Has anyone ever built their own desk?

[Aikouka]

I kind of wish I had the ability (and space ... mostly space ) to build a desk. I bought a 72" L-Desk for ~$400 from Staples, and it just drives me batty how cheap the wood is. You would think that $400 when it's mass manufactured / pre-fabbed that it would be better... noooo way. They must have some crazy high margins on these things.

I say that because I figured they might have used real, stained wood for the desk. Hell no... it's just got some silly fake wood layer on top that's already chipping off.

 

[mjrpes3]

I kind of wish I had the ability (and space ... mostly space ) to build a desk. I bought a 72" L-Desk for ~$400 from Staples, and it just drives me batty how cheap the wood is. You would think that $400 when it's mass manufactured / pre-fabbed that it would be better... noooo way. They must have some crazy high margins on these things.

I say that because I figured they might have used real, stained wood for the desk. Hell no... it's just got some silly fake wood layer on top that's already chipping off.

Staples is near the bottom of quality these days. I wouldn't buy anything from there that I wanted to keep long term.

Besides furniture, it's impossible to buy an office chair from Staples (or Office Max, etc) that has a good padded seat. 10-15 years ago you could buy a $50 chair that had acceptable foam padding. Today, even their high end chairs have a foam base that will compress into nothing after a minute of sitting.

 

[mjrpes3]

My current desk is 20% DIY. I bought a 72"x24" unfinished table top from IKEA. I like IKEA table legs because they let you easily change height. I put a few coats of finish on and it looks nice. It feels my own

 

[Aikouka]

Besides furniture, it's impossible to buy an office chair from Staples (or Office Max, etc) that has a good padded seat. 10-15 years ago you could buy a $50 chair that had acceptable foam padding. Today, even their high end chairs have a foam base that will compress into nothing after a minute of sitting.

I actually find that their arms are the worst part of their chairs. I tend to put a little more stress on the arms at times, and they typically break at the holes where the bolts go into the bottom cushion. When my last chair broke, I tried to find a chair that at least had metal arms, but there don't seem to be any.

So hard to find a good chair... and a good desk. At least I don't feel bad that part of my office is junky when all of it is.

 

[ringtail]

``

 

[Saint Nick]

OP,

Building your own desk is one of the most satisfying woodworking projects.

I've been looking up specs on some of the old out-of-business furniture companies that did such great work, piecing together ideas to fold into my own next design.
For example: http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/spec-coll/msc/ToMsc250/MsC209/0209.html

Encouragement to you!

and http://www.burlington.lib.ia.us/genealogy/Furniture_Search.pdf

Very cool stuff...thank you for the link!

 

[*kjm]

Why not just glue and screw a piece of wide plywood under your old desk and then reinstall the keyboard again? The plywood will be way stronger than the old particle board ever was.

 

[Zargon]

older pic, but shows the desk the best.

ran 2x4's width wise under the desktop for support, I can stand on it all day.

yours is way way way overengineered, because mine is and its less bolstered.

in the middle I ran an angle brace from the middle 2x4 to the back leg

all the main stuff is 3/4 x 3/4

ran 2x4s down the table saw, plane-d them, and rouneded the edges on a router

if I didnt have access to those tools, they would be 2x4's


I try to build stuff with modularity in mind

I added ~15 inches on to the back later for more desktop space, using a 2x4 as a ledger board, and its 15 becuase thats the size of standard shevling from menards. the front top is the ~25 in piece

 

[bguile]

OP, there are grommets you can buy to help with cable management.

Like these

http://www.amazon.com/Computer-Cable...ef=pd_sbs_op_1

Also instead of covering your desk in outlets you try something like this

http://office-accessories.nationalb...-E2EA-E011-9F24-0019B9C043EB&mr:referralID=NA

From looking at your blog you like electronics so I doubt you'll use these (plus they are expensive), but its just something to consider.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Ohh good idea about the grommets. I just checked Staple's site and they have them there too, so I may be able to get them locally and save shipping/customs. I think I will do that. Guessing they will match up to a standard hole saw size, too. Just need to get a bit set for my drill.

I'll probably stick to the outlets the way they are though, I kinda like the idea of them being very easily accessible. Though I'll probably get some of those child proof plugs to cover unused ones. Would not want a paper clip or other small metal office item conveniently finding it's way in it. I'll also GFCI protect those in case a drink ever gets spilled.

older pic, but shows the desk the best.

ran 2x4's width wise under the desktop for support, I can stand on it all day.

yours is way way way overengineered, because mine is and its less bolstered.

in the middle I ran an angle brace from the middle 2x4 to the back leg

all the main stuff is 3/4 x 3/4

ran 2x4s down the table saw, plane-d them, and rouneded the edges on a router

if I didnt have access to those tools, they would be 2x4's


I try to build stuff with modularity in mind

I added ~15 inches on to the back later for more desktop space, using a 2x4 as a ledger board, and its 15 becuase thats the size of standard shevling from menards. the front top is the ~25 in piece

Looks great! I like the monitor stand idea too, I was debating on doing that.

 

[yh125d]

*snip*

Awesome design man, I love it and totally ripped it off in autocad 3d and I might use it as my own design slightly tweaked for me.


It's what I like. Simple, clean, sturdy, utilitarian, but a nice surface. With plenty of open space (I made mine 72"x36")

 

[crab]

Made some changes to the design, added a bit more bracing, and power outlets.

