New Project - Converting Bar-Height tables into Computer Desk

[cbrunny]

I made a bit of an impulse buy today at our local Antique/One of a Kind store. Three 42" bar tables, right from some bar in Brampton.

Ignore my gross garage..

The table tops are pine. The legs are metal of some kind, very strong and heavy. Right now the tops are unscrewed from the legs but I've placed them back on while I figure out what to do next. The end result is hopefully going to be an L-shape with the square table as the corner piece.

I'm thinking this will make a kickass computer desk when It's refinished properly. I have been looking for a new desk for some time. This combines what I was looking for in terms of size with the added bonus of being tall enough that I can stand when I don't want to sit. Failing that, they'll be used as bar-height tables in my basement. And if that doesn't happen, I'll repurpose them into a new set of shelves for the garage.

This is a project where I'll be learning new things. Mostly basic stuff, but still new to me. I'm not overly handy but I can do basic stuff around the house. I don't have a lot of experience woodworking, but in this case I don't think I have a lot to do. Any tips are appreciated though.

The table tops are in rough shape. The one on the right is covered in dust in the picture but the finish is worn on all of them. The square one in the back has some clear chips in it as well. So the first job is sanding the table tops. Going to pick up an orbital sander tomorrow and start with 100 grit, working my way up to probably 180 or 200. Is it worth adding a hand-sand high-grit step as well? something like a 280 or a 300?

I want to re-paint the legs as well. They're black and dirty, small amounts of rust on the underside of the foot-level cross bars. I have no experience painting metal. What I've read online suggests I need to actually clean the metal thoroughly with some chemicals before spray painting them. Should I prime the legs as well? Any tips for this?

Once I have the top and the legs sorted out, I'd like to add a shelf across the leg-level cross bars on at least one of the longer tables. That won't be fancy, most likely, and I'll just end up using a cut piece of plywood or some shelving boards or something similar. That shelf will then be used for the tower.

TL/DR;

1. Refinishing 3 bar-height tables into a computer desk.
2. Once I have the power sanding done @ ~180-200 grit, should I do a hand sand at higher grit? What grit? Wood is pine.
3. How do I clean/prep the metal legs for a fresh coat of spraypaint? Do I need to prime the legs?
4. Any other tips?
5. Wish me luck!

 

[Greenman]

The tops look like red oak plywood to me. If it is, be careful sanding as you can eat right through the veneer. The easy way to do the legs would be to have them sand blasted and powder coated. Might not be worth the cost though. Baring that, hit them with paint stripper, sand off the rust, prime with DTM and paint them again. No point in sanding with anything finer than 180, there will be almost no perceptible difference.

 

[cbrunny]

The underside is plywood for sure, screwed and glued onto the top side. It may be plywood - hadn't considered that as a possibility. The edges are separate from the top, and because I can get a good look at the edges from the underside I can tell they're not plywood. But they are the same kind of wood, almost definitely.

I figure worst case scenario is that the tops get ruined by me and I fabricate a table-top myself.

 

[cbrunny]

Started sanding:

After about 10 mins last night with the hand sander, just checking out how difficult it'll be.

Quite a bit later, after using a random-orbital with 60 grit

Starting to look good

then....

So its not pine, it is oak, but it is also plywood. Which is just shitty. I'm not sure what to do from this point but I guess I'll keep going. I was trying to sand out or at least hide the huge scrapes from the first photo which led me to sanding too deep. I will not be doing that again with the others, and instead will just leave them there. There arent as many, and I can hide that big ugly circle under a monitor I think. Not too worried about it, but not happy that the tops are just plywood. Big bummer - they're heavy enough to be an actual slab of wood, non-plywood.

 

[Greenman]

I told you to be careful, now look at what you've done!

Easy fix. Get a sheet of 1/8 oak veneer from home depot and glue it on. You'll have to pull the edge banding off the table to do it. Easy way is to let it over hang the edge of the table and run it of with a router. Use a flush cut bit with a bearing at the bottom that rides on the old material.

