Itty Bitty Computer, Big Desk

B

bastage

Pics of your wife?
Joined
Mar 4, 2010
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So I Wanted a big desk.. & I mean BIG.. well I Couldnt buy one so I decided to make one.

Surface is a 3/4" piece of birch measuring about 34" deep by 94" long. Legs are the Ikea Vika Curry. & You will notice a piece of grey painted metal laying on the 1st pic. It is normally used to hang shelves on a wall.. Well I am using it as support on the bottom to the desk to add rigidity.

Just home from the hardware store
http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/2096/sdc10152s.jpg

Surface prep.. Hope that doesn't break any child labor laws.
http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/6690/sdc10197.jpg

In place
http://img689.imageshack.us/img689/3880/sdc10202s.jpg

Setup & Going
http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/5548/sdc10205ck.jpg

& The hardware you can see is my WHS under neath the desk on the left. My i3 w/ 5750 in a Lian Li PC-Q07 on the desk & a 28" Haans-G HG281D monitor. Also Complete with brown duck-tape on the arm of a 200 dollar Lane computer chair..
 
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WOW, that looks fantastic! Look's very professional!

I'm jealous, I could use a big desk... :D
 
Looks very nice, now to work on cable management!

Quick question though: Why so much desk real estate, and only one monitor? No triple 24s? :)
 
evoluti0n said:
WOW, that looks fantastic! Look's very professional!

I'm jealous, I could use a big desk... :D
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Thanks. I Dig it..


4x4not said:
Looks very nice, now to work on cable management!

Quick question though: Why so much desk real estate, and only one monitor? No triple 24s? :)
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Cause I Cant find a video card to do it in that little ass box without using VGA for one. & the 28 I have no was only 200 bucks.. But Multiples are definitly in the cards. I jsut might have to wait another generation of video cards to get what I need without taking too big of a hit on graphics performance..

& As for the cable management, Yea I know. I am going to order some of those racks from ikea I think if I don't come up with something else.. & As for the amount of realestate.. It was planned from the get go when I was designing this house. The room is 8'1" wide. & I Was originally going to do a built in desk (matching the counter tops in the rest of the house). but my wife wanted me to leave it so that we could use it as a bedroom if need be.
 
Very simple and awesome. I wish I had that kind of desk space. I'm "studying" right now and I have like 4 books on top of each other because my desk is so small. Nice job!
 
a nice hutch on the top to add storage space and room for misc stuff would be the finishing touch.

very nice desk. clean simple and big. some people say mine is big and its only 30x60. yes i now know what desk envy feels like.
 
Rogue71 said:
a nice hutch on the top to add storage space and room for misc stuff would be the finishing touch.

very nice desk. clean simple and big. some people say mine is big and its only 30x60. yes i now know what desk envy feels like.
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yea I think this will give alot of people desk envy


& as for the brackets I was thinking about it.. But I Got a heavy duty one so I dont think I "need" any, but will most likely do one more anyhow
 
TED said:
Beautiful! That probably ran you about 10k didn't it!
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10kdeskmandref-mr_brett.jpg
 
Looks great. My 2 by 3.5 foot desk makes me sad. Stupid college furniture.

Also lawl. I remember the 10k desk...
 
lol.. The total cost was about 160 for what I actually used.. I screwed up the 1st surface & started over at one point so that cost me an extra 50..

That is also including the 2nd bracket that I installed today that is even heavier.. My wife hung on it at the store & it didn't bow..
 
looks great, planning something similar. how much was a piece of birch that size? i heard birch is hard to stain, did u have any problems?
 
nice work. i love big desks. my ideal space is always big enough to open a wall street journal flat on the desk surface. +1 on simple, straightforward construction
 
Hey, could you post instructions on how you built that beautiful desk?

Interested on how you did the finish and attached the IKEA legs.
 
Bastage, your desk is amazing. Its exactly what i was looking for. So I decided im going to build one this weekend(with just a few minor modifications to my preference). would you be able to tell me how stiff it is in the center and how much weight think you i could safely hold.
 
Nice looking desk you made!

I read an article on lifehacker.com that talked about using a closet door laying over 2 short filing cabinets as a really cheap, fast alternative for people without handyman skills.
 
Looks like a great addition to your room!

oahawhool said:
Nice looking desk you made!

I read an article on lifehacker.com that talked about using a closet door laying over 2 short filing cabinets as a really cheap, fast alternative for people without handyman skills.
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Lol... If someone cant make a simple desk that doesn't require the use of wood biscuits or any specialty tools their man status is revoked. ;)
 
TeeJay88 said:
Bastage, your desk is amazing. Its exactly what i was looking for. So I decided im going to build one this weekend(with just a few minor modifications to my preference). would you be able to tell me how stiff it is in the center and how much weight think you i could safely hold.
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There is a little flex in the center if I am putting weight down on it, but not a hell of a lot at all. The secret to that is simply finding something to stiffen it up as if it was just wood I have no doubt it would sag under its own weight. What I used was a couple of heavy duty shelf wall mounts (the part on the wall with the little drop in adjustable arms). I wouldn't feel comfortable sitting on it or anything, but I am fairly sure my wife could & it would hold her. I have had alot of crap piled up on it with no noticeable flex as well..

