern chairs are ergonomically design for a very comfortable sit but are quite garish
though a period chair is aesthetically in more keeping?
Its not a disguised judgement, merely a question from the shall we say “curiosity of a cat”
I for one would find it a difficult decision.
I’m sure an oak one would look nice, perhaps with a leather inset back and seat. I am not really a slouched sitter but i do like arms and to feel ‘enclosed’ when o work. I like my elbows free most of the time but to rest them on arms periodically.
Several recent blog articles have centered on disassembling furniture. Do you just apply a mallet with care? Can most pieces be taken apart, or are there telltales you look for when you buy a piece that reassure you that it can be taken apart? If a joint is still tight, is there any hope of getting it apart unless it is hide glue? The only things I’ve taken apart have already been falling apart, but I’d like to try more and get a feeling for doing repairs. When I think of the joints I’ve glued up on your projects, I can’t imagine ever getting them apart, considering the swelling associated with the glue, and considering all the demonstrations of glued joints being stronger than the original wood so that wood breaks before the glued joint lets go.
Ed, look back at the past couple of threads about this desk, and mortise and tenons and you will find the answers you seek. Paul talks about using a mallet gingerly at first, then sometimes having to resort to other methods
John
Thanks John.
I’m sure a leather back oak chair would fit well with the desk
We certainly would like you to be comfortable in your creative writings and muses.
Lets hope a suitable chair manifests soon 😉
Thanks for replying.
Paul a really nice find there, beautiful looking desk. I inherited my Grand Parents dining room furniture along with a slant top desk and curio cabinet above with glass doors when my Mother passed in 2012. I am sure it dated back to the 1920’s and probably didn’t cost that much as my Grand Parents did not have a lot of money. It is solid wood though and could stand re – glueing and finishing at some point but not sure where to start as I have never done anything like this. I want to keep for sentimental reasons and hopefully children will find use for it when the time comes.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and pictures.
Steve