Look what I picked up

[hog&bodge]

So I have been looking for one of these for years & this one came up absolutly free.

How can I tell how old it is anyone have any Ideas.?
You can see it is missing a draw pull and has the common problem of central heating damage..'Shrinkage'.
also missing bits of veneers on side of drawer casing.
In side a few of the draws there is blue and black ink staining & an old bit of a feather.
Lovely brown coloured ceramic casters no crackes in them
Well what to do first...lol, any help would be much appreciated.

 

[SimonStevensCanes]

Looks great, very old timey. What are you looking to achieve with it?

 

[Woody2Shoes]

It looks like it could be somewhere between about 1850 and 1940, maybe early 1900's. More clues might be had if you study the drawer construction (machine vs hand tools) or if you can find some kind of makers mark under the top panel or drawer bottoms perhaps. Depending on what you want to do with it, I'd simply replace the missing knob and maybe refinish the top surface - looks like some water staining there.

 

[Dee J]

Desk looks fine. Your cable mangent needs attention though

 

[TheTiddles]

Other than having a really good look for a makers label it could be any age, machine cut dovetails have been around for a very long time, they’re not much of an indicator of age over the last 100+ years

There are always some stunning pieces going free or almost on marketplaces as tastes have changed

Aidan

 

[MARK.B.]

What you do now realy depends on where and what it would be used for,replace the drawer knob ,give it a clean and a good coat of wax followed my about a pint of elbow grease and you have a lovely servicable desk that will give you many years of service.

 

[hog&bodge]

Thanks for the input. I am looking to restore it, have some sheets of veneer left-over from another job sure I can just about match the side, want to lift some grime off but not to much that I lose the patina that comes with age. I'm sure it has a leather inlay..
I was told it came from Belgium about 50 years ago & belonged to his great grandad. I should have mentioned it in my post but was in a rush sorry.
My end aim is to restore then give it to my local Barnardos, I have done this in the past, they put a good price on stuff like this then waite for the right person to come in...
your right about the elbow grease Mark.

 

[Jacob]

Main thing is to do absolutely as little as possible. Repair a bit. Perhaps wash down with soapy water but not to get it too wet - wipe off as fast as possible.
Then linseed oil (my favourite!) - brush on thin and wipe-off/ rub-up after an hour or so but no longer.
Classic mistake with solid sided chests of drawers is to glue in the loose drawer runners. Don't do it - they are loose to allow for differential movement. If fixed you may get split sides. They should be fixed at one point only - usually a glued M&T into the front rails, or maybe just a screw somewhere.

 

[paulrbarnard]

paint it with some left over emulsion and then scuff it up with some 60 grit sandpaper. From a quick look on line that seems to be the favoured approach for dealing with old furniture.

 

[dickm]

paint it with some left over emulsion and then scuff it up with some 60 grit sandpaper. From a quick look on line that seems to be the favoured approach for dealing with old furniture.

And then, ideally, find some tar and feathers to "upcycle" those idiots who ruin nice pieces of furniture.

 

[Jameshow]

My rule is if it's dovetailed she's not going near it....

If it's pin and cams then it's fair game!!!

Cheers James

 

[TheUnicorn]

There are some incredible items that come up on freecycle / gumtree / facebook for free. I genuinely think you could furnish a house well in about a month if you had a van and a bit of free time. As we speak I'm watching a 42" flatscreen telly that was passed on through freelywheely 'because it wasn't big enough', a definate upside of a throw away culture.

Like the look of those drawers, the double handled drawers are a nice touch, especially on the smaller drawers. I would just replace the handle, sure up any joints that need attention, clean and wax

 

[mikej460]

I'd watch some reruns of The Repair Shop and Morning Live both on BBC1 for some restoration tips. He seems to make it look easy. Sorry if this is teaching you to suck eggs.

 

[skeetstar]

He does but I've noticed that some of his repairs are cheap and cheerful, and don't really do much. Others are truly astounding, and one wonders how such a young man had time to garner such skills. Some of the jobs are plainly done over weeks, and we only get shown what the producers think are the interesting bits.

Also seen some pretty classy tools in use, and some real low end ones as well..

 

[TheUnicorn]

'salvage hunters - the restorers' is a better show, some incredible skill

 

[Richard_C]

I have one that's very similar. My father bought it from a country house sale, I guess bankruptcy, when I was 4 or 5 - so 64 years ago. He used it until he moved to a small bungalow, at which point I took it to my first house back in '76, I've used it ever since as my working desk. Not valuable in ££ but of value to me.

Job one is to take the drawers out and examine everything carefully for woodworm. Treat any odd holes, worry if there are lots. Job 2 is to wipe it down with a damp cloth then lightly wax it with a natural blended wax like briwax or similar or linseed oil if you can leave it long enough to dry. Rub beeswax along the bottom of the drawer runners.

Job 3 is to wax or oil it again, maybe every 10 years or so.... Less is more.

I have a split in one end panel, been like it for at least 50 years getting neither better nor worse so won't be hurrying to fix it.

Mine has a leatherette top, if it was just wood like yours briwax would be too soft especially with computer and keyboard on it. I might try a modern microcrystalline wax or just lay a glass top on it, depends how it will be used.

Giving it away for sale in a charity shop rather than keeping it changes things of course, it might fetch more money for them "trendified" with distressed sage green paint but that would be a shame. Even if you do that, it's better than it going to the tip.

 

[hog&bodge]

Wow all this help.. No way would I go down the what do they call it 'upcycled' I shudder when i see some of that restoration.
I have looked it over very careful, found no evidence of woodworm, has a few heating splits but if I put a leatherette back on it
that would cover most of the bad split...I am tempted to fill some of the splits blending it in with the wood, they are stable now after all
these years.
Well nothing more to say except I'll get on with it.
For people who like Painted Furniture here is a book I got few years ago, you can download it from my site.
Painted Wooden Furniture (1998)

 

[Terry - Somerset]

Victorian kneehole desk - there are lots on Ebay of similar design going for ~£300-800. Example here .... Desk