Slant Front Desk Question

[Barry Bruner]

I am making a slant top desk and would like to know the distance from the writing surface to the bottom dog leg. I used a mixture of plans and mine comes out 1", leaving that much will the top close correct ? Barry

[Carl Eyman]

What is a "bottom dog leg? Is that the pull outs that supports the drop board? If so, an inch may be too much. The hinges on the drop board may not bend back that far.

[Joe Trotter]

I am making a slant top desk and would like to know the distance from the writing surface to the bottom dog leg. I used a mixture of plans and mine comes out 1", leaving that much will the top close correct ? Barry

I would think it would be determined by the thickness of the desk surface and the hinge. When you fold it down to rest on the support it would need to be offset that amount.

If you have the hinge cut a piece of paper/cardboard the same profile as the hinge and set it at the edge of a piece of wood the same thikness as the wood and use it as a mock up. You should be able to get an idea that way.

We have one that is about a 90 years old but it uses fold out supports. I dropped it down and it appears it would be similar if it had a pull out support. The thickness of the desktop and hinge in my case determines the drop when it is open. Mine has two small brass hinges mortised in so when the lid is down it is even with the inside of the desk.

Joe

[Barry Bruner]

First of all I haven`t forgot the great one you made and had pictues of on this forum. I`m talking about the distance from the top of the writing surface to where the bottom of the slant begins, it would be almost parellel to the hinge. I was building this one from Glen Huey`s book BUILDING PERIOD FURNITURE. From his photos it looks like it is about a inch higher than the writing surface in the desk case, and it appears to me that it will be to high for the lid to close. I haven`t done a very good job at explaining it. BARRY BRUNER

[Carl Eyman]

Obviously the front edge of the fixed portion of the writing surface and the bottom inside edge of the drop board must be parallel and and close together - perhaps a max of 1/8" apart and an imaginary line of the hinge pins must be nearly coninciding with these two lines. Now, depending on whether your drop board is designed to fit between the sides of the desk, is overlaid to fit over the sides, or rabbeted to do some of each will determine where that sloping line can be. If your board is to fit inside the sides, it will close no matter what. Of course it may not be flush with the sloping end grain of the sides. If it is rabetted or overlaid, the plane of that slope is determined by the hinge pin line and the front edge of the desk top.

I remember worrying asbout the same thing. Of course, I had Lonnie Birds article to rely on. Before mortising for the hinges I rabbeted three edges of the board (all but the bottom edge) and dropped it in place I jiggled it around until I was sattisfied with the fit. That is, would the hinge pin line be in a good place. With the board clamped in place I reached in from the open back and marked where the hinges should go. (had to guesstimate how the hinge mortises would affect their position) With the position marked I mortised for the hinges, and thank goodness it fit after the hinges were screwed in. I guess it was more luck than skill.