Nice. Love all of these. Solid=good.

This definitely brings back memories of my dad's office, circa 1978. My favorite feature of these old desks was those boards that pull out above the drawers. I don't know what you call them. I suppose this was a way to whip out extra space to write on when your desk was covered with stuff. Like mine is.

I would chalk this up to a feeling of nostalgia for something that, in its day, was probably just an ugly, utilitarian object. That being said, I would swap one for the ugly, utilitarian and poorly made desk I currently work on.

I love these. One of these or a classic oak teacher's desk will be in my dream office. I was so bummed that my mother wouldn't let me keep my grandfather's when he died, but I don't blame her..they weigh about a ton and it would have taken up a ton of space as well in their basement.

Ugh--battleship chic as I call it. I have a particular hate for how the modestly shield restricts my legs.

There's tons of this kind of furniture at my workplace & it's the usually the first thing to go when new employees get offices still using it.

I'm sometimes surprising to see starting prices of near $1000 dollars for this stuff from the expensive, trendy homestores when the furniture inspires such hatred at work.

Western North Carolina Rescue Mission Super Thrift Store in Asheville NC usually has two or three of these sitting in the furniture section for $30-50. I think a lot of the old warehouses around WNC had them in the foreman's offices or something.

I have one from the now extinct Duke surplus store and have been wanting to get it powder coated a pretty color. They look great in the pictures.

We used to call them Boeing desks.

I have two sixties Steelcase tanker desks - a 60" inch wide double pedestal and a 40" inch wide single pedestal. They are super sturdy and will last me forever. I love the sleek industrial look and the deep drawers! oh, the storage!

FYI - you can take them totally apart with some patience and a few tools - I fit the smaller one in my Honda Accord.

We had a newsroom full of these at my first newspaper job in the '70s (although the desks had, of course, been there much longer).

In retrospect, they were sort of cool-looking. In practice, the drawers jammed (one of them I could never get open at all) and you were constantly whacking your shins inside the restrictive leg space. Several reporters stored stacks of newspapers in there, instead.

We have a beige tanker desk. It wasn't a bargain, but it was in near perfect condition. We weren't going to be able to afford to refinish it, so we were aiming for as perfect as we could get. Aside from one teeny paint chip (you can't even see it) some bumps in the formica, one of the bottom legs missing a circular "foot" and a small chunk missing from the rubber "bumper" it's perfect. And MUCH less than the "low tier" $1,500 refinished one AT quoted above.

The only problem we've had is that we really, really like our chair and the style completely clashes and the seat is too wide to fit under the desk so you can't tuck it in...but the chair is so comfy we can't give it up.

We have a boatload of these at the state university I work for. The best one is a pale yellow Steelcase with a marbled gray top. Mine is manufactured by "All Steel Equipment", pretty close to the single pedestal one here (http://www.thefind.com/furniture/info-steel-tanker-desk). There's a surplus store run by the university where you can go to buy this stuff. They also have Herman Miller shell chairs by the dozen. CHEAP!

If any of you readers live in the Phoenix area, check out ASU Tempe...

These go for $5 at local auctions, if they sell at all. I had one once and intended to strip it and buff it down to the pretty, shiny, bright steel. But in the end, we took it to the dump. Too much work, way too many other projects to do.

We have one upstairs in what will soon be the nursery. The desk might become the baby's changing table because we don't want to move the frickin thing. They don't call it a Tanker for nothing.

I am a T.A. at a state university and have one in my office. I must say they are pretty darn awesome to work in but the down side is the modern adjustable chairs don't work too well with these because I like to be a bit high and the arms usually prevent me from getting close to the desk. But the workspace is great.

I remember going to my Mom or Dad's office when I was a kid and seeing folks working at these - and those little rolling carts with the flip-up leaves for their modern new IBM Selectric Typewriters!

A neighbor of mine has one in his carport. I suspect he's had it his whole life.

I'm half tempted to ask if he's willing to part with it.

I'm thinking the value is in the new finish and not the desk itself. I see these curbside, at thrift shops, and even at a flea market or two in and around Boston, usually around 30 or 40 bucks.