I will probably add more outlets at the bottom too to eliminate the power bar altogether. I'll just have a UPS. Some plugs will be UPS protected and some won't. I'll probably make them split outlets.

Some of the dimensions are rough, this is mostly to give me something to go on while building, things may change somewhat.

This thing will be a beast. Can't wait to start on it, just have to figure out how to get a sheet of plywood to my house. That will be the most challenging part. I wish I had a truck.

Rent a pickup from Home Depot mayne.

 

[Zargon]

Awesome design man, I love it and totally ripped it off in autocad 3d and I might use it as my own design slightly tweaked for me.


It's what I like. Simple, clean, sturdy, utilitarian, but a nice surface. With plenty of open space (I made mine 72"x36")

thanks!

mine is about 60x40 I think now. I have a side table to go by the wall to extend it(and I needed it)

I need to trim the legs down so it sits flush, It used to exist to hold a minifidge and uh...12 packs of 'pop' in college.....

and add to the depth with another piece of shelving

Ohh good idea about the grommets. I just checked Staple's site and they have them there too, so I may be able to get them locally and save shipping/customs. I think I will do that. Guessing they will match up to a standard hole saw size, too. Just need to get a bit set for my drill.

I'll probably stick to the outlets the way they are though, I kinda like the idea of them being very easily accessible. Though I'll probably get some of those child proof plugs to cover unused ones. Would not want a paper clip or other small metal office item conveniently finding it's way in it. I'll also GFCI protect those in case a drink ever gets spilled.


Looks great! I like the monitor stand idea too, I was debating on doing that.

thanks

I got a ton of stuff from cableorganizer.com but I haven't added alot of them yet.

been waiting to get everything moved and situated to drill more holes

I ran some vinyl gutter under for extra cord hiding I got for about 10 bucks from menards(lifehacker gave me the idea)

 

[alkemyst]

 

[Saint Nick]

Are you drinking Michelob?

 

[cronos]

You play WoW?

I only see the boxes for the first three though, so either you never bought Cataclysm or you got it digitally.

 

[alkemyst]

I stopped around level 80, Nightelf Druid
Shield of Azeroth guild

 

[Saint Nick]

I stopped around level 80, Nightelf Druid
Shield of Azeroth guild

Hey don't avoid my question MICHELOB?

 

[yh125d]

Hey don't avoid my question MICHELOB?

Twice?


Man you sure have your heart set on making yourself look like a beer snob don't you

 

[alkemyst]

Hey don't avoid my question MICHELOB?

I missed the question on my phone.

I drink ultra, yes. My consumption of it would probably make most of your liver's spontaneously burst.

I used to drink Guinness Extra Stout.

I like to sip all night, going through 12-18 a night of anything more potent affects me too fast.

 

[bguile]

Ohh good idea about the grommets. I just checked Staple's site and they have them there too, so I may be able to get them locally and save shipping/customs. I think I will do that. Guessing they will match up to a standard hole saw size, too. Just need to get a bit set for my drill.

I'll probably stick to the outlets the way they are though, I kinda like the idea of them being very easily accessible. Though I'll probably get some of those child proof plugs to cover unused ones. Would not want a paper clip or other small metal office item conveniently finding it's way in it. I'll also GFCI protect those in case a drink ever gets spilled.

I believe if the grommet diamiater is 2 3/8's then its not really a standard size. You would have to buy that bit seperate. Double check first though. I went with the flexible ones, though I have yet to install them.

Zargons idea about the gutters is a good one. In fact, Zargons whole set up looks pretty good.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Actually my college PC lab used gutters for cable management, not a bad idea at all, I might incorporate that in. I was going to just install hooks on the 2x4 that runs horizontally at the back (only reason why I put it there).

 

[zinfamous]

I missed the question on my phone.

I drink ultra, yes. My consumption of it would probably make most of your liver's spontaneously burst.

I used to drink Guinness Extra Stout.

I like to sip all night, going through 12-18 a night of anything more potent affects me too fast.

at 4% alcohol?

doubt it, brah. You could just drink 2 or 3 real beers that real men drink and get the same drunkenness it would take you with a case of Ultra.

Guinness extra is also weak--about 5.2%, iirc.

just saying.

 

[KeithTalent]

at 4% alcohol?

doubt it, brah. You could just drink 2 or 3 real beers that real men drink and get the same drunkenness it would take you with a case of Ultra.

Guinness extra is also weak--about 5.2%, iirc.

just saying.

Actually I think it's only 4.2% or something like that. Very weak, but people seem to have this impression that it's much stronger than that.

Back in the old days it was stronger, but I think the stuff available to most commoners these days is very weak with respect to alcohol content (and flavour to be honest).

KT

 

[alkemyst]

at 4% alcohol?

doubt it, brah. You could just drink 2 or 3 real beers that real men drink and get the same drunkenness it would take you with a case of Ultra.

Guinness extra is also weak--about 5.2%, iirc.

just saying.

IIRC = Google I guess nowadays.

If I want something when heavy alcohol I will go to something like tequila or rum.

I like to drink my beers and I am not shooting for 'drunkenness', you in a frat or something still?

Most of the best beers out there are about 7-8% on average, some in the higher teens.

I am not trying to 'impress' dude's on-line with my beer fridge of all hard to find bitch beers. These are the same types that try to make pizza a fucking five star meal.