Greetings all, does anyone have a catalog that shows configurations of this Svend Madesn desk? All the images of tops I'm seeing have a veneer edging like this: https://www.1stdibs.com/furniture/storage-case-pieces/desks/svend-madsen-teak-floating-top-desk/id-f_3394662/
Here is a photo of the top to my desk, does it look altered?
Hey Leif!
Its the same model as the 1stdibs link and found here on danish furniture index: https://aleph-01.kb.dk/F/2PAJMEP14DQ9UQ66HDY15PD5AH3FQQLDD9Y1PHPVLB2EC86...
A coat of polyurethane would not necessarily mean a lot (it could be later production, or refinishing). And I have seen the occasional 1/2" knot in era teak pieces.
Again a photo of one of the seams in between the boards in the top might reveal a lot. (There are difference in the way that it would have likely been done in a production environment in the 50s-60s vs as a custom replacement later).
Another thing to look at would be whether the top was attached to the frame in the proper fashion for a wood top (to allow wood movement). If you take photos, I would be happy to give you my thoughts.
If it has not been attached properly, it would suggest that it was done quite recently, in which case it hasn't seen much humidity variation, and/or the polyurethane is still slowing humidity migration enough to protect the top from much movement. (And you would want to remedy the situation before some bad thing happens like the top breaks the desk or itself, or bows, or a bit of all three).
It is possible that you might also notice that the mounting system has been modified to allow for a solid teak top, which would be good, but might also indicate that the factory did not plan for a solid top.
Or finally, you might discover that the mounting was done right by the factory, which would be a pretty solid confirmation that it was intended to have a solid top.
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