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"The sQuik" A hardline watercooled custom corner casedesk

sQuik

Hey everybody, this is my first build log so it might be abit messy.

I have a watercooled build with an external radiator, alot of stereo equipment that is stacked up pretty messy and a old dirty desk, i one day stumpled upon a casedesk and started wondering if i could make something to fit all theese components into, that would end up looking alot less messy than what i currently have and giving me some more leg space as i'm rather tall (210 cm).

so i started drawing up some things in google sketchup being the first time ever using such a program there have been some difficulties drawing up exactly what i wanted so it is more for reference and measurements, and this is the result i ended up with;

 

 

(after tweaking abit i found a "new" design);

1830x2400%20fix%20med%20100mm%20laeligbe

The old/current build;

 

20150228_182529_zpsq1ifruhs.jpg

 

External rad setup;

 

10955784_10153054497384556_7322848933651

 

pumps and rad setup from old building stage;

 

20150129_001251_zpsttylhdhz.jpg

 

Stereo equipment;

 

10484727_10152869711684556_7270561721098

 

Components that will be used;

 

Motherboard; Asus rampage IV black edition

Cpu; intel i7 4930k

Ram; 32GB G.skill tridentx 2666 mhz

Gpu; 3 x Nvidia GTX 980 TI with ekwb block

Psu; 2x Evga supernova G2 850w

HDD; 2TB WD Black, 2 x 256GB samsung 840 EVO

Pumps; 2 x Alphacool vpp655

Radiators; 2 x Phobya G-CHANGER Xtreme NOVA 1080

Fans; 18 x Alphenföhn Wingboost 2 orange. 6 x xigmatek XLF 140 orange

Planning to build a Phase change cooler for the CPU but this is still not decided

ALOT of monsoon fittings

50mm linear actuators

 

 

i will be starting out on the Desk here within the next couple of days, and i will try keep this post updated with pictures along the way.

 

Thanks for watching!

 

/sQuik

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I'm in the plans to build something similar. I can't decide whether I want the components to be part of the desk (like you have drawn) or as a pull-out compartment (where everything pulls out like a large drawer) or something like a wall mount. One thing to keep in mind is the potential glare on your monitor from the lights not to mention the glare you might get into your eyes from those lights (I guess it depends on how dark the glass top will be) - at least those are the things I have to keep in mind for my design. One other thing (at least for me) is that I am trying to keep my desk as modular as I can for when I need to move it.

 

What type of material are you using? I'm probably going to use a mixture of Birch plywood, Poplar plywood, maybe some Red Oak plywood, and for the door faces, table top, and trim molding I plan on using Birch hardwood.

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I'm planning on making it all out of MDF wood and getting it sprayed and lacquered, i also had the thought of using veneer but i think i'm just gonna end up getting it painted.

 

Having it as a pull-out drawer certainly has advantages, i have been playing with the idea of having some hinges at the back of the tabletop covering the components so i could lift it up, kinda like the hood of a car.

 

i also had glare from lights in mind and not wanted to have my keyboard and such ontop of everything i decided to build the case part out to the right and having the keyboard and screen in the corner so i wont be sitting directly over the window and all the lights.

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What hardware/glue are you using to join MDF edges? I always remember this type of wood either splitting or losing the thread grip because the wood is less dense, but maybe the product production has changed since then. The last thing I bought made out of MDF was in deed the last thing I bought made out of MDF (and it even had additional hardware so that metal screws/bolts were attaching to each other - opposed to just metal screws going into the MDF). Why MDF and not good grade plywood?

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Damn...

Specs: 4790k | Asus Z-97 Pro Wifi | MX100 512GB SSD | NZXT H440 Plastidipped Black | Dark Rock 3 CPU Cooler | MSI 290x Lightning | EVGA 850 G2 | 3x Noctua Industrial NF-F12's

Bought a powermac G5, expect a mod log sometime in 2015

Corsair is overrated, and Anime is ruined by the people who watch it

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Yay Cerwin Vega

Area 51 2014. Intel 5820k@ 4.4ghz. MSI X99.16gb Quad channel ram. AMD Fury X.Asus RAIDR.OCZ ARC 480gb SSD. Velociraptor 600gb. 2tb WD.

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Mostly because i have worked with it before building a pair of speakers, and i don't have so much woodworking experience with much else.

 

in that project i made an inner frame that i glued and screwed in from the inside also giving me less screw holes to be seen from the outside.

 

20150331_232244_zpsxtiwu0zn.jpg

 

20150331_232229_zps1cvso1xu.jpg

 

20150331_233325_zpsp4gpp46y.jpg

 

but i have been thinking about using some small round sticks (cant remember the english name for those) and drilling a hole in each of the pieces i want to glue together and putting these in with some glue.

they look like this; 

Picture%206800.JPG

 

(excuse my horrible phone camera pictures, i gotta get me a decent camera)

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That little wooden plug is a dowel (that helps with glue adhesion and adds a little support to the joint). For what it's worth, I would suggest using plywood versus MDF. Speaker cabinets are ok with MDF because there is no expected weight to be placed on them. Like I said before, I am planning on using a hardwood plywood such as

http://www.homedepot.com/p/PureBond-Birch-Plywood-FSC-Certified-Common-3-4-in-x-4-ft-x-8-ft-Actual-0-703-in-x-48-in-x-96-in-332941/202887466?N=5yc1vZc7r1

 

I'm sure you have similar types of plywood in your area. If you have only worked with MDF in the past, I would suggest at least looking into good grade plywood for the general construction of the unit, then you can use actual hardwood for cabinet doors, trim, drawer faces.

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i gotta admit, that hardwood plywood looks very interesting indeed, also giving an more natural wood look, i was planning on having a talk with the guys at the wood store here tommorov i'm definitely gonna look into some plywood and ask to see what they would suggest.

 

the only plywood i had worked with in the past had a tendency to splinter an awful lot so that is one of the reasons i never really looked that way.

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the only plywood i had worked with in the past had a tendency to splinter an awful lot so that is one of the reasons i never really looked that way.

 

Well, there are different "grades" of plywood. There is low-grade plywood used in home construction, there is medium grade plywood where one side is crap and the other side is good quality, and then there is top grade plywood where both sides have the good wood (yes, I said good wood). Plywood is basically plywood until it comes to the quality of