Featured How the roll on a roll top desk is held together

Didn't know this until I started to restore a 100 year old roll top desk. The slats in the roll are held together by a thin brass strip threaded thru the thin slats. My particular desk had the roll broken into two pieces. Some Dilbert had glued a lot of canvas to the back of the roll which held the roll together but prevented it from sliding. Canvas can hold the slats together but only on the part of the roll that curves only one way, the top part of the roll before the S curve. So I got some new strips of brass to repair. Waiting now on some 3/8 inch tacks that hold the brass to the strips. The strips are 1/2 inch thick so need very short tacks. As always ebay came thru with the short thin tacks.
https://flic.kr/p/2bPiLcD

 

Interesting info Mr Texas .. Thank You, Joy.

 

Wow, MrT - that looks like a labor of love!

 

Got it together today, had to wait for the thin brass and 3/8 inch tacks. Bought both on ebay. Tacks were NOS and I got 8 ounces of them needing only about 50. Glued on the brass strips where the top few were broken and nailed with the short tacks.

 

I said it before, and I'll say it again:
Wow, MrT - that looks like a labor of love!

 

Retired 9 years. Plenty of time for everything.

 

Wonderful to see this brought back to life, it looks beautiful

 

Had to take the roll part off again after I pulled it down the first time. The brass tape was broken at the bottom. All fixed now and ready to put together.

 

One last repair, the sides of the drawer box are damaged.

I did glue some canvas to the slats but only the slats that fold or curve smaller. Canvas on one side restricts the direction of the curve. There was some canvas originally. Also shown are the ends of the brass tape nailed to the last slat.

 

moved

 

One more repair I had to do. On the bottom of the roll shown in the pic the wood is broken where you pull down the roll. Out came the router and I pieced in a nice 1/8 thick piece of oak on each side. I had to make a router jig for a perfect fit.

 

Someone did some nice work rebuilding these drawers. I wouldn't have bought the desk with missing drawers.