 

[cbrunny]

Haha yeah you were right. Adding oak veneer is something I hadn't considered. Maybe I should just do that instead. Hmm.......

 

[cbrunny]

That gave me an idea, and I think I'm going to try to plan it out, see if I can make it work. I may change plans entirely, and use the legs but ditch the top. Our local Home Depot has some 4ft x 8ft veneered plywood, and I'm thinking I might just use a sheet of that with a sheet of regular plywood glued and screwed to create a custom shape, single piece desk top with veneered edging as well. That would solve the problem of having three different pieces, and would help to keep the table top level, and I'd get to custom shape the desk as well.

This could be interesting. I'll have to sketch this out a bit and see if I can make something cool.

 

[the DRIZZLE]

I made a desktop a few years ago using veneered plywood exactly the way you described and it came out great.

 

[cbrunny]

Here's the first plan. I sketched it up in SketchUp, which is also the first time I've ever used any drafting software so apologies for it being pretty rough.

The big rectangle is the size of my mouse mat, and my keyboard sits on it currently. My Air 540 will go on the cross bars (with a shelf) of one of the sets of legs. Everything is properly to scale, including the monitors from the outside of my bezel.

So I'm going to add a wooden monitor stand for my three monitors as well. I doubt what I have sketched here will hold the weight but i'm going to start there and see how bad the sagging is, likely adding a piece behind the middle monitor. I think it looks pretty cool.

The thing is huge, but its a bit hard to tell from these pictures. the table sits 41 inches off the ground, and at top of the desk it is 42 inches in height. The length of the long sides of the table are 8 ft. HUGE desk. My wife won't like it haha!

But that's another problem. Ideally I'll go with one piece of 8ft x 8ft veneered plywood as the top layer but that's going to be tougher to buy - er.. well.. more dough at least... I doubt I have the skills to properly put two 8ft x 4ft together. Not sure how to approach that one.

Also want to add a desk-mounted USB 3.0 hub, and some good cable management for the monitors. This should turn out great... should. haha

 

[Greenman]

I'm going to guess you don't own a rail saw, table saw, chop saw, impact driver, pocket screw jig, or jigsaw? Because those things would make this a pretty simple project. To really make it happen I'd also have a random orbit and belt sander, air compressor, a set of nail guns and a few bar clamps. Plus the normal assortment of drills, drill bits, and hole saws that every young man should have.

I should mention that I'm a tool addict. If it's shiny and expensive, I buy it.

 

[cbrunny]

I have some of those. I have a jigsaw, random orbit sander, drills & bits & hole bits, and a *shudder* miter box. I've been wanting a proper chop/miter for some time now, this might be a good excuse to get it. But then my wife is going to want me to fix the trim and I've been putting that off bigtime.

I figure the only thing I don't have that I'm really going to miss is the miter saw. Everything else I should be able to make do with what I have, just have to be a bit creative and patient.

 

[cbrunny]

A plan change and A bit of progress today:

New plan is a reasonably simple U shape out of the 8' x 4' veneered plywood. I decided to go with maple because I liked it much better than the red oak that was available.


Glued and screwed to a sheet of inexpensive plywood for some added durability. Both sheets are 3/4" each so 1.5" thick. Legs are screwed in.

Working on the monitor mounts for my three monitors. This part I messed up on - not used to thinking in triangles - but I used SketchUp and think that I have a solution to my problem. Should work, will try it out once the glue dries and I've attached some additional brackets for strength properly. I did a sloppy glue job, don't judge me haha. I'm still very rookie here.

I think tomorrow I'll flip the table over & start sketching out the U opening. Hopefully I'll have the monitor mount attached to the table as well. Need to sand it down too.

