Help!

Last week I rescued a Johnson Desk Kilowatt (s/n 100031) from an outdoor metal storage shed in Rhode Island. It made a stop at the W9DYV Boatanchor Field Day in Jonesborough, TN but now resides in sunny South Louisiana. Here is the problem: the desk is complete except it is missing the center pencil drawer. It appears the drawer would be about 27-inches wide and no more than about 22 inches deep. I’ve learned these steel desks are called airline “tanker” desks and were made by several companies in the 40s and 50s. The killer is there is no identification on any part of the desk or pedestal that suggests what company actually made it. If anyone knows for sure who did, I would appreciate a note. I am trying to find a suitable drawer so I can send the whole pedestal and desk out for some body work and paint and can’t without the center pencil drawer.

This looks to be an easy restoration as all of the iron is intact as well as the cosmetic stuff…even down to the RF panel cover plate.

73 Nick K5EF

On Sun, 30 Jun 2013 16:24:02 +0100, nicktusa wrote:

Help!

Last week I rescued a Johnson Desk Kilowatt (s/n 100031) from an outdoor
metal storage shed in Rhode Island. It made a stop at the W9DYV
Boatanchor Field Day in Jonesborough, TN but now resides in sunny South
Louisiana. Here is the problem: the desk is complete except it is
missing the center pencil drawer. It appears the drawer would be about
27-inches wide and no more than about 22 inches deep. IÂ’ve learned
these steel desks are called airline “tanker” desks and were made by
several companies in the 40s and 50s. The killer is there is no
identification on any part of the desk or pedestal that suggests what
company actually made it. If anyone knows for sure who did, I would
appreciate a note. I am trying to find a suitable drawer so I can send
the whole pedestal and desk out for some body work and paint and canÂ’t
without the center pencil drawer.

This looks to be an easy restoration as all of the iron is intact as
well as the cosmetic stuffÂ…even down to the RF panel cover plate.

Just a suggestion, if all else fails:

If you can get by with something good looking that fills the hole, rather
than something that's 100% accurate, see if there's any sheet metal shops
in your area that cater to electronics manufacturers. Such a shop may
well be able to build such a drawer, then you can have it painted along
with the rest of the desk.

--

Tim Wescott
Wescott Design Services
http://www.wescottdesign.com

Nice find! I always thought the desk was made by Steelcase, but that's not correct. Corry-Jamestown Mfg. Corp. of Corry PA made them.
Cheers,
Nick K4NYW