Industrial Metal Desks

[SAA44-40]

Kinda of a weird item: folks will either pay to have you haul it off, or a guy in skinny jeans with an ironic beard wants $1K for it

 

[SAA44-40]

Good call FJ- that’s exactly what is. Trying to figure if it’d be comfortable to do work on with carbs and small engines..

 

[firebirdparts]

I’ve been eyeballin’ this. I’m partial to the smallish size. Thoughts?

Looks like a service writer's desk to me also. Those are really good in a standup version, and that may be one. I don't have any need for the mail slots in the shop, but I am sure they would fill up with something.

 

[NYBODYMAN]

I didn't realize the popularity of these things. We just got rid of 4 of these beasts. NY State owned since God knows when. The Town workers came and took them for us. We still have 4 in use and mine has a big door on the left side and a spring loaded shelf that pops up. I personally think it's a waste of space. Anyone know of the model? I'll take a pic on Monday.

 

[egdede]

Yours was a secretary model. the pop up tray held a typewriter.

 

[UTCiv]

Cool thread!

I have a Steel Age from a vocational school that we got a while back when they were renovating and we knew someone getting rid of the old stuff. It sat for many years in storage, but I recently removed the old top and coated it with bed liner to use in the barn:

 

[penright]

I finished this phased to my metal desk converted to a welding table.

For details on the build, I posted it on my build thread, I will just cross post to it.


https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=7919866&postcount=39

 

[Flatcapped]

If anyone is nearby there is a Steelcase bookcase listed at the University of Washington surplus site. Did these come with glass doors?

https://facilities.uw.edu/finadmin/movingandsurplus/inventory/item/steelcase-tanker-bookcase

 

[CSXRAILFAN]

I picked this one up at an estate sale. Price was marked as $30. I paid $15. Took everything me and a stranger had to load it up. Crazy heavy.

 

[egdede]

Yours might be lined with concrete if it is anything like the fireproof file cabinets I had to move once.

 

[ururk]

Just picked up a set of three metal (Globe) barrister bookcase sections, with top but no base . The original metal grey paint had been painted over with a disgusting beige in - thankfully - latex paint. I took some isopropyl alcohol - it certainly comes off... but what might be the best way to remove the latex paint without damaging the underlying finish? Provided there aren't any scratches I'm happy with the industrial grey look. I'm pretty certain it will take forever to scrub the paint off with towels and alcohol.

 

[Project 2501]

I consider it part of the tanker genre...

 

[Project 2501]

I consider it part of the tanker genre...

Ahh ****.. I didnt realize that I already posted these pics in this thread a while back..
Sorry

 

[CSXRAILFAN]

Those are cool. Definitely not a desk but cooler. What would you call those? What were they used for?

 

[drivesitfar]

Project: you could also post this over on show your workbench thread if you like. not sure its a tanker desk or a relative, but it's built like a tank.

is it yours? is it a COLE brand?

 

[kaymccampbell]

I consider it part of the tanker genre...

That looks like a desk and file from a ship, or some other military usage. Was there a lockbox in the top right corner? Did it have double doors originally?

 

[paulm12]

I recently picked up a Globe Wernicke 3M-T55 table cheap. Planning to use it as a light assembly table in my already crowded basement. The top is stained alot, but the metal is good after light cleaning. The legs come apart easy, but are surprisingly sturdy.

 

[Roothawg]

They are called tanker desks.

 

[Stuart in MN]

They are called tanker desks.

Welcome to ten years ago... The tanker desk definition is way back on the first page, in a post from 2009.

 

[ynned]

Besides, it's a table with a drawer, not a desk.

 

[theundermount]

Welcome to ten years ago... The tanker desk definition is way back on the first page, in a post from 2009.

cant dawg someone for using the search function

 

[laser3kw]

I recently picked up a Globe Wernicke 3M-T55 table cheap. Planning to use it as a light assembly table in my already crowded basement. The top is stained alot, but the metal is good after light cleaning. The legs come apart easy, but are surprisingly sturdy.

You assemble lights?

 

[MN Battery Chuck]

Paul. That is a sweet table you have. The rounded or waterfall edges are far less common. Nice find.

 

[Roothawg]

Welcome to ten years ago... The tanker desk definition is way back on the first page, in a post from 2009.

Roger that.

 

[paulm12]

You assemble lights?

good one

.

 

[Nowater]

I have a tanker in the same color, same maker. Kind of ugly, but very useful.

 

[BajaScout]

Not mine. $30 seems to be a good price though.

https://sandiego.craigslist.org/csd/fuo/d/san-diego-desk/7042074079.html

 

[brownsmustang]

Just recently I have started picking up free desks from FB marketplace, they work great for tearing apart and using the drawers under my work benches. I did keep one for my wood and steel chop saws as it was the perfect height for using the work benches on either side to support long pieces.

