Monday, February 29, 2016

After Another Minor Dry Spell, Mr. Modtomic Spent The Weekend On The Road Picking Up Items Off Out Of Town Craigslist Postings. This Jens Risom Desk Was Found In Bloomington Il. But It Was Worth The Long Drive. Status: Available!



Hey Looky!  This is the second Jens Risom desk I've come across lately.  This one is a little bit bigger than the previous piece.  It's more of an executive desk, but it isn't so huge that it becomes ungainly, like the double pedestal executive desk.  Not too small, not too big...just about right!



At 74.5 inches long, you might suspect that this would Not fit in the back of Any car...but Frank the Focus Wagon had no trouble hauling it home from Bloomington Il. yesterday.  The driver, on the other hand, was all squished up against the steering wheel and windshield for about 2.5 hours.  Good thing that Frank is a pretty roomy car and it's still possible to find a comfortable seating position even under less than ideal conditions.  Ever driven a Ford Focus?  You can't really see the hood while driving because it dips down at such an extreme angle from the windshield.  Well, I was so close to the windshield that I got to watch the hood flutter as I passed trucks all the way home!


Nice drawers there!  Plenty of room for all your files, pens, pencils, et al., but what's up with the pull out glass covered shelf?  What might that be used for?  I guess for writing, but I prefer to have a softer surface under my paper when writing with a pen.  Maybe it's just a great place to put some cute photos of your cat or dog...or kids I guess.  In any case, I was surprised to find the piece of glass there...and that it was intact!  There is no key, but if one were so inclined - one could easily remove the tumbler set and have a locksmith (probably the staff at your local True Value Hardware) make a key for it.  For real, a key might be kinda low on the list of what I'd do to this desk if I were keeping it.


Sadly, the desk is not mint.  It's got some issues, such as a 2.5' long crack on the top.  It could easily be fixed while the top is being stripped of the urethane that is chipping off.  While your at it, all the little divots can be filled before re-staining and protecting with satin poly.  It sounds bad, but for real...this desk still looks pretty good as is and can be used without messing with it at all.  I figure probably 2 weekends of pretty solid work and you could have this completely refinished yourself.  Don't ya just need a great big early Spring project to clear out all the winter time cobwebs?  Is that some sort of mixed metaphor?


Funny thing is, I can not imagine how the top got that crack.  These Jens Risom desks are solid wood.  Strong And Heavy!  The shiny urethane that someone used at some point to "refinish" this desk may not be to my taste (satin finish for the win, thank you), but it did protect the wood veneer pretty good, 'cept for maybe that crack.  The issues are unfortunate, but that just makes this particular Risom desk that much more approachable!  And, it's available.

2 comments:

  1. Nice find! I agree that the crack is a mystery. I have a Risom credenza, and it's so sturdy that I can't imagine its cracking.

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  2. Perhaps some one was moving it and piled heavy boxes on it.

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