Comp Desk, butcher block.. ideas

[rsutoratosu]

So I'm in the process of moving and last night when i took my monitor arms off my $30 dollar ikea table, the top was dented in.. not from the bottom.. Guess it was too heavy.

So I really like butcher block and I looked into some of ikeas, which turns out to be more compress wood.

I found this diy, I have a lot of time to build one now.. is it really all held by glue ?
https://addicted2diy.com/how-to-build-your-own-butcher-block/

The only thing ill mount is 2 monitors on arms with a keyboard and mouse..

Still googling but if you guys have suggestion for cheap hard desks

 

[repoman0]

Lol, I just started almost this exact project this weekend. Not building my own block but the rest of the desk at least.

I'm making two matching desks, one for myself and one for my GF. We went out and bought a 12' x 25" x 1.5" block of American cherry butcher block from Lumber liquidators and cut it to roughly 7' and 5' slabs. I don't own a saw yet or a vehicle large enough to transport a 12' block, so we rented a Home Depot truck, brought the block back, and convinced the nice dudes in the Lumber section to cut it for us. Shopped for a bunch of other stuff and had like 10 people ask where we found it, employees asking if they carry it, etc.

I spent a few hours with the orbital yesterday smoothing all the edges and corners and taking the surface down to 220 grit. I put the first few coats of aerosol polyurethane on as well ... we'll see how that turns out.

For the legs, I'm doing 3/4" galvanized steel piping painted dark grey. I was able to buy pre-sized pieces from Home Depot to get a nice 28-29" height floor to desk top. This includes a couple T fittings and corner T fittings so that the legs are joined at the sides and back about 6" from the floor.

The legs will be joined to the top with flanges and I'm also putting flanges on the bottom as feet. Also going to mount a metal power strip and some cable channel on the bottom toward the back.

I was planning on starting a thread with details and a before/after of my office (new desk + painted walls).

edit: for reference, here's LL prices: https://www.lumberliquidators.com/ll/s/countertops

Not sure how much the raw wood and glue would cost. The cheapest there is the 8' oak, $150 bucks.

 

[DietDrThunder]

I probably would have biscuit joined them together as well as glued. Make sure you use hardwood lumber, like hard maple or red oak, or you could end up having the same issues with indentations. It is cheap, but I'd stay away from most pines.

 

[momeNt]

Biscuits are only going to help for alignment, and they won't help as much as a simple clamping caul to keep the boards from rising up on you.

Unless you already own the clamps, to invest in all that for a single project is maybe not that worthwhile compared to just buying butcher block from a lumber liquidators or similar type store.

Also, don't disregard ikeas countertops, some of them are laminate, but a few of them are actual hardwood veneer and will give you basically the same exact look as real butcher block (think engineered hardwood floor vs real hardwood).

 

[DietDrThunder]

Biscuits are only going to help for alignment, and they won't help as much as a simple clamping caul to keep the boards from rising up on you.

Unless you already own the clamps, to invest in all that for a single project is maybe not that worthwhile compared to just buying butcher block from a lumber liquidators or similar type store.

Also, don't disregard ikeas countertops, some of them are laminate, but a few of them are actual hardwood veneer and will give you basically the same exact look as real butcher block (think engineered hardwood floor vs real hardwood).

That is why I mentioned using them.

Also you'll end up spending $40 on clamps and $70 on galvanized pipe.
https://www.harborfreight.com/2-piece-3-4-quarter-inch-heavy-duty-cast-iron-pipe-clamp-31255.html

https://www.homedepot.com/p/VPC-3-4...teel-Schedule-40-Cut-Pipe-22-727548/304751925

 

[momeNt]

That is why I mentioned using them.

Also you'll end up spending $40 on clamps and $70 on galvanized pipe.
https://www.harborfreight.com/2-piece-3-4-quarter-inch-heavy-duty-cast-iron-pipe-clamp-31255.html

https://www.homedepot.com/p/VPC-3-4...teel-Schedule-40-Cut-Pipe-22-727548/304751925

Unless the hobby of woodworking interests him... small projects the tools cost more than what you are making =\

 

[DietDrThunder]

Unless the hobby of woodworking interests him... small projects the tools cost more than what you are making =\

I'll agree with that statement.

Woodworking was one of my hobbies. I made a dining room table top with wider planks of hard maple. If I only include the table saw, router, biscuit joiner, orbital sander, etc., for this one project, that table top cost me over $1,000. But if you intend to have these tools for multiple projects, then it is still questionable whether the tool purchase is worth it. But if you strictly look at it as a hobby, then it is worth it.

By the way, I have some tools that I will sell you since I no longer do wood working.

 

[snoopy7548]

Hopefully this gives some inspiration. I'm in the process of doing something similar! I'm making an L-shaped desk and I was going to start with butcher block, but I decided to buy some reclaimed wood and use that instead. During the course of the project, I decided I wanted to put the desk in my larger spare bedroom, so it'll be more like two separate desks at 90 degrees with a yet to be designed square table in the empty space. That way I don't have to re-do much of the work I've already done or buy whole new wood. One side will be ~53" long and the other will be ~68" long, with ~27-28" depth; I want the larger side to fill up most of the wall in the room and have more usable desk space. It'll be something like this:

Like repoman, I used 3/4" black steel piping, stripped all the crud off of it, and painted it with Rustoleum oil rubbed bronze. It's a pretty nice color. See the pictures below; the second picture is more true to how it actually looks in person (and the legs are upside down). I'm still working on the top - just need to square the edges of the boards (already planed the faces of most of them) and glue them up. I think the height of the legs is ~27-28", and the top will end up being roughly 1.3" thick.

