Pictures would be the first step.

I currently have a Wooton Desk in my shop to do a complete restoration on.

Here are some pictures it's not the larger secretary, I'm assuming it was made around 1875-1880? It's been restored once, but the pedestals are pretty beat up on the interior and the drawers shown above are really just sponge-painted, so i don't know if one can purchase these items or a facsimile of them? The center of the desk originally had a leather inlaid desk pad, but it had so many cigarette burns in it that it needed replaced and the person who refinished it wasn't able to find a replacement.

Any help would be appreciated!

Beautiful desk. It looks like it is in really good shape for its age. You said it was restored. I think I see wood filler in places. A true restoration would have not used wood filler. The veneer would have been either patched or replaced. Was it refinished with something other than shellac? The original desks were finished with shellac and a restoration would have used shellac again.

This is a fine piece of history and deserves to be treated accordingly. What are you thinking of doing to it, other than getting a new writing pad and fixing the drawer fronts? New file drawers are not available and shouldn't be put in anyway. The existing should be repainted.

My husband and I double-checked and it isn't shellac. We are thinking probably polyurethane. I'm adding a couple of pictures of the pedestals which are beaten up. We are in the process of building a mission style house and while I know the desk isn't mission style, it isn't as ornate as many of the Wooton desks and has some very nice clean lines on it. I would like to restore it to looking as close to original as possible. I have another family antique I inherited, a plantation hutch that looks very arts and crafts, has clean simple lines but needs some TLC. I was hoping to use the hutch to kind of integrate the desk in with the more modern arts and crafts furniture we have in the house. I was planning on putting the desk as a focal piece in a "formal" living room which then flows into the great room as our floor plan is very open.

And I love the Wooton desk you are restoring! It is beautiful!

It's a great desk to go in a Mission Style house even though it isn't mission. If you are looking to take it back to original, I would remove all of whatever is on there and start over with a true restoration. It will take a lot of work and time. You will need to be very detailed. This kind of furniture deserves the best. It's a real piece of history.

The hardest part is going to be getting rid of what has been done to it previously. If it is poly, poly is hard to get rid of but it can be done. I do it all the time. You won't find any poly in my shop.

So if you want I'd be glad to walk you through it. It won't be quick or easy. I will not help you use any quick fixes from the junk-in-the-box stores.

If you feel that you aren't comfortable doing this, I'd suggest finding a restorer in your area and talking to them. Don't let a painter or strip/refinish shop touch it. It's too important of a piece.

And by the way, your are right about the approximate age.

In the next few days I'm going to be disassembling the Wooton I have in my shop for a full restoration. The original finish is going to be saves as much as possible, but it needs other work before I get to the finish.

I would love you to walk me through it. I looked over the receipt from the previous work on it and I couldn't see where it was actually restored. It stated "repair and touch up". I've been trying to find pictures of the original file drawers to see how they would need to be painted. Guidance would be appreciated. I would much rather do the work myself even if it takes a while as it's been in our family for so long.

OK. the first thing to do is find a place to work where you can leave it, because this is going to take a while. Dissassemble is as much as you can. You are going to clean off what is on there and it's a lot easier when you don't have to work in nooks and crannies.

okay, thank you so much for your help!

Let me know when you are ready to start stripping it.

I will do that.

Great post! Can't wait to see how this progresses!! I also have a wooten, but mine is more of a mid-century style...nothing as elaborate or beautiful as either of yours!

Mine is just like the attached pic.

That's not mine, it belongs to a customer. I've have it to do a restoration on it.

Gotcha. But just to be able to have it in your shop & be entrusted to restore it.

That's why I follow people like you!! :0)

Do the rotating pedestals come out? I've disassembled the file drawers and pulled out the drawers, but didn't know if the pedestals came apart and how and also if the actual roll top comes apart? Thanks!

oh and it may be a couple of weeks before I am ready to stripping it. I am in grad school and have midterms coming up!

Never had the opportunity to work on one like yours, so I'm not sure. My first guess would be that the upper section comes off the pedestals, and then it is possible to remove the rotating sections. Look for screws under the upper section and inside the pedestals that may be holding the upper section on. Might also have to look inside the drawers.

okay, I will look for those and try to figure out how it was assembled. Thanks again!

Here are some pictures I found online that I think shows what the writing pad looked like on the desk, how do I restore that as currently it was taken out and replaced with wood? I don't remember the desk very clearly as it was removed 20 years ago, but I'm pretty certain the writing pad was green like on these. I can't remember though exactly if it was a darker green like on the darker desk or the lighter green. And I can't find screws under the upper section or inside the pedestals that are obvious, but I haven't been really able to study the desk either to figure out how it may have been assembled.

If you wish to follow the restoration of another, but different, Wooton Desk, you can on my Facebook Business page at the following link:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=ms.c.eJwzNDA0NTY2NTayMDYztTS3NNMzhIuYmBqYoIiYA1Whi5haWKKJmJugqAHqMAKbDACQpRW0.bps.a.10153353269659796.1073741843.268034109795&type=1

Thank you! i just looked. I have noticed lots of nails in mine also, not that many screws, but lots of nails!

Some nails should be there, some shouldn't. Those that look like they are "fixing" a crack or loose joint are just cobble jobs. Whoever "fixed" one spot didn't have a nail short enough so they just cut a long one off. Probably Uncle Joe.

I have a similar wooton desk but need to remove from it's location. Does anyone know how to dismantle the desk?

Did you ever find out how to take it apart? I just bought one and haven't been able to get it apart. Loosened, but that's all. Other roll tops come apart in 4 pieces but I'm stumped on this one. Thanks for any help.