Jasper desk...

[mc437]

In my office I work on an old mid-century desk that someone put out on the curb (some people find old Gretsch kits in bins waiting to be hauled off, I find desks), and today I finally noticed the maker. To my surprise, it has embossed, "JOFCO makers of fine wood office furniture Jasper, Indiana." JOFCO stands for Jasper Office Furniture Company. So, my desk was made by the same people who made so many of the shells for Gretsch, Rogers, Fibes, etc.
I'm gonna bang it with a pair of sticks and see if it "sings"...

 

[VintageUSA]

Cool......................I knew my Jasper shells were made by a furniture company in Indiana, but I've never seen one of those desks.

 

[Sequimite]

I toured the Jasper factory a couple of decades ago and wood cylinder production was a single room in their sprawling factory. The machines they used to bend wood were massive. When I asked the sales manager why the walls and ceiling were covered heavy steel netting he told me that the had to put that up because operating the machines caused the instruments in planes overhead to malfunction. (that was during World War II)

 

[Rich K.]

The Gretsch factory in South Carolina is in Jasper County.

 

[mc437]

The Gretsch factory in South Carolina is in Jasper County.

Haha, nice. Wonder if that was intentional.

 

[JazzDrumGuy]

Cool....are the insides of the drawers painted silver???

 

[mattmalloy66]

I have worked for Keller for 32 years, although not in the division that makes the drums shells. For decades Keller has made furniture using their molded wood process in the Keller Products part of the company. You would be surprised with all the stuff they make in addition to drum shells.

 

[studrum]

...check for authentic gum/maple ply lay-up...

Seriously, I would absolutely never let such a desk out of my possession, but if you ever decide to, of course call Steve Maxwell to maximize your resale!

 

[W&A Player]

Can you put Gretsch round badges behind the drawer pulls as backing plates?

 

[mc437]

Its got silver painted interiors, date stamps, and reinforcement strips on all the drawers. The lamp mount on top is missing the arm, and there is some office chair rash, but otherwise in great shape.

 

[Fullerton 9/72]

Hopefully, nobody removed the drawer bottoms in the 1970's.

 

[Flipperock]

Be glad that you have such a historical thing!

 

[Kioskovka]

I think he definitely won't sing, and you're romanticizing everything too much Although you know what you can think of? You can make your custom drums from this table and play them! After all, no one has such drums now, and you will stand out among the crowd and other musicians. However, you will have to find a skilled specialist who can make custom drums for you, which I highly doubt. I imagine what kind of drums I would have from my new gaming desk that I recently purchased on https://eurekaergonomic.com/gaming-desk-aed-72-studio-with-keyboard-tray/. It would probably be something incredible.

 

[levelpebble]

... original calfskin file dividers ...

 

[dingaling]

Good luck shutting the drawers, they are probably oversized.

Send to precision to wrap in champagne sparkle.

 

[Troyh]

Jasper is about 50 minutes from my house here S.I., however, Gretsch drums were scarce around these parts.
Iirc, Kimball bought out Jasper.

 

[mc437]

Thank you for digging up this old thread, folks. Still have the desk, although it got banged up a bit during my cross-country move this summer. Still sturdy, though. And yes, when I use my pencils as drumsticks and go to town on it, I’m instantly Max Roach. This desk SINGS.

 

[pedro navahas]

I would love to see a pic of it