I have two Tankers - the nicer one in my office and the beat-up one in the garage that I use for a workbench. I absolutely love the amount of storage in the extra-deep drawers and the gigantic (3'x5') workspace on top.

I have a soft spot for these desks because they remind me of when my dad worked for the Army Corps at a hydroelectric power plant (dam). All the office furnishings were, as I call it, "midcentury government." Benches in the visitors center with olive vinyl cushions and chrome legs. Tanker desks in the offices. Steel lockers for the workmen. Interesting dials and gauges on the wall. Fascinating stuff for a kid and a nice bit of nostalgia when I sit down at my computer each day.

Be cautious about bringing one home...they don't fit through doors easily, and very difficult to get up stairs. Hard to give away too...thrift shops in my area won't take them, interested people on craigslist don't have a vehicle to transport. I couldn't believe how hard it was to get rid of that beast!

Like Tamarind, my university had these in our offices - single-pedestal upstairs in the 1st-years' offices, but largely double pedestal on the main floor and in the basement.
I loved my double-pedestal SteelCase so much that I hunted high and low for one for home. I finally found a newer, boxier All Steel that offered the same space, but none of the character, and it didn't feel as well made. Plus, it weighed a good bit more than the one in my office, and I was nearly crushed when my friend and I couldn't get it over the last step and it fell down an entire flight of stairs at my apartment building. After that, I vowed never to move the thing again and left it the last time I moved. I still hope to find a really nice All Steel arch-leg when I'm more settled.

My father had one and I don't know what he did with it. It was in his shop for a while, but he may have gotten rid of it. I really liked it but it would be a major pain to move.

They are much easier to move if you take them apart, which isn't too difficult but you might need some WD40 if your desk is old the bolts and nuts have begun to rust together.

had one. we actually came by it free from a family member. unfortunately, there was only room in our house for one ginormous desk and my then-husband refused to part with his other ginormous wood desk. so the tanker had to go. we did make some $ on it though and the guy who bought it was thrilled beyond belief. I still see them constantly on CL. and yes, they are beasts to move.

I have one of these in the storage room... and a friend of mine recently got rid of 2 that were in an outbuilding of the house he bought.

I have the wooden cousin to the tanker, sometimes called a "teacher's desk" or "partner's desk." It looks like it was hewn with an axe and has seen plenty of abuse, but my word that's a lot of storage and work surface. I do at least know how to take it apart to move it--the Tanker looks like it will rust in place. I would love love love to find a Tanker credenza, though.

I love my Steelcase. We found in on Los Angeles' craigslist and paid $75. Took it apart & used lots of elbow grease and Goo-Gone to clean it all up and it looks amazing. Definitely has some wear but that adds to the character. Luckily my husband likes it, reminds him of his first real job out of college. Eventually I'd love to strip off all the paint, but that will come in time.

We are in process of moving all our files into it and have found that the file drawer is too wide for letter sized Pendaflex folders. Has anyone else noticed this? Are we missing a piece or something? Help!

I fully restored one of the tanker desk chairs identical to the one in the photo at the top and have been waiting to get one of the desks for a restoration as well. I've found I'd rather restore a hundred of these then purchase another "modern" desk chair. This thing has been around or almost 60 years and it's in near perfect fully functional shape. None of those cheap plastic pos' you buy today last that long! Lets face it you buy one of these you'll have it for life. You buy one of those MDF desks and you have it untill you move.

I have an exact model of the one in the above b/w picture at top. I recognize it because it is not like most of the ones if have seen. The one I have the one own like in the picture is a pontoon leg style and all the corners are rounded off with deco looking handles. All the other desks I have seen have straight edged corners with very slight corner and usually legged. I have been looking for another like mine to get an idea of its value but have not found one yet.

I love them and wanted to restore mine, but ... since I'm designing furniture it just won't work to have this massive mid-century piece as my desk when I should be using one of my own designs. I'd take $300 for it. Any takers?

I used to have one, but I sold it when I moved into my last place. Worst furniture decision I ever made. Now, only 8 months later, I'm on the market for another one.