For the longest time.....I had wanted to build a roll top desk. When I began to dabble in woodworking...it represented a level of woodworking that seemed miles and light years away. I would have accepted that I may never reach the level of craftsmanship that was needed to fabricate one of these popular old time pieces of furniture.
Well, over the years, I have acquired much knowledge and have done lots of reading and watching of woodworking videos. It has helped me to gain knowledge and confidence in my abilities in the woodshop and within the last year or so...I began to notice that things that were once a big deal to accomplish are simply everyday or somewhat common practices. It occurred to me that I was stepping up levels in my accomplishments.
Well, my wife and I decided that we wanted to keep some of the dimensions of our old, store bought roll top...basically in the drawer inside widths. I had mulled over the idea of making my own tambour, but the router bit set I wanted to build it with was to pricey. Trouble was, the widest tambour that I could find was around five inches shorter in width than what I needed to match our old desk. Well, the router bit set was never purchased, we kept the inside drawer diameters and it promoted a notable difference in the look of the new desk. The knee well is much narrower in our new desk. A result of the wanted drawer measurements and the tambour availability.
The difference is noticeable, but not a problem for us. We have never used the desk as a desk per se. That is to mean that we have never used a chair with it. We use it more for storage space for the things you would keep in a roll top desk....bills, property information...stamps....the usual stuff. No chair. So...really, this little difference is no bother to us.
So here she is opened up and showing off the cubby assembly I fabricated for inside of the top section. I love the way this turned out. And you know...looking back at the project....I truly had nothing to worry about as far as making it. It was a piece of cake. Yes, there were methods of fabrication that I had never done before....but I knew what had to be done...so execution was simply a case of taking my time and paying attention to detail. Like I said...piece of cake! This project makes me realize that yes, I have obtained a nice level of craftsmanship in my work. This project represents a milestone in my hobby of woodworking.
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