My Custom Desk Project

[TopDog]

Hi Fellaz, I'v been here for a while just watching whats been going on.

Anyway here is a desk I'm currently working on at my colledge for my 'Design In Wood' class.

Its a blackwood topped desk in an L shape, it will eventually have a raised section for monitors etc. The backwood strips are glued together verticlly for a really nice effect.



I'll post some more info later on, here are some pics:

http://users.bigpond.net.au/topdog/workstation/1.jpg
My Current Desk - Thumbs Down

http://users.bigpond.net.au/topdog/workstation/9.jpg
The Pieces cut into strips before glueing


http://users.bigpond.net.au/topdog/workstation/4.jpg
Some strips layed out


http://users.bigpond.net.au/topdog/workstation/3.jpg
A section after being glued up

http://users.bigpond.net.au/topdog/workstation/5.jpg
Again

http://users.bigpond.net.au/topdog/workstation/8.jpg
And Again



All Questions & Comments welcome

[Ditch_101]

wow topdog, looks like its coming together great! should definatly be a step up from your old workstation thats for sure :)

i also made a new desk quite recently, but nothing as extreme as urs, just ye ol' MDF , still looks good tho, the L-shape desk will definatly give it a nice effect.

looking forward to more updates!!! ;)

[TopDog]

A small description I had to do as part of the class at my colledge.

http://users.bigpond.net.au/topdog/workstation/2.jpg

[mobiux]

looks like a pretty sweet idea,
I am looking at building a desk for my office and am anxious to see how yours turns out.

[siege]

looks like it'll make one nice desk. I'm building a desk soon too, but I'm using a stainless steel workbench top made by Snap-On...I love seeing people do custom desks. This OfficeMax crap has just got to go!

[TopDog]

Alritey.

This is a pretty basic sketch of the desk shape, I'll scan the diagram with the actual sizes sometime sooon.

http://users.bigpond.net.au/topdog/workstation/10.jpg


Here is one of many the glued up sections. Its numbered so I could easily reorganise the pieces into order before it was glued together.

http://users.bigpond.net.au/topdog/workstation/6.jpg

http://users.bigpond.net.au/topdog/workstation/7.jpg

Tommorow before all the sections are sent away to be thicknes sanded I'll post pics of all the sections together to give you a better idea of what it'll look like

[compslckr]

looks like it will turn out nice. keep us posted

[XeRo_Dark]

whoa dood that thing is gonna weigh a ton, though it will be stronger then normal plywood, the weight of the desk will be insane to move, id say go with a few oak 2x8's and glue them togather, and build an oak frame to support the top, it would look nicer also.

[TopDog]

..YES this is indeedly incredibly heavy, is gunna a real prick to move when its all done.



Here are the pics of all the sections together that are done as of yet, I'v still got another two small sections to do though.

These pics give you a much idea of what the desk will look like, although keep in mind the small sections on either end to be done.

Its all at some some joint being thickness sanded at the moment, hopefully will be a nice job when I get it all back.

The Pics..
http://users.bigpond.net.au/topdog/workstation/11.jpg

http://users.bigpond.net.au/topdog/workstation/12.jpg

http://users.bigpond.net.au/topdog/workstation/13.jpg

[SacLANd]

i saw something like that on new yankee workshop... and if you havn't seen that show, then you're not a man.

[TopDog]

I havent seen that show :rolleyes:

But I'm in Australia...

[clone#13]

nice work man, can't wait to see the final product

[Drunkinsquirl]

how much did this cost you, shall we say 10k. LOL :D
long live the 10K desk!

[XPCSniperXX]

Lookin good. I want a desk like that, lol.

[TopDog]

The blackwood wasnt that exspensive around $90AUS because it all origanlly came as leftover lengths from a veneer cut (The left over bits after the veneer cutter has cut a huge tree) or something like that. The planks werent cut all square so it took me a while to do all that on the plainer.

I have only get a few more bits left and I'm hoping I dont need to buy more, should be right though.

