Are you sitting comfortably? Well make sure you are because I have a story to tell and some pictures to show you.
For the last seven years I have been building a "Cutler" style roll top desk. I have constructed it almost entirely from Australian River Red Gum which I have bought as rough planks from a lovely guy who runs a wood yard in the Barmah Forest in deepest Victoria.
Red Gum is an exceedingly hard wood and is consequently very heavy. It has a wonderful variety of grains with heaps of blemishes which give it a fantastic character. I have used railway nails collected from the remains of the old Ghan railway in South Australia as handles for some of the drawers.
Why has it taken me seven years? Well, apart from the fact that I am not an expert cabinet maker, this desk is very complex and I have incorporated much more than mere woodwork. My desk is unique and I thought I would tell you about some of its more interesting features.
Firstly of course there is the roll top or 'tambour' as it is known in the trade (not that I am in the trade you understand). The special feature of my tambour is that it is activated by a remote control which automatically opens the desk.
As a child I was always fascinated my my mother's writing desk which had a secret compartment and so I have included lots of secret cupboards and controls within the desk.
I have hidden my computer in a drawer and there is an electronic control which causes the keyboard and screen to rise up and open from within the desk. This control also switches on the computer. Yes, I know I could have just used a lap-top, but that is just way too easy!
My printer is hidden deep within the bowels of the desk and when I use it, pages magically appear in one of my drawers. I haven't yet found a way of automatically inserting more paper into the printer hopper so at the moment I have a hidden device which causes the side of the desk to slide open and reveal the printer so that I can re-fill it.
At the front of the desktop there is a small carved cupboard door which opens by means of a voice activated control. This control will, not only switch on the internal light, but also tell me if anyone else has attempted to open it.
Intruders B E W A R E !!
Incidentally, the door of this cupboard is a carved Celtic knot design which has great personal meaning for me. I do not know the Celtic origins, but to me represents "Perseverence".
As the desk is nearing completion (at long last I hear most of you say ...) my thoughts have turned to the chair. For some time I have been looking for a suitable chair but not one single chair had all the design features that I wanted. DB said ... "Well, if you've managed to design and make your own desk, surely a chair wouldn't be that difficult .." WELL I ask you!!
After much contemplation (I never do anything quickly) and a bit of serendipitous luck on e-Bay, I finally found a chair that I liked and as it is made in Oak, I have decided to copy the "Captain's Chair" design in Red Gum. That way, I satisfy both my demands, and those of DB which can't be bad.
I'll keep you posted as to its progress, and once I've finished it, I'll be sitting comfortably, just like you.
