Desk Ideas

WhenKittensATK

WhenKittensATK

Limp Gawd
Joined
Oct 6, 2009
Messages
320
Update 04/05/15 - Completed Build

Current Desk (Messy :(): 48 x 23.5"
DIY Ikea Headphone Stand (for those curious)
New Desk Specs: ~ 72 x 23"
Budget: ~$200

I'm looking into buying a new desk to fit all my stuff. My final workstation setup will be similar to this design (freaking amazing) with some changes. He's using an Ikea 74" kitchen countertop with Adlis legs. He's has 3x 27" monitors and studio monitors. My setup will be 2x 27" monitors, studio speakers, and headphones. Having a hard time choosing which design to go with.

Cheapest All-in-One Option:
Linmon / Adils 78 3/4 x 23 5/8" - $62.50​
Ikea Butcher Block Option:
Karlby Oak 74 x 25 5/8" - $99.00. Plan to refinish with a darker stain.​
Sears Butcher Block Option:
Craftsman Butcher Block 72 x 24" - $121.89 after coupon & tax. Plan to refinish with a darker stain.​
Table Leg Options:
5x Adils - $17.50​
Galvanized Steel - ~$80-100. Fittings from Zoro and Pipe from Home Depot/Lowes. Plan to paint the pipes black and leave the fittings unfinished.​
Hairpin (example store) - $17-25 each / $68-100 total without shipping. Plan to paint them black.​

The steel legs are pretty pricey, but I think they look kinda neat. If I did the galvanized steel legs, I could move the cross beam higher, then lay a piece of wood on top to turn it into additional storage space. Ex. Keyboard tray or laying my PC tower and Server chassis on. This would give me a lot of free space on top of the desk for other things.

What do you guys think would look nice? Steel legs worth the extra cost? Still need to get a new desk chair, second 27" monitor, and a dual monitor mount.
 
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I'm in the same boat as you about making a new desk. Luckily for me, I have a very old 2" thick door to use instead of the pricey butcher block options. As far as legs goes, I was actually looking into the galvanized steel like the picture you linked shows or this one.
 
As an owner of a Linmon desk, I can't really recommend it for your situation. It's cheap for a reason. That's why I use the now discontinued Galant tops: they may be thinner than a Linmon but they're significantly sturdier. The Linmon is just my storage desk.

If you're within driving distance of IKEA, see if they have a scratch and dent section. YMMV but I found one of my Galant tops for half the price and already assembled with the v legs because there was just a tiny scratch on the side.
 
I ordered the Craftsman Butcher Block, since I wasn't sure when the coupon expired. Sanding and staining may cost ~$40 extra if I go that route.

I've Googled a lot of different table leg designs and they keep leading me back to metal pipes. So far these are the two competing designs Z-shaped and H/I-shaped. The Z-shaped is simple enough to make, but I feel it loses any "cool" factor it had without a glass top. The H/I-shaped design is pretty generic, but using large pipes on the four posts makes it stand out much beter.

This is by far one of the cooler metal leg designs I've seen but out of my budget and beyond my skills.
 
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Keep us updated with some pictures. Would love to see the end product you make. :)
 
What is wrong with Ikea. Every decent desk they've ever sold has gotten discontinued.
 
This might be another option in the future. If only a planer didn't cost me as much as a pre-made table itself. http://m.imgur.com/a/97HAK


Purchases so far:
Craftsman Butcher Block = $121.89
Pipe Fittings = $47.12
Pipes = $44.25
Total so far: $213.26

Pipe List:
4x Base Flange,Nominal Pipe Size 1 In
4x Slip-On Plug,Nominal Pipe Size 1 In
4x Side-Outlet Tee,Nominal Pipe Size 1 In
4x Single-Socket Tee,Nominal Pipe Size 1 In
2x 1 in. x 10 ft. Galvanized Steel Pipe

After some thinking, I decided to go with a cheaper and simple pipe layout. Found an expensive Lowes design. Calculating the price for that one was a bit high and that was cutting out a lot of their conversion fittings too.
 