[serp]

cool, looks to be shaping up nice!.

i have that exact same chair and i am also from australia and wait for it.... i also have the exact same mouse!! heheh

[NickTheNut]

how much did this cost you, shall we say 10k. LOL :D
long live the 10K desk!
that didn't take long :)

[doh]

Cool project.

(and, it's spelled "college" - no "d")

[gigglebyte]

I was going to say that but didn't want to be the spelling nazi ;)

[TopDog]

Spelling Pffffttttttt.
I'll hopefully post pics of the sections after thickness sanding on tuesday.

[Craftish]

Looks cool; your skills definitely lie more in woodworking than they do in writing to judge from your project summary. Also, I take it you're a left handed mouser?

[TopDog]

LoL, Maybe but that only took me about 2mins and I got a B+, the teacher is very simple minded, So it didnt really matter that it was shit. Theres no point putting effort in where its not needed

And yep I'm a Lefty.

[TopDog]

Heres another pic showing the effect of all the strips of wood glued together, I tried to lay them in a color contrasting order.

http://users.bigpond.net.au/topdog/workstation/14.jpg

[Token User]

i saw something like that on new yankee workshop... and if you havn't seen that show, then you're not a man.


I havent seen that show

But I'm in Australia...

Not much of an excuse there ... (but it does explain the spelling :) - colledge is spelt college :D)

My favourite Norm Abrahm quote - "I got the tools, I got the time ..."
When it comes to wood working, Norm IS da man (checkout www.newyankeeworkshop.com)

BTW - I am an expat Aussie (Sydney, Dubbo, Wollongong, Coffs Harbour, Melbourne), and after living in the LA area for 6 years, moved to North Carolina 12 months ago. Much more like home than anyone can appreciate ... except you cant get a decent beer, and there not a meat pie to be seen anywhere (but a good helpin' of Q is a mighty fine substitute :))

[TopDog]

Cascade :p

[Token User]

Cascade :phmmmmmm .... Cascade is good, but I am a fan of Redback (Dark&Stormy and Two Dogs aren't bad during summer too). You wouldn't be Taswegian would you?

BTW - Desk is looking good. Contrast is beautiful. How are you thinking of finishing? Wax or poly??

[TopDog]

Yeh I'm tasmanian.
In relation to the finish I'm not really sure at the moment, probably something that'll give it a nice dark gloss, perhaps some sort of lacquer. I dont really know a great deal of whats available, suggestions please.

[TopDog]

Got it all back from thickness sanding today looks pretty goood.
Pics tommorow.

[Regelos]

looking foward to seeing more of this..

[compslckr]

more pics more pics!~

[TopDog]

bit of a drama fellaz anyway....

Its all back from the thickness sanding and it looks great,
The only trouble is when I went to take some pics, the digital camera belonging to the wood work department wasnt there because it had been stolen or something. Buggga.

It's no trouble to find another camera to use but the problem now is that I'm on holidays until the end the end of next week so I cant get in to take any photos. You CAN expect some pics to be posted then...




Sorry for the hold up.

[JEEVES/whohasmyname?]

well thats good to hear.....er i guess. I was wondering what happen to this. Cant wait to see this thing finished.

JEEVES

[TopDog]

Hiya Guyz. Sorry it's been so long.
Here a bit of an update, I havent been getting a great deal of time lately to work on this.
Well anyway here are the pics:

http://users.bigpond.net.au/topdog/workstation/17.jpg

http://users.bigpond.net.au/topdog/workstation/18.jpg

http://users.bigpond.net.au/topdog/workstation/19.jpg

http://users.bigpond.net.au/topdog/workstation/20.jpg

http://users.bigpond.net.au/topdog/workstation/21.jpg

[TopDog]

The above pics show about half of the desktop which is complete.
Since the previous pics, all the parts have been joined and cut to shape.

I'm currently working on the other half of the top which meant a small section needed some time consuming joining, This was across the longest part (from corner to corner)

[Captain Colonoscopy]

holy fuck that's beautiful! I love wood. :p

[TopDog]

I've ran out of wood but some more is arriving on monday, hopefully the entire desktop will be done in a few weeks.

[Chris626]

Very nice TopDog. :D Can't wait to see the end result.

