Project: Need a Desk

G

Geo Fry

Limp Gawd
Joined
Feb 27, 2006
Messages
483
For a while I had my newly built pc just laying on my floor and so I figured it was time to buy a desk. Well I looked and looked and no matter where I went no place had one that I liked or that was in budget.

So I decided to build my own... I knew what kind of design I was looking for I had just never found it. I have acces to quite a few tools as my dad works for a general contracting company who remodels schools.

What I wanted:
- Ledges for my speakers
- Ledge for my PC
- Wood backing to hide all cables
- Keyboard and mouse tray

I've never really been big an figuring everything out before I start (I usually just work with whats in my head) but I scribbled down these barebone plans so I had something to reference to...

plan4.jpg

this was gunna be my actual desktop and keyboard/mouse tray... notice the cutout on the desk top. Thats for the mouse so I dont have to pull out the tray everytime I want to use the mouse.


plan2.jpg

This was probably my most referenced and altered plan


plan1.jpg

Side View


plan3.jpg

These will be holding the top half up
 
Well even though I was trying to stay on a budget this build cost more than I thought it would...

If I can recall this is what I spent:

_______Wood - $90
___[H]ardware - $45 <- includes screws, L-braces, & K/M tray
___Sandpaper - $15
________Stain - $20
________Total - $170

This is a rough estimate... and actually now that I think of it is not that much. To get a quality desk costs about that much and usually more

OK picture time


DSC00002.jpg

These are all my basic cut for the legs, tops, towers, ledges... well everything
I used a table saw at my dad's shop for the long cuts and a circular saw for small ones


DSC00005.jpg

This is the top with the mouse cutout and the L-brackets in place... I used a one-side pre-sanded peice of 3/4" plywood


DSC00003.jpg

For the big leg on the right side i decided to use 2 smaller peices and cut two notches out to form this square shape... mainly just for looks. I connected them using just the metal braces shown.
 
I hate you :( . I've been meaning to make a custom desk for myself, but since I don't have any space to work in (last workspace was in an old mill building, and was bought out, turning it into condos :mad: ). Got a $300 DeWalt table saw sitting in storage, mint from Christmas '04. Oh well, it's warming up! :D
 
Looks good. I am thinking of doing the same. I have yet to find a desk that suits my needs (unless I am willing to pay thousands for it). So I guess the best thing is to build your own.
 
After cutting the legs to have a tapered bottom and test fitting EVERYTHING ( I'm very anal about everything being level as I spent quite a bit of time at the table saw making sure everything was the perfect length and as close to 90 degrees as I could) I got this:

DSC00011.jpg



and this...


DSC00010.jpg



Obviously you can see where my computer will rest... eventually the back will be covered in luan plywood.

Eventually this will be stained cherryt and the back luan plywood will be stained ebony

I have 13 L-braces holding it together (each with 4 screws) and 9 screws drilled down into the desktop with the heads showing on the desktop... some may not like the look of the exposed heads but they are flush with the desk and I think they look great
 
Tysterisk said:
I hate you :( . I've been meaning to make a custom desk for myself, but since I don't have any space to work in (last workspace was in an old mill building, and was bought out, turning it into condos :mad: ). Got a $300 DeWalt table saw sitting in storage, mint from Christmas '04. Oh well, it's warming up! :D
Click to expand...


Ahh sad to hear that ... My tool collection is getting bigger but I do not have any type of table saw yet (the one I used was in a shop at my dad's work)

I'm a Rigid fan (notice the circular saw and x2 hammerdrill ) Had the chance to work with their tools at a jobsite for an entire summer and they never failed me so I was hooked. Although I have nothing against DeWalt, their stuff seems good too, I like orange better :cool:
 
I could make my own desk if i wanted too...and if i had the money :(, but yours looks excelent and if i need anyhelp with my futuer desk/computer set up i know who to ask :D .
 
Looks great so far! The custom desk is well worth the effort, I love the one I built. A few things I would recommend looking into: modularity/ease of disassembly (if it's going to likely be transported to/from college for example), rounding (router) the edges where your wrists/arms rest, and put a couple layers of polyurethane (sp) ontop for durability.
Enjoy :cool:
 
Hey good luck with your project, I like how alot of people are building their own desk now.
 
Sz1hart said:
Hey good luck with your project, I like how alot of people are building their own desk now.
Click to expand...


Yea I noticed that I was starting mine right after someone else had started their's. I hope Tyklfe doesn't think i'm copying him or trying to show him up lol :p .

It's a cool feeling to build not only a computer but a desk for it... if everyone had the means to do it, I definitely recommend it.
 
Alright, this was my first time to stain wood so I was a bit :confused:

I didnt realize that you were supposed to wipe off the stain as you go along lol but i think it turned out ok even though it is a little heavy

DSC00012.jpg




DSC00013.jpg
 
Looks nice, I like the darker area :)

I been holding off building my own desk for about over a year now. The problem that I ran into was that I couldn't get a black tabletop for the desk I was building(I like black since it fits with my stuff).

After seeing your post, it has moved me to work :)

Also, do you plan on adding anything to hide the cables?
 
Sz1hart said:
After seeing your post, it has moved me to work :)

Also, do you plan on adding anything to hide the cables?
Click to expand...

Awesome! I'm glad to have motivated you.