As for the cost of the birch, it was less then 40 bucks at Home Depot. & They even cut it down to size for free. Staining was pretty simple after I switched products, The 1st time I tried using a stain & then a separate polyurethane. I eventually used a product called Polyshades (its fairly common as both lowes & home depot carry it) which is a combo product & it went on way easy. Just smoothed out with steel wool in between coats & did 3 or so coats.

2 months later I only have 1 noticeable scratch in it & it was actually done when it was 3 days old while opening one of those damn plastic clamshell packages for some ram I was using a knife & basically ran the tip into the surface of the desk. So its well deserved.
 
Damn, that is big and nice. The biggest I was able to find was a table-desk by HON at 72" x 36" x about 1" and it is a damn heavy beast. One person cannot lift it. It is all open underneath except for the 4 legs. It will hold 200 lbs evenly spread across the top and I gave it a run for the money. I even had to replace the height adjusters at the bottom of the legs because the plastic cracked from the weight. They run a 68" 2 x 4 under the top down the middle to give the center strength to prevent sagging. It is put up with some solid metal cam locks. They don't make the thing anymore. I think there is a desk version with side drawers but not a table-desk version (with no drawers). Congrats on the build!
 
Danny Dawg said:
Damn, that is big and nice. The biggest I was able to find was a table-desk by HON at 72" x 36" x about 1" and it is a damn heavy beast. One person cannot lift it. It is all open underneath except for the 4 legs. It will hold 200 lbs evenly spread across the top and I gave it a run for the money. I even had to replace the height adjusters at the bottom of the legs because the plastic cracked from the weight. They run a 68" 2 x 4 under the top down the middle to give the center strength to prevent sagging. It is put up with some solid metal cam locks. They don't make the thing anymore. I think there is a desk version with side drawers but not a table-desk version (with no drawers). Congrats on the build!
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Yea I spent more time contemplating the support then I actually did building the thing. I Could have gotten away with 4 legs had I done supports front & back, but Since I knew it was going against a wall I opted to have the extra legs in the back.

a 2x4 for support would work just fine, except it would be too thick for my taste.. What I have is about 3/4 of an inch so it leaves me alot more clearance & cant be seen unless under the desk.
 
oahawhool said:
Nice looking desk you made!

I read an article on lifehacker.com that talked about using a closet door laying over 2 short filing cabinets as a really cheap, fast alternative for people without handyman skills.
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This is a very effective setup. You can get a solid core door at your local home depot for $50 and cheap filing cabinets at walmart/Target for $45 each. $150 and you have a 30" x 78" desk. tough to beat.
 
That looks great, man. I need to build something similar, only I'll have a lot more crap on the desk >_>
 
I built a similar desk at my parents house and it eventually had a problem with sagging, although it really did not affect anything except visual.

Easy fix would be a metal frame support or a random leg in the center to take all the weight off. Just an idea.

Looks great though!
 
Morphes said:
I built a similar desk at my parents house and it eventually had a problem with sagging, although it really did not affect anything except visual.

Easy fix would be a metal frame support or a random leg in the center to take all the weight off. Just an idea.

Looks great though!
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I need to snap a picture of the underside.. Sagging should absolutely not be an issue. There are 2 heave guage metal braces running across the front about 5 inches back on the underside that cant be seen. Also a leg in the front at all would defeat the purpose..
 
fNice man!

Why don't you have your computer up on your desk? Less dust, more air movement, and probably the best part; you wouldn't have the desk leg in the way of your dvd drives :D
 
Morphes said:
Easy fix would be a metal frame support or a random leg in the center to take all the weight off. Just an idea.

Looks great though!
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what a coincidence. i have a random leg in the center that i use to take the weight off also. i use it for other stuff too, occasionally.
 
Nice! I have a simmaler setup. Home built desk with a baby computer =D
IMG_4005.jpg

The desk goes on for about 4 more feet!
 
King Icewind said:
fNice man!

Why don't you have your computer up on your desk? Less dust, more air movement, and probably the best part; you wouldn't have the desk leg in the way of your dvd drives :D
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The computer under the desk is my WHS.. & Dust is not a worry since there is only 1 fan in the system & its the PSU. I have only had to access that system maybe 3 times in as many months. On my desk you will see my main system to the left of my monitor where there is less dust & its easy to access the drives.

@mistab723. I Thought about doing it the same way you did where it attaches to the wall, But in the end my wife didnt want me to so we could use my office as a bedroom if we ever needed to.
 
Looks great but I would have put another set of legs in the middle. You are going to run into bowing issues.

P.S. Get a ratpadz, much better looking than that clothie you have.
 
@bastage funny thing actually...that is in my bedroom. =P

And cloth pads are where its at..much quieter and smoother than plastic.
 
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