Chas said:
What is wrong with Ikea. Every decent desk they've ever sold has gotten discontinued.
Click to expand...

I think that if you, like me, tend to move around every year or two, you wouldn't be using "Ikea" and "decent" in the same context. I thought Ikea had a lot of decent stuff until I had to move a couple of times.

Avoiding them was the right move, whether by choice or not.
 
Purchased and built the legs yesterday.
http://imgur.com/dvLmcMp

Now to figure out how I want to do the keyboard tray. Nearly full length of desk or just enough. Then I need to figure out how I'll finish it. Maybe a satin black.

Update: Went back to Lowes. They cut it for free.
 
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Table is done.I need to clean up the house and re-do the wiring under the desk. I'll try to take better photos tonight or tomorrow. Photo was taken with a wide angle camera (too close), so that's why it has a curved look.

http://i.imgur.com/agaeasO.jpg.
 
Krazyxazn said:
Table is done.I need to clean up the house and re-do the wiring under the desk. I'll try to take better photos tonight or tomorrow. Photo was taken with a wide angle camera (too close), so that's why it has a curved look.

http://i.imgur.com/agaeasO.jpg.
Click to expand...


Looks pretty good - I would think about putting flanges w/ rubber pads or at least a pipe cap w/ rubber pads on the legs where they contact the tile. Would reduce the risk of damaging the tile.
 
Great looking DIY desk! A suggestion to avoid what happened to mine: add a leg or two to the middle underside at the back of your desk. I didn't do that and the wood began to sag within a couple of weeks from the weight. I had to abandon the whole thing. :(

Here's mine before the sagging:

 
Tyler-Durden said:
Great looking DIY desk! A suggestion to avoid what happened to mine: add a leg or two to the middle underside at the back of your desk. I didn't do that and the wood began to sag within a couple of weeks from the weight. I had to abandon the whole thing. :(
Click to expand...

What type of table top did you use? Was it a solid core or a hollow core one?
 
this is a custom desk made by my friend in 1995,it was given to me in 1997.
Was brown but I stained it black last year.
desk%20black.jpg


this is what it looked like before staining,,
editor-2010.jpg


this shouldn't be too hard to make.
 
Krazyxazn said:
What type of table top did you use? Was it a solid core or a hollow core one?
Click to expand...
Solid core. Spent $250 to have it custom cut and finished. Luckily, the contractor gave me a full refund because he guaranteed the desk would work.

The measurements were 80" x 30". Sucker took 2 people to mount it on the sawhorses. :eek:
 
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I was looking for a cheap desk for the garage and came across this cubicle on craigslist for $50, so I bought it.
cubicle-lg34.jpg
 
Zepher said:
this is a custom desk made by my friend in 1995,it was given to me in 1997.
Click to expand...

Yeah I thought about doing a raised stand for the monitors, but I really didn't like the factory stands for the Qnix QX2710. So I opt'd for an aftermarket option.

Tyler-Durden said:
Solid core. Spent $250 to have it custom cut and finished. Luckily, the contractor gave me a full refund because he guaranteed the desk would work.

The measurements were 80" x 30". Sucker took 2 people to mount it on the sawhorses. :eek:
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'll have to look into a leg stand for the middle section. This table top was listed as 35 pounds, which isn't too bad, but needed two people to make sure it didn't get damaged because how long it is.

Zepher said:
I was looking for a cheap desk for the garage and came across this cubicle on craigslist for $50, so I bought it.
cubicle-lg34.jpg
Click to expand...

That's pretty cheap. I'm sure it costed whoever originally paid for it a lot more than that.
 
someone said these cubicles sell for a few grand new.
It came with 3 file cabinets and another small section that I didn't use due to space in my garage.
this is the pic from the ad,
00T0T_bEMaqSyt4pF_600x450.jpg
 
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