Wood choice for custom computer desk

m_stan

I'm building a custom computer desk for a particular corner in my house. The reason being I dont like the cheapy Argos type desks and I want something custom size and shape to fit the very specific space I have.

The question - which wood to use ? I need recommendations for wood type for both the top and the legs/shelving that I will make for supporting the top.

My last such desk was made of MDF that I later painted. I could go down the same route again but wondered if there is something more attractive I could use - maybe a wood finish that I could stain and varnish ? If I could get a top that's an inch/inch and a half thick that would look nice.

I'm going to Larrys in Drumcondra to get him to supply and cut the wood to size - just need your thoughts on what materials to use. Also - what type of screws to hold all this together.

Thanks !

kadman

Try the woodcraft forum,

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=530

There's a couple of similar projects on the go at the moment.

kadman

311

I was thinking of doing the same myself.
I've seen plywood with a dark stain finish and it looks brilliant with all the lines on the edges. I'm not sure how to go about sticking them together ,with maybe some angle brackets and 1/4 screws.

M stan ,go for the woodcraft forum it looks good ,I'd like to maybe join in on a build of a desk.

m_stan

Didn't realise there was a woodcraft forum. Would a Mod please move this to avoid duplicate threads ? Many thanks.

delly

*Alakazam*

JoeB-

Alright

Well m_stan, you're wondering about wood types... you're probably talking about using real wood veneered MDF or chipboard rather than solid timber because of cost. I see problems here including edges that need to be glued on (using an iron) and trimmed and also the fact that MDF and chipboard have crap screw holding ability, traditional wood screws don't work great, specilist MDF screws require predrilling in both pieces... it would be possible to use loads of wood screws, clamp the MDF pieces in position, pre drill, and fire away, this will work but the furniture won't withstand much vibration. (this is compared to woodscrews in pine which has probably the best screw holding ability of all materials)


You could use solid pine which is cheap, no edge problems, easy to assemble using screws, can be stained and varnished, downsides are that it's pine and full of knots which can't be hidden. Upsides are mouldings and such are available in pine.

I think you can forget about using any other solid timber as it's simply not available in large panels at a reasonable cost.

Plywood is a good option as you can just leave the edges exposed if you like the look...

You can fake the thick top in several ways, basically by attaching an extra piece or a lipping.

Woodworkers (the shop) also have a cutting service and an edgebanding service which is very reasonable in my opinion, they might only cut rectangular pieces though, I'm not sure.

There are 'modesty blocks' which are much better than angle brackets in terms of appearance for furniture, check out Hafele to see types of hardware and screws etc.

Good luck...

Cheers
Joe


Custom made pine furniture, Co. Wicklow.

311

Joe ,I was working in an architect's house about 2 years ago and she got the carpenter to put shelves in made of plywood.
It was given a dark stain ,the edges of the ply looked brilliant with the dark and light lines ,what stain would be best as I used rustin's before but I'm not sure if it would hide the lines of the ply.

karltimber

hi,

as you can see from the pic - put in a small table as a computer desk.
lcd and keyboard on top (into corner) and pc underneath.

Just got 2 large pieces of pine board and made a template in cardboard.
put two support lats onto the wall.
when finished I realized the extended part was weak and unsupported so I put two cut new brush handles (cheaper than dowels) to support the front.

found some perspex in work, cut , sanded the edges and screwed to top with pics underneath.

nice job.

thought I'd share

m_stan

Thanks for all the replies.

In the end, after seeking some advice in Larry's in Drumcondra (who I recommend highly btw) I decided to go with mahogany veneered MDF with the iron on edging. I also got a thin sheet of ply for the back to hold it all together. I am going to pre-drill everything and screw with long thin screws and also glue. Hopefully it'll stay together

Larry's cut it all to my spec, so now it's just a matter of getting a few hours to put it all together and varnishing it.

I'll post pics when I get around to doing it.

Thanks again for the advice.

condra

m_stan, Im thinking of doing a similar project myself, for a large corner unit.

Could you elaborate on how much this set you back. Id love to see a picture if you have one.

m_stan

womoma wrote:

m_stan, Im thinking of doing a similar project myself, for a large corner unit.

Could you elaborate on how much this set you back. Id love to see a picture if you have one.

Hi womoma. This worked out really well for me, even my limited woodworking skills. I ended up buying mahogony vaneered MDF with some plywood for the backing and some glue-on trim for the edges of the mdf sheets. I put two coats of clear varnish on it, and it really looks fantastic.

I made a slight error in my measurements which resulted in not having an lip between the desktop and the legs, which takes away from the look slightly but since that was my only real error I was delighted with the outcome.

I live in Swords, so went down to Larry's on Gracepark Road in Drumcondra. I cannot recommend them enough. I went in with a rough pencil drawing of everything I needed with measurements, and the recommended what I should use, verified my measurements and cut every sheet to size for me. They are very friendly. I even got a cup of coffe while I waited ! If you are anywhere near Drumcondra I would highly recommend you go to these guys.

All in all, including varnish I think this cost me around 130 Euro.

I don't have any pics on me right now, but I'd be happy to take some tonight and I'll post them here for the benefit of everyone.

condra

130? not too shabby!

m_stan

here's the photo. sorry for the delay. not the greatest photo but you get the idea. note, I did not make the chair ! The desk turned out to almost perfectly match the colour of the chairs I already had (total fluke)

condra

nice job!

m_stan

ok I've rotated and re-uploaded the pic above pic.

Hope this helps. Thanks for the compliment. I was very happy with the outcome myself. Shows you what can be done when you put your mind to it, even if you have no woodwork training !

Photo of desk