 

[pvfjr]

I've never seen a free one, but I just picked up this McDowell & Craig off Facebook for $40. Someday I may give it a concrete or wood slab top, but it was needed for immediate service. Started working from home due to Corona virus this week, and decided I needed a serious upgrade in the desk department.

 

[SGKent]

kind of off the subject but it deals with one of those old heavy duty metal desks. Years ago I worked in an electronics store in San Diego. A procurement officer and his staff from a Destroyer came in looking for a corded phone intercom system. I showed them one you could pound on the floor without breaking it. I remarked that they probably needed something that would hold up to the rigors of battle action. They laughed and said, "No it's not that. We have an old Chief on board no one likes. They call him, put the phone in that heavy metal desk drawer and bang it all around the sides when he answers. They've got him to where he jumps each time the phone or intercom rings at his desk. We're tired of breaking phones doing that."

 

[Jim_No_Garage]

So Mrs Garage shows me last night that there is a tanker desk on the local Freecycle Group on Facebook. We message them and go pick it up this morning.

It's a General Fireproofing desk that's in pretty good condition. The top is unblemished but the "formica" is bubbling up in the middle. It's really dirty but not that rusty at all.

Cheers

Jim

 

[Mslund1]

Picked up this steelcase tanker this evening and I couldn’t be happier.

I’ve been looking for one for awhile now, just couldn’t bring myself to pay the premium these have been demanding






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[Robert Haas]

I sit at a Tanker and have 2 more in my office.

Never thought they would become "fashionable but they are tough as all hell.

 

[Formerjeeper]

One for sale now $40 in Trenton OH about an hour north of Cincinnati:

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/693179728159605/

Wish I had room for it.

 

[firebirdparts]

So I am finally having my moment here. I am very proud of my desk, but it had a bunch of junk on it, and so I didn't post a picture. Made by Hamilton-Economy.

As you can see, it's two-sided, and both work spaces are movable. They had rows of these, and so if you got between two of them, you had both work surfaces.

Coincidentally, here is my mother demonstrating this during the cold war. She worked at Lockheed in the avionics department. This really is my mother. It looks to me like she is smoking a cigar, so I think somebody had a baby and they're clowning around.

I have the original photo, and it really does look like it's the same desk made by the same company. It's a narrower model two abreast and they have a pencil tray accessory on there which I don't.

How I got my desk was that one day, I was at school at virginia Tech, and I found it out behind an engineering building. They were scrapping it. One of the catch mechanisms is actually broken, so the drafting table didn't lock, and I guess that is why they junked it. My roommate drove a truck and we went right back and got it. It weighs a lot, oh my goodness. They took the bearings out of the 4 bar mechanism carrying the drafting table and took it apart to make it easier to move. Anyway, i am working from home, and I have set up my office in the shop. i don't have room for all my stuff but I'll get rid of something else.

I've done a lot of drafting on it, and drawing review also, over the years. It is set up for a big mechanical square mounted at the top, maybe I should find one or or else take the bracket off.

 

[softailgarage]

Picked up this steelcase tanker this evening and I couldn’t be happier.

I’ve been looking for one for awhile now, just couldn’t bring myself to pay the premium these have been demanding






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Used to have the exact same desk back in the 80's. It took 4 of us to move it up a narrow flight of stairs and into the apartment and damn near killed us all when it slipped, damn thing weighed a ton. Left it there when I moved out, I'm sure someone was pissed.
Just a side note, growing up in Orange County, Steelcase was along side the 55 freeway and every Christmas would have the most amazing display, one of the highlites of Christmas.

 

[Manny]

firebirdparts

Don’t know if it’s just me, but I can’t see any of your pictures.

 

[firebirdparts]

Don’t know if it’s just me, but I can’t see any of your pictures.

I used imgur with the "s" taken out.

 

[drivesitfar]

FBP: I have to say I can't say I've ever seen a desk quite like that and i've seen and owned more than a few. nice picture of mom and great story about her and your find and how you managed to get it.

CONGRATS and thanks for sharing.

Softtail: nice story and I bet there were a few beers drank after hauling that up some stairs. never know the next person might have thanked you for leaving it.

 

[Mslund1]

Used to have the exact same desk back in the 80's. It took 4 of us to move it up a narrow flight of stairs and into the apartment and damn near killed us all when it slipped, damn thing weighed a ton. Left it there when I moved out, I'm sure someone was pissed.

Just a side note, growing up in Orange County, Steelcase was along side the 55 freeway and every Christmas would have the most amazing display, one of the highlites of Christmas.

Funny you mention that. It now resides in my basement office. Had to take the railing off the stairs to make the corner at the bottom. Took everything the fiancé and I had to get it down there. I really love the desk and am glad to have it. I’m not looking forward to getting it out of the basement when we move though!

We’re in West Michigan, home of Steelcase HQ. They too have quite the display of lights at Christmas time. Can’t miss that giant pyramid of a building they’re in either.


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