I'm also building a matching computer stand. It's just a ~8" wide by 19" deep piece of the same wood as the top, with ~3" tall steel pipe for legs.

I'll agree with that statement.

Woodworking was one of my hobbies. I made a dining room table top with wider planks of hard maple. If I only include the table saw, router, biscuit joiner, orbital sander, etc., for this one project, that table top cost me over $1,000. But if you intend to have these tools for multiple projects, then it is still questionable whether the tool purchase is worth it. But if you strictly look at it as a hobby, then it is worth it.

By the way, I have some tools that I will sell you since I no longer do wood working.

I agree too. If you think you'll pick up woodworking as a hobby, it's a good idea to pick up quality tools as you go along. Also, if you're going the reclaimed wood route (i.e. not just buying 2x4s from Home Depot and making stuff out of those), the table you build could have potentially cost at least $1000 if you had bought it from a custom woodworker or store. In that case, buying the tools is definitely worth it.

 

[DietDrThunder]

One thing you should consider. I made a really nice work bench for my garage. I used 2, 3/4" plywood sheets in which I basically cut 36" length wise, and screwed the two together. Then I bought a really nice laminate sheet and glued it to the top surface and put 1/2 round molding on the edge. Saved a lot of time, a lot of money, and it looks real good.

 

[repoman0]

Like repoman, I used 3/4" black steel piping, stripped all the crud off of it, and painted it with Rustoleum oil rubbed bronze.

What did you do to strip all the crap off? I was just going to paint over it but am now thinking that's a bad idea. My hands were totally blackened handling that shit in the store so I'm wondering if the paint might not adhere that well unless it's stripped.

 

[snoopy7548]

What did you do to strip all the crap off? I was just going to paint over it but am now thinking that's a bad idea. My hands were totally blackened handling that shit in the store so I'm wondering if the paint might not adhere that well unless it's stripped.

I used lacquer thinner and cotton rags. I didn't get all of the black stuff off, just all of the adhesive and oily sticky crap. I probably only rubbed each pipe for about 30 seconds (heh...), and that seemed to be enough that I could handle them without my hands turning into a black mess. I'm sure you know to wear gloves, work in a well-ventilated area, and get a good respirator. I got one of those fancy 3M one with the two purple side filters and I couldn't smell the fumes when I was working.

You might be able to get away with just spraying onto the pipe, but I figured I should take the extra time to strip the top layer of crap off just in case. I ended up doing two somewhat thick coats of Rustoleum, and I think I waited >48 hours between coats.

 

[repoman0]

I used lacquer thinner and cotton rags. I didn't get all of the black stuff off, just all of the adhesive and oily sticky crap. I probably only rubbed each pipe for about 30 seconds (heh...), and that seemed to be enough that I could handle them without my hands turning into a black mess. I'm sure you know to wear gloves, work in a well-ventilated area, and get a good respirator. I got one of those fancy 3M one with the two purple side filters and I couldn't smell the fumes when I was working.

You might be able to get away with just spraying onto the pipe, but I figured I should take the extra time to strip the top layer of crap off just in case. I ended up doing two somewhat thick coats of Rustoleum, and I think I waited >48 hours between coats.

:thumbup: Thanks! That doesn't sound too bad at all. Another item on the shopping list ...

Yep I'm doing all of this in my frigid detached garage and have one of those exact same 3M respirators for the poly spraying. It was snowing yesterday while I was sanding... I brought out a 1500W space heater which was completely futile, just a huge waste of electricity.

 

[ultimatebob]

You should make a trip to Ikea's scratch and dent section. The last time I was there, they had about 200 square feet of butcher block countertop material there for dirt cheap prices.

 

[rsutoratosu]

Thanks, you have a lot of great ideas for me. I originally just shop ikea and amazon.. lumber liquidators seems to have better stuff. I do like wood working but not that much... lol.. buying 2 slabs will save me like weeks of sanding and gluing.

Lol, I just started almost this exact project this weekend. Not building my own block but the rest of the desk at least.

edit: for reference, here's LL prices: https://www.lumberliquidators.com/ll/s/countertops

Not sure how much the raw wood and glue would cost. The cheapest there is the 8' oak, $150 bucks.

 

[rsutoratosu]

Thanks for the info.. i need to read the website better.. i was just there over the weekend, the 2 samples they had was compressed.. not real wood veneer.

Also, don't disregard ikeas countertops, some of them are laminate, but a few of them are actual hardwood veneer and will give you basically the same exact look as real butcher block (think engineered hardwood floor vs real hardwood).

 

[rsutoratosu]

Too much inspiration. I think ill go with a pre made slab.. I just didn't know where to look before.. if all else fails Ill build something. I have a lot of tools from making bunny castles for my kids... lol. That was the only reason I thought about making one but seems like I can find a pre made slab easier.. and i probable wont cut off my fingers too.

Hopefully this gives some inspiration.

I agree too. If you think you'll pick up woodworking as a hobby, it's a good idea to pick up quality tools as you go along. Also, if you're going the reclaimed wood route (i.e. not just buying 2x4s from Home Depot and making stuff out of those), the table you build could have potentially cost at least $1000 if you had bought it from a custom woodworker or store. In that case, buying the tools is definitely worth it.

 

[Thebobo]

I have an old drafting table on one side and a old closet door on the other I built some wood shelves for the table.

 

[Carson Dyle]

Buy a nice butcher block desktop, use the legs and hardware from your old Ikea desk.