After taking it out of the desk i realized that a roll top is constructed of wood slats attached to a fabric backing.
Roll top desk repair slats.
Oct 26 2013 40 years ago i was the first one in san diego to sell a roll top desk for 2500.
Remove the sliding slatted door called a tambour.
All that you ll need to fix the desk is some heavy duty fabric and glue i used wood glue but i m sure craft glue would work as well.
Lift the roll top lid off the desk.
Whether you re building or restoring a roll top desk creating a kitchen storage cabinet or working on any other number of projects that are ideal for a rolling door you ll find the supplies you need here.
The fabric on mine was old and had worn enough to allow the slats to pull apart.
My antique roll top desk suffered some during moving.
How to replace roll top desk cloth.
Inspect the tambour cloth the lift bar and the slats to determine if the slats need to be reglued or if.
Human hands cannot tear this remarkable fabric.
Some people believe that disassembling a roll top desk to make repairs to the tambour is like finding the key to a chinese puzzle box.
Tambour doors have a number of applications from the home to the office to retail stores.
Rather than cutting a rabbet in one board another option would be to nail a small slat type board onto another making for a step down edging similar to a rabbet cut.
Tambour cloth is sold by the yard.
The upper part of the top isn t level or has a gap to the right side where it meets the desk top from zero on the left to nearly 3 8 on the.
Bring a slat with you so the rabbet can be cut to the depth of the slat.
Roll top desks feature a flexible door or tambour made from several wooden slats which when pushed or pulled glide along side tracks to open or close the desk.
Wipe each slat with a cloth or paper towel wet with lacquer thinner.
It was the period of golden oak and everyone was furnishin.