Treasure Hunting – Desk Fragment

Last October, I needed a break from all the constant Henry activity.  I went to the annual City Wide Open Studios in New Haven CT.  The Erector Square weekend showcases local artists in their working studios, and is one of my favorite parts of the event.

One of the artists happened to be capitalizing on the opportunity to purge some old junk.  So I capitalized on the opportunity to buy this fragment of an old slant top desk top for $1.00.  A new treasure!

My treasure – the slant top desk fragment, as it looked the day I found it.

This is the inside surface, it would be opened out flat and used as the writing surface.  See the dark ink splotches?  Look, it even still has one of the attachment chains.

I’ve been waiting for months to work on this.  New England is currently having an arctic blast, so this is a perfect indoor weekend project.

Here I’ve sanded off just about all the old stain.  You can see some old watermarks and gouges.  Personally, I think anomalies lend character, so I decided not to pursue further restoration.

And now for the best part, the protective finish.  For this piece, I’ve chosen to use a natural wax.  Wax helps to nourish the wood, as well as seal and protect.  It also brings out the beauty, as you can see.  I used Daddy Van’s.  Good stuff, check it out.

Look at that glow, there’s nothing else quite like it.

Slant top desk fragment: cleaned, sanded and waxed.  Not bad for a $1.00 treasure.

Turns out, I have just the place to hang it.  I’ve been looking for just the Right Thing to mount above this old handmade writing desk.

The finished desk piece, now hanging over my desk.