Rather than cutting a rabbet in one board another option would be to nail a small slat type board onto another making for a step down edging similar to a rabbet cut.
Roll top desk repair slats.
Some people believe that disassembling a roll top desk to make repairs to the tambour is like finding the key to a chinese puzzle box.
Oct 26 2013 40 years ago i was the first one in san diego to sell a roll top desk for 2500.
Tambour cloth is sold by the yard.
My antique roll top desk suffered some during moving.
Inspect the tambour cloth the lift bar and the slats to determine if the slats need to be reglued or if.
Lift the roll top lid off the desk.
Human hands cannot tear this remarkable fabric.
With a bit of thought you will realize that although the makers of roll top desks delight in making their desks a little complicated they still must be simple enough to assemble and disassemble that furniture repairmen far from the maker can replace parts.
Remove the sliding slatted door called a tambour.
Whether you re building or restoring a roll top desk creating a kitchen storage cabinet or working on any other number of projects that are ideal for a rolling door you ll find the supplies you need here.
How to replace roll top desk cloth.
After taking it out of the desk i realized that a roll top is constructed of wood slats attached to a fabric backing.
Use with our tambour glue 205857.
Tambour doors have a number of applications from the home to the office to retail stores.
Wipe each slat with a cloth or paper towel wet with lacquer thinner.
It was the period of golden oak and everyone was furnishin.
Bring a slat with you so the rabbet can be cut to the depth of the slat.
All that you ll need to fix the desk is some heavy duty fabric and glue i used wood glue but i m sure craft glue would work as well.
Repair those sticking or broken roll top desks with this all natural cotton twill tambour cloth.