[bigboy101011]

hey i got an idea for the legs, why don't you take a couple thousand aol disks and bolt then together, you could even put some leds insid to give them a nice glow. :D

[gigglebyte]

hey i got an idea for the legs, why don't you take a couple thousand aol disks and bolt then together, you could even put some leds insid to give them a nice glow. :D

I have actally seen something like that...there was a site that was looking for the most creative use of AOL CDs and somebody did a column and lit it...looked great...as for the desk...looking good and can't wait to see the finished product (think my wife would have various parts of my body if I tried to do something like that in the garage though :eek: )

[TopDog]

I have actally seen something like that...there was a site that was looking for the most creative use of AOL CDs and somebody did a column and lit it...looked great...as for the desk...looking good and can't wait to see the finished product (think my wife would have various parts of my body if I tried to do something like that in the garage though :eek: )


Hahaha can't do it if its not original.

[bigboy101011]

watch the show wing nuts, they use airplane parts for table legs, you should use trashed power suppys or something like that

[Regelos]

Hahaha can't do it if its not original.


they didnt do table legs ;)

[gigglebyte]

well I did find THIS (http://neil.fraser.name/hardware/lamp/) site but it wasn't the one I was looking for but would be cool for the legs :D

[ktingle]

Wow, I can't wait to see how this turns out.

[Ozone77]

Hi all,

I actually made myself a new desk, its not finished yet though. Maybe I should post some pictures later on.

I know most of the theory but I am not a wood worker so your desk will probably look better than mine. The thickness of your desk will keep it from bending under the weight of a large monitor, I just got my new monitor in today and I have to add more support (see below) just beneath it becasue the table is flexing a bit.

About the finish: I would definitelly go Poly. Normally i prefer wax, its nicer and more natural, but a desk is a working surface and i would not like to get "waxy fingers" when sitting down at the desk and typing on my computer. I got a couple (i made a looong desk and matching shelves) of semi-gloss polyurethane spray cans and gave the desk 2 or 3 coats, sanding lightly with a very fine sandpaper after each coat for a very smooth finish.

About the legs: instead of legs, I braced the table to the wall with several heavy-duty shelf brackets These brackets are steel painted in white so they are hard to see against the white wall. They are rated at 1000 pounds each :) but i doubt that even attaching them to the studs in the wall the desk will actually hold that much weight.

Last thing: buying the wood (8'x4'), the hardware (backets & screws), the wood suplies (glue, stain, poly..) AND the tools (I needed a few) I spent just over $110. The result is an "L" shaped desk that is 10' long (6' long leg and 4' the short one) and about 2 feet deep. Oh yeah, and two 4'x1' shelves. It may not have any drawers, but the work surface is just huge, both me and my girfriend can work (her) and play (me :) ) at the same time on two computers without bothering each other whatsoever. Go to any store and tell me what kind of desk (even used) you can buy for $110.

This project was definitelly fun, it kept me buisy for a couple weekends and I just love the end-result (well, its not completly finished but it is useable).

[tim_m]

plug for my desk thread :D
http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=793747
of course, my desk doesn't look as nice as yours, but then again, i don't do *precision* work :p

[Chris_Morley]

Nice, I'll give ya $10,000 for it.

;)

EDIT: Canukistan rubles

[TopDog]

Thanks everyone, I think I'll probably use MDF sheeting along the sides as legs. I know its ugly stuff but it'll be in the corner, so you wont be able to see to much of it.

[siege]

Thanks everyone, I think I'll probably use MDF sheeting along the sides as legs. I know its ugly stuff but it'll be in the corner, so you wont be able to see to much of it.

eww don't do that. A) you have a nice top, don't skimp on the legs, and B) I hate desks with the mdf legs like that...they always seem to break. I vote for 4x4 legs and if you really want that sheeted look on the sides, cover them with some plywood. Trust me, you'll be much happier with real legs on that thing.

[TopDog]

If I do it with MDF it will be stained on the sides facing into the wall (not visible) and most likely a nice veneer on the two vissible sides (blackwood?).

Suggestions very welcome though.

