Odd Hinge Needed for Door on Rolltop Desk (With Pics)
 

My friend moved recently and somehow damaged one of the hinges in their rolltop desk door. I figured no big deal - just run to one of the big box home stores and grab a pair. Well, they did and apparently it is an odd hinge and they weren't able to find one that looked similar.

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...1&d=1562104957

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...1&d=1562104976

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...1&d=1562104991

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...1&d=1562105002

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...1&d=1562105385

I'm 250 miles away and am unable to help in person. I did some searching online but really didn't know what this kind of hinge is called, so there were thousands (none that looked the same).

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Take it to a machine shop. Or a high school metal shop, if high schools even have them these days.

It's called a pivot hinge. Might be hard to find in the exact size and configuration you need, but you may be able to find something adaptable:


https://www.amazon.com/Sugatsune-PL-65L-Piece-Stainless-Overlay/dp/B00GKZDXWG/ref=lp_16412641_1_13/131-7478255-7116354?s=industrial&ie=UTF8&qid=1562122935&sr=1-13

Never thought of the high school. I'm not sure if they have shop anymore - but it's worth a shot.

Also thanks for the Amazon link. The actual name of what we need will help.

Thanks guys.

Is that a deceased veteran's flag in the picture?

Rolltop Desk
 

My sister in Richmond, Va. still has my turn of the century rolltop desk, she had it restored about 20 years ago, I wish I'da been able to bring it to Cali. with me in 1970 but....

Please keep us posted, I imagine one of the good people here could make you this simple hinge on a big sheet metal brake .

What you friend calls damaged may be repairable. Or it may just need one part of it fabricated if that piece of it was too far gone. You might consider looking under roll top desk hardware on the web as well.

Chances are it was a production part but not for direct retail sales in the day. So it might be hard to find. It appears to have been factory made from the marks on the pivot point rivet at least.

Also since it is basically just steel brass plated. There would not be any issue of strength in a tig weld buildup repair for example. Even the tearing out of the eye would go okay. Not impossible but in any scenario I can easily think of it should be repairable. There are usually smaller machine shops that may consider repairing or duplicating it.

No bad intent on my part. Today some people like your friend perhaps as well as many. May not know that there was a time of extensive repairs on many things. That has been offset by the throwaway society. Possibly because replacement has become cheaper. This trend has reached even cars.

Or it is not practical to repair as the information needed to do it is not available. For example on some large screen televisions today. Many brands are throwaway after the warranty period. Under warranty they just give you a new television with the remaining warranty of your old one. It is starting to become endemic.

I have a car radio with a bad output chip. The part and shipping exceed the cost of another complete radio from an auto wrecker.

Good eye! Not deceased, but retired Veterans' flag. :)

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...1&d=1562257680

Oh man, a turn of the century rolltop would be amazing to have in the den. I will keep posted as to what we can find.

Yep I know exactly what you mean. I went to a HAM radio/vintage electronics swap meet last month. It's an annual event that I've attended for years. Attendance decreases every year and most of those doing the selling and browsing around were retired or at least in that age range. They also knew what they had and weren't giving their items away. Even things like tubes and circuit board-level components were extremely expensive.

It's really tough to find people with an interest in trying to repair things - and even more difficult to find parts to do so. Just throw it away and buy a new one. Take an old audio amplifier for example. There's a reason it weighs 35 pounds and still works after many years. I highly doubt a new off-the-shelf unit bought today will still be working in 50 years.

Vintage Rolltop Desk
 

Understand I got it in 1964 when it was considered an oddity that few would want .

I'm always gathering up old & obscure things my 80 Y.O. friend had er gandmother's 1913 Seth Thomas mantle clock with two chimes, she said it stopped working before grandma died, I bet no one bothered to wind it .

I put it on The Bay of e sans reserve and not one bid so she sold it to me for $35 ~ I can't wait to get it cleaned, lubricated and working again .

Old stuff tends to be very well made in general .

Sorry to say, it's not worth paying for the repair. You may be able to DIY, but if it's more than clean and oil, even that isn't worth it. I've been collecting clocks for half a century or so, and the sad truth is that clocks are losing value unless they are very, very special. Stamp collections, old wooden furniture (brownware), all that stuff is rejected by the younger collectors. Vintage clocks break my heart. Nowadays, I acquire and hang them for decoration. I'll get around to the repairs when they get around to appreciating in value again. Latest acquisition is a Standard school master clock. 60 beat pendulum, self winding, two pilot clocks (for strings of slave clocks), three bell circuits, several spare tapes.Nominal value is about $1500, if you could find an old duffer who absolutely had to have it. Paid $200, probably could have paid less. Even my once-prized Howard # 89 is only worth $600-800, and nobody wants it.



https://clockhistory.com/setclocks/master_clocks/

I have a soft spot for old clocks. I have a 1899 Ithaca Grandfather clock. Paid 300. Replaced the pendulum suspension spring, cleaned it and lubed. Running for three years in perfect time. Also have a few mantle clocks. Its a loss to own them but fun.

Very cool. An oddity then, perhaps, but a pricey commodity today if you were to purchase one.

I'm a collector of fine watches and have a couple vintage pieces. Many are so underappreciated. I wish I had the precision skills required to open them up and work on their intricacies.

I bet you are correct - if you get the Seth Thomas cleaned/lubed/adjusted, you'll have a very nice piece.

Old stuff was built better with the capability of having individual parts/components replaced or repaired. That is no longer the case today. Now it's like just throw it away and buy new.

You'll have to post some pictures of your mantle clock once you get it sorted. I'd love to see it. :)

Old Things Value
 

I'm keenly and sadly aware that most of the old things are losing value but I don't much care ~ had nothing as a child and now have what pleases me .

I find comfort in my little 1923 Bungalow , the candlestick telephone next to my bed and so on . (screw the millions of termites)

I tell my son that when I die just flip a match on the whole lot, scrape the land clean and begin over, the house is a teardown anyway already .

I should have bought grandfather clock, they're nice, stately and majestic to me, I once had the opportunity to grab Mr. Chickering of Chickering Pianos, personal baby grand piano, it was a player now less, I'm sure it went to the dump when I passed on it in 1972, I was very footloose in those days and knew I wouldn't be able to hold onto it.....

One of my antique clocks was given to me when they cleaned out the garage of an old Woman who'd lived there her entire life , it has hand carved bas relief panels, one is gone missing, I keep it on my mantle anyway .