The last stage of the metamorphosis of my grandfather’s old office desk (rescued from the real Ma Bell) is nearly done.

The first step was to clean up the desk and refinish it. From what I discovered, the desk was made from a combination of oak and/or silk wood. With 5 coats of hand rubbed tongue oil, it was gorgeous. The top was beyond refinishing and since I had a plan to cut into the top anyway, I opted to lay down a cover of slate black Formica.

The first alteration to the desk was to cut the center draw front off and reattach it will flip-down hinges which allow the draw to act as a keyboard tray while retaining it’s original appearance.

The second (and more major) alteration was to cut a rectangular slot near the back of the top and in-line with the center draw. (I used a laminate cutter.) I installed slide rails vertically and installed an IBM 21″ flat panel monitor. I counter balanced the monitor (with lead weights). I will finish it by reinstalling the cutout on top of the monitor so when it is in the ‘down’ position, it will sit flush with the desk once again.

It’s a 1930’s desk with a 21st century upgrade !

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Posted in Computers, Furniture, Restoration, iPod |

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