[Bullit]

edited : Really very sorry to have hijacked your worklog like that, i linked to the thread from the main page and did not notice that it was a worklog... apologies, i've deleted the rest of the post.

BTW, TopDog your desk looks like its going to work out great...the butcher block style top should be amazing..

[siege]

Already posted this in the 'Show your workstation' thread but this one seems much more appropriate...
Made this desk for my fiance (now wife) earlier this year...
The 2nd last pic is the desk in the dark, looks cool enough that she now tends to sit with the lights off..!! :)
Last pic is the computer which is built into the cylindrical leg.

Any comments greatly appreciated.

BTW, TopDog your desk looks like its going to work out great...the butcher block style top should be amazing..



I really doubt this thread is more appropriate, seeing as its someone's worklog :rolleyes: but the desk is cool however.

TopDog, it's your desk, so obviously you have the final say when it comes to the design. However, MDF to me just seems like it would be an 'oops, I forgot to design the legs' afterthough type of thing. If you really want to use MDF though, I'm sure you could make it look good so I won't hold it against you :)

[TopDog]

I'm going to go with panel style legs. Blackwood would be nice but it sure isnt cheap.

I got all previous stuff well priced because the lengths were bent and buckled, this didn't matter because I was cutting them into thin strips. Obviously I can't buy the same stuff as last time and I definately don't have enough time to glue up enough of strips to make the desk sides.

[Ozone77]

Hi all,

I actually made myself a new desk, its not finished yet though. Maybe I should post some pictures later on.


This is the link, scroll to the 2nd post. I hope I am not offending anyone, specially you TopDog. I just wanted people to see more alternatives to buying pre-made desks. In case someone does not have the skills to make such a desk as yours, mine is a bit simpler to make (it can be improved too).

Cheers

[TopDog]

Looks Good



Btw. I'v only just recieved the new lot of blackwood, Damnn foolz keep stuff me around. The desktop will hopefully be completed by the end of this week.

I've been working the legs, there MDF (Wtf!?!?!!?) BUT they will be all veneered a bit later on I think, anyway I will sort all that out later. Doing as best desktop as I can is top priority at the moment. pics in the next couple of days.

[Hinokagutsuchi]

Man, I was skeptical at first, but I think it's really going to turn out to be a beautiful desk.

[TopDog]

Wood arrived! Finally!
I've just been thickness'ing and plaining today.
I'll be strip cutting tommorow.

[bobwrong]

Wood arrived! Finally!
I've just been thickness'ing and plaining today.
I'll be strip cutting tommorow.


looks good so far. Can't wait to see how it all turns out!

[wachimanp]

This is the link, scroll to the 2nd post. I hope I am not offending anyone, specially you TopDog. I just wanted people to see more alternatives to buying pre-made desks. In case someone does not have the skills to make such a desk as yours, mine is a bit simpler to make (it can be improved too).

Cheers

Can you provide more details how you built your desk? I am not a not a very crafty person and liked your design. Thanks

[TopDog]

I've been busy people, Cut up and glued together a HUGE section.
It took around 3 hours to glue up and is around 800mm x 2500mm.

I'll beltsand it tommorow and it should be off to the thickness sander within a couple of days. I hope to have the top all done within a week and a bit, I've got exams coming up so it may get a little delayed. Cya'z

[bobwrong]

I've been busy people, Cut up and glued together a HUGE section.
It took around 3 hours to glue up and is around 800mm x 2500mm.

I'll beltsand it tommorow and it should be off to the thickness sander within a couple of days. I hope to have the top all done within a week and a bit, I've got exams coming up so it may get a little delayed. Cya'z


PICTURES!! :D

[TopDog]

Soon.

[Ozone77]

Can you provide more details how you built your desk? I am not a not a very crafty person and liked your design. Thanks

There is a bit more information on my first post on this thread and I added a description on the link above.

Also, I have seen another custom desk job in the forum (using Formica kitchen countertops), but you will have to search for it.

[bigboy101011]

whats taking soooooooo long

[TopDog]

Sorry, I have been slowly working on this but I havent had much free time at all.