Not sure about edging just yet. I might use actual wood & do a proper trim on it but I don't have a nailer. Not sure if I can get away with just glue or not, and I'm guessing I can't. My normal hammer skills are.. well.. about what you'd expect for someone that is pretending to be a hobbyist.

I ended up buying a mitre saw. Good deal at Canadian Tire on a decent one so I jumped on it. It will get lots of use I'm sure.

Also my dog says hi.

 

[Micrornd]

I know you are pretty far along, but -

The corner desk I made is almost identical to what you have sketched, except where you have the middle box I have a single post in the corner and a pull-out keyboard tray under the desk.

A word of advice on the monitors - I don't think you will like that sharp angle for the end monitors, especially if you use then for anything other than gaming.

I've found that 20-25 degrees is more comfortable to view.

You may also want to use an adjustable VESA mount.
The one's I used were adjustable in all 3 planes and were less than $20 each from the Egg when I bought them.

They allowed my to get the monitors "just right", including a 5 degree down tilt that isn't noticeable to the eye, but really helps cut any reflections (I use "glossy" monitors)

For the monitor support I glued and screwed a wooden frame together in the shape of an "A" and fastened that to the studs in the wall, in the corner, at seated eyelevel, above the desk.

The VESA mounts fasten to the 3 "/-\" parts of the "A", so the monitors are essentially floating above the desk allowing more of it to be used and IMO, it looks better.

Just some things I found out after several tries to get it right. :whiste:

 

[cbrunny]

I'd given some thought to a pre-fab solution but ultimately I decided I just wanted to try to see if I could do it. No doubt that from a performance perspective the pre-made ones are and will be better than mine, but I sitll think mine is pretty cool . My monitors are mounted at 130 degrees off the centre monitor. I played around with my setup for a while before I decided on an angle. It should be good I think.

I glued the risers on last night but didn't get a picture of them together. I have to place them, Screw them in (not gluing for transportation reasons) and then attach monitors to see if it works as designed. Then cut the hole for the U-shape in the middle once I have it measured out. Add edging, which I think I'm going to try to attach a ~1" by 2" piece of solid wood around the perimeter & U-shape. Then finish (somehow?? tips/suggestions welcome!), disassemble, move to the basement, reassemble!


This is the monitor arm with no risers, I'm just holding it up. THis was a rudimentary test to make sure that the monitors do line up more or less well. There is a small gap of less than a quarter inch, probably about 3/16ths between the monitors. More than I'd like but I am going to assemble everything and then decide if it is worth adjusting for that small of a gap.

The arm with no risers

Table flipped up

My dad helped me flip it up last night. with the legs attached this thing is HEAVY. I guess it isn't surprising. It will be built to last!

 

[cbrunny]

Attached the arm tonight after much measuring, and thinking, and sketching, and measuring, and thinking, and sketching. I probably spent twice as much time just thinking about how to make sure it was parallel to the back of the table AND centred than i did actually attaching them. Well worth it though as it was almost a complete success.

There is only one visible flaw at the moment - where the right arm connects to the table is not flush. I think I may not have pre-drilled far enough, or the table isn't level or something like that. It's only off by less than 1/16th but it is very noticeable. If I can't fix it I may just caulk it, but I don't see why I can't just pre-drill it a bit deeper.

It is very solid nonetheless. very happy with how it looks and is turning out.

For a rookie I think I'm doing pretty ok!

I started sketching the angles in front of the monitor for the cut out, but I couldn't find my protractor. i decided to call it a night and pick it back up after I pick one up. The Big Cut is the next "to-do" but before I do that I think I'm going to bring my monitors up and attach them, and the keyboard and mouse as well to try to get a feel for how large I want the cut out to be & from how far away.

 

[cbrunny]

Cut!

 

[MongGrel]

Yeah was Plywood, but yeah know that all ready obviously.

Looks nice, had been messing around with a piece of Birch plywood myself for abuse awhile myself.


What you have should finish nicely.

