The Resolute Desk Blueprints

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The Presidential Desk of the Oval Office

One of the most challenging projects that I have ever taken on has to be "The Resolute Desk", the presidential desk of the oval office. This desk has a fascinating historical story all in its self. Made from the salvaged timber of the H.M.S. Resolute of the British Navy in the late 1800's.

The project was commissioned to me in 1996, while I was working for a manufacture that built executive office furniture, and the project was to reverse engineer the desk for a private business owner. The original blueprints that I had drawn were by hand on a typical drafting table. I have researched much of my information from books and from a visit to the Regan Library in Ojai, California where there was a reproduction of the complete Oval office, to include The Resolute Desk. With some persuasion with one of the working attendants, she allowed me to acquire my detailed information, which had to be done to get the exact profile edges of the desk.

With my manual drafting expertise and my new added CAD (Computer Aided Design) skill, I have recreated "The Resolute Desk" once again in AutoCAD 2011 version. Much of the research this time was due to my daughter, Kenda Perez, who searched the internet, providing me with great high res images to work from. With this kind of technology, it has allowed me to recapture the project with amazing detail and with the previous knowledge of the first successful build; the information is now very exact to what is the original object of history.

Never before has this information been available for public view and recorded as a historic documented blueprint. I am recreating it for the amazing historical history about who used it and where the wood material came from. And to inspire a challenging project for a skilled woodworker or cabinet maker that may attempt to build this desk. The desk without the carvings is a most impressive piece of furniture even as simple plain panels.

This is still an ongoing project and I will be uploading more image examples that will be available for sale to print. I will be offering a variety of sizes and the completed set is scheduled to be a 3 page set. The second one is this page with the elevation views, the cover page to have story information with a perspective view and a plan view. The Third page will have the section views that are shown on page 2 front & back elevations. I would very much like to hear of any comments about the history and or about the project.

You can purchase the prints directly from here:

http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/ken-perez.html

For further information on The Resolute Desk. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Resolute_(1850)