And yes I hate visible cables... hate em all. I plan on adding luan wood to the back of it. The luan will be stained ebony to give it great contrast. I will work on that today but now i have to go to work :( .

update very soon
 
Moved the thread to general hardware because it isn't a case mod and BBS said I could :D
 
Qtip42 said:
Moved the thread to general hardware because it isn't a case mod and BBS said I could :D
Click to expand...

Haha I was wondering whether this would get moved as I wasn't sure where to post it
 
Geo Fry said:
Yea I noticed that I was starting mine right after someone else had started their's. I hope Tyklfe doesn't think i'm copying him or trying to show him up lol :p .

It's a cool feeling to build not only a computer but a desk for it... if everyone had the means to do it, I definitely recommend it.
Click to expand...




Heh - no way man - Your desk is looking great, subscribed.
 
Sz1hart said:
Looks nice, I like the darker area :)

I been holding off building my own desk for about over a year now. The problem that I ran into was that I couldn't get a black tabletop for the desk I was building(I like black since it fits with my stuff).

After seeing your post, it has moved me to work :)

Also, do you plan on adding anything to hide the cables?
Click to expand...

To get a black top you could always paint it or use formica. Formica is not hard to work with, but the glue smells bad while its drying.

 
Qtip42 said:
Moved the thread to general hardware because it isn't a case mod and BBS said I could :D
Click to expand...

Yeah, but the reason these get posted in here is because Case Mods/Work Logs is the "buildy" corner of the forum, and that's what these are...and besides...computers go in these too. :D

 
That's a real nice desk.
A good router could also be used to cut if somebody didnt have a jig saw.
You're right, there's alot of satisfaction in building things.
You're lucky you have access to quality tools. Nice job.
 
Shmuckety said:
To get a black top you could always paint it or use formica. Formica is not hard to work with, but the glue smells bad while its drying.

Click to expand...


yea, I though about painting it but it may get messy. The only place I found a real black tabletop is ikea which is only 20bucks for a large size one. Down side is I have to travel to seattle for find a way to get it here. Those don't seem like the ones you can/should cut though.

Another thing about building your own is that it well have better support for heavy loads then prebuilt ones. I have my 2405,sony 17crt, pc,360, speaker, books, etc on here and it shakes which scares me to death.

Sorry for the off topic, how is it going so far? Can't wait to see the finish product!
 
First and foremost, thank you all for your interest in my project. It's places like [H]ard that inspire and motivate my creative side :shed a tear: :D

I hope I inspire others to do what I did as it was very enjoyable for me!

Second I am sorry to say that I did not take any more pics of the process of my desk, just the final project... but all that was left was the assemble and some sanding and coating anyway.... and by the way, it must be noted that the top had to be installed in my room as it is quite big.

Screwing the top on was a pain in the ass as I was limited on the space i had in the cubbies and I had to do it by hand. I went out and bought a small screwdriver with a fat rubber grip and a special tip to limit slippage as it was hard not to strip the grooves.

OK enough talk here we go

DeskHF.jpg


As you can see, the ebony-stained luan plywood covers the entire backside to cover all wires... holes were obviously drilled for the speakers, monitor, etc..

Desk2HF.jpg



MouseHF.jpg

And my favorite feature... the mouse cutout... I always hated the idea of having to pull out both the keyboard and mouse to just use the most common input device... so I did this. It turned out quite nice I think ( the desk isn't as shiny as the picture shows... I guess it was just the flash)
 
FrontHF.jpg

And now the cut outs in the towers for the top make sense... ah ha... they are there (or not there :p ) so my altec lansing di-pole speakers use their 'technolodgy' I got them for


KMTHF.jpg

I made a mistake when I cut the tray... I made the main depth and the part that was supposed to stick out 1 inch too short and now the hardware sticks out. What was I thinking ??!!? Ah well I will fix it later, this will do for now.


CloeupHF.jpg

Here is a close up of the stain and the flush mounted screws. Some people may find the exposed screws a little tacky but I find them damn seksi!!

WiresHF.jpg

All power is connected to an APC 'Surge-Arrest'... oh and there is the little mod I did to my Antec... kinda crappy but I was bored.

I hope you all enjoyed... If you feel like this desk is missing something ( other than a new computer :p ) than let me know.




Oh and as a preview... I've been working on a mod that I will eventually make a work log out of... It will be a dual PC sytem inside an old fuse box.... Here is a preview of what I have so far:

preview1.jpg


A work log will come when I am sure I want to go through with it

Geo
 
Nice desk, good work. My main computer desk really annoys me because I can't get to the mouse without sliding out the tray.

 
chiablo said:
That just looks too damn good!

I might have to steal your design some day.
Click to expand...


Sorry copyrighted it yesterday :p

Thanks.... and u can steal whatever you want!
 
very innovative idea for the mouse cut-out. Very sexy indeed.


Nice work overall man, one quick question though - what stain, sealer did you use, and is it as red in person as in the pictures?
 
Tyklfe said:
very innovative idea for the mouse cut-out. Very sexy indeed.


Nice work overall man, one quick question though - what stain, sealer did you use, and is it as red in person as in the pictures?
Click to expand...

Stain: Olympic Oil-based wood stain - color: American Cherry
Sealer: Olympic Polyurethane Oil-based clear satin coating

Yea I noticed how red the pics make the desk look. Even though I did a crappy job at staining it; it definitely isn't nearly as deep red as the pics make it look.

Thanks for the nice words :D
 
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