New Old Desk

In May 2010, I decided that I was going to try to fix my grandmother's desk, which had been stored in my father's metal shed for nearly thirty years. My mother's best friend helped me start removing the chipped veneer. She was a little incredulous that the piece was redeemable, but I had hope that paint would make things all right.

Hope faded as the wreck and ruin proved to be to much for an amateur. I knew that the desk wasn't worth anything. To me, though, it was worth something, because it belonged to my grandmother. So I called a professional cabinetmaker, Al Martinez.

Al said that he could fix the desk. Two weeks after he picked up the desk, he had me go to his workshop in south Phoenix to choose a stain for the desk.

The desk in process at Al's workshop. He told me that his wife saw the desk and said, "You're going to refinish THAT?!" He explained to her that it meant something to me. 

Al repaired all nine drawers---some of them were falling apart, and now, they're all solid. He also cut a solid piece of alder to replace the top of the desk.

 

 The finished piece

Al was able to use the original hardware. I told him that I was going to sing his praises here. If you want his number, let me know. The work he did for me will last for decades to come.