Restored tanker desk, chair & filing cabinet

Here's the finished items.

Tanker desks & chair

Mid-Century vintage metal desks and furniture -  I found my first one a few weeks ago on craigslist and bought it from the retiring professor for $25. These things were made by the thousands by many different manufacturers all over North America during the 1940's up until the 1980's. Thousands were junked and thrown out but many survived and are still sitting in basements, government offices and schools.

They weigh a ton and are called "Tankers" probably because they are indestructible and bullet-proof.

I managed to strip the paint off of mine and sand the metal into a nice brushed finish. I still have a ways to go but it looks pretty retro. I found a chair for $25 too and it matches nicely. Last week I found another Tanker and will replace my wooden desk with both of these soon.

 

I'm still searching for a Tanker Chair with armrests and maybe a metal credenza. If you know of one in the Vancouver area, please drop me a line.

 

Some photos taken by my friend Campbell last year....

How things have changed....now to get to the powder, we take snowmobiles into the backcountry of Whistler. Often the sledding is more fun than the snowboarding so we don't even get on the boards. Here a short video of us riding around Rainbow Lake near Whistler in Winter 2011/12. Shot on HeroHD camera on a pole (you can see the setup in the shadows).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9n2cEieYfpI

I just converted by Betamax video to YouTube. It's short video taken in 1983 of snowboarding at Cypress Bowl in Vancouver. It was illegal back then and we had to hike to the top of the Sky Chair run as they wouldn't allow us on the lifts.  We're riding homemade boards and wearing jeans and running shoes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdsUPRkm44k