Working weekends a friend and I built our roll top desks from scratch. Always wanting a roll top desk we decided that if we worked on our own we would never get one done but combining our tools and efforts we could accomplish it.
It took us three years only working on weekends and excluding the summer since my friend golfed every weekend. We stated from scratch with rough wood. I used oak and he used cherry wood.
We did use a pattern for the basic measurements but it was a secretary’s desk so we had to change everything. The drawer areas where too narrow for the computer to fit into so we widened the drawer area as well as making it deeper again to accommodate the PC. Probably the most difficult change was the top portion. The original design had the top tapering back quite quickly and then raising up. Needless to say we could not fit a CRT (all there was at that time) into it. We raised the top by at least 10” and brought it way forward and minimized the curvature. We used a lot of cardboard templates to check the fit. Obviously now with flat screen monitors we have tons of room on top! I finished it with many coats of Tung oil. This was a long project and one of the most rewarding projects that I have ever made.
8 comments so far
GaryK
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10263 posts in 2156 days
#1 posted 1838 days ago
Looks like it was worth the three years it took to build! Fantastic job.
-- Gary - Never pass up the opportunity to make a mistake look like you planned it that way - Tyler, TX
Randy Sharp
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318 posts in 1841 days
#2 posted 1838 days ago
Wow dataman! Beautiful work. Of all my woodworking goals, a roll-top desk tops my list. Working up to the courage to tackle such a job. Thanks for the encouragement!
-- Randy, Tupelo, MS ~ A man who honors his wife will have children who honor their father.
Scott Bryan
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27262 posts in 1990 days
#3 posted 1838 days ago
Dataman,
This is a beautiful desk. You did a wonderful job on the construction and finish.
Thanks for sharing this project. I really enjoyed looking at this.
-- Challenges are what make life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful- Joshua Marine
lew
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8981 posts in 1924 days
#4 posted 1838 days ago
Dataman,
Beautiful work!!!
I envy you. I have always wanted to build one of these ever since I saw one in an old W. C. Fields movie.
Lew
-- Lew- Time traveler. Purveyor of the world's finest custom rolling pins!
Grumpy
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17839 posts in 2019 days
#5 posted 1838 days ago
timeless piece, great job.
-- Grumpy - "Always look on the bright side of life"- Monty Python
Woodhacker
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1138 posts in 1891 days
#6 posted 1838 days ago
Dataman, I’m jealous! I’ve always wanted to try something like this. That looks like it would be a lot of fun to build…you did excellent work!
-- Martin, Kansas
Kipster
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1076 posts in 1921 days
#7 posted 1836 days ago
3 years of building will give decades of use.
Thanks for posting.
-- Kip Northern Illinois ( If you don't know where your goin any road will take you there) George Harrison
ND2ELK
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13495 posts in 1942 days
#8 posted 1833 days ago
You guys did a great job on your desk. Looks very nice. Thanks for posting.
God bless
tom
-- Mc Bridge Cabinets, Iowa
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