:thumbsup::thumbsup:

That will be a killer looking desk.

A good piece of plywood much better looking than a particle board thing these days if you finish it right.

 

[cbrunny]

That's birch? Nice dark finish. What did you use to get that colour and shine?

I have no idea how to finish this thing. I'll need to do some googling around for some ideas and tips. I think right now the leading contender is just using shellac to protect it. I would like to keep the light colour of the maple if possible.

 

[jtvang125]

Looking great but personally, I would probably get annoyed sitting at bar height for extended periods of time. After a few minutes and I start sitting one butt off the chair and standing on one leg.

 

[FeuerFrei]

You could finish the desktop with clear water-based Varathane floor finish.

 

[cbrunny]

Looking great but personally, I would probably get annoyed sitting at bar height for extended periods of time. After a few minutes and I start sitting one butt off the chair and standing on one leg.

yes, this is certainly a problem, but it has some solutions too. It happens to be the perfect height for me to stand, and with standing desks being so trendy right now I thought it might not be bad to look into. Turns out someone like me that sits at a computer all day may benefit from standing at home when I surf the net or whatever. Might help by beer belly a bit.

But also there are "proper" drafting chairs, like these for example
http://www.amazon.ca/Studio-Designs...id=1431547859&sr=8-2&keywords=drafting+chairs

http://www.amazon.ca/Boss-Multi-Fun...id=1431547859&sr=8-1&keywords=drafting+chairs

in addition to the typical bar stool things that you'd see. I'm still not sure what to do about seating - going to have to figure that out soon though I think.

I've even considered building a small box that will elevate my existing computer chair an additional foot or so, so that it is tall enough. I'd have to build walls on top of the box, so it would have a small "bowl" or lip on top to keep the chair from rolling, but it's another potential solution.

EDIT: There is also this: http://www.costco.ca/Intro-Tech-–-Tabouret-de-bar-Crew-Chief-de-PitStop-.product.100177382.html which is the closest thing I've seen to a full-featured computer chair in bar height.

 

[cbrunny]

You could finish the desktop with clear water-based Varathane floor finish.

Oh yeah I guess maple is used a lot for floors. I hadn't thought about that. I'll have to look into that a bit. Thanks for the tip!

 

[cbrunny]

Long delay in progress due to a solid vacation, but have been back at it

Had an opportuinity to get it inside recently via the help of a friend and basically had to take the offer. Its inside now and have been working on it here. Edging is attached. it's 3/4 inch by 2 1/2 inch solid maple. Makes the desk look really boss imo.

Final sanding will be tomorrow morning, followed by the first layer of finish. I'm using a matte varathane, water based so it wont yellow.

 

[cbrunny]

I've been applying varathane and could use some help. The top is maple veneered plywood. I suspect that's the issue.

It doesn't seem to be going on evenly. There are obvious spots where it hasn't taken. Just isn't smooth. Guaranteed I'm at least partly to blame as I am sure my technique is garbage but I'm trying my best. Using a foam brush to apply a varathane. The can says premium diamond wood finish interior water based. Matte finish.

It's also streaky. I can see the brush marks in some places.

I read that maple doesn't absorb finish well and I'm guessing that's doubly true for a veneer. I have applies four coats but the first two I think we're too light. The third and fourth I tried to use what I think is a reasonable amount.

Pics incoming shortly.

 

[cbrunny]

Worth noting that this was taken about 45 minutes to an hour after my most recent coat. It doesn't really make a difference though as the previous coats have looked similar. I don't think its because of the grain, but I might be wrong. If I had to guess I'd guess that I didn't get an even sand job on it, and so the varathane is running along the gentler slopes of the top, causing this effect.

I don't need it to look perfect but I expected it to look better. Any tips? I've been sanding between coats, tack cloth, etc.

Can says minimum of 3 coats. By my count, I've done four total, but two that I think were a bit weak, so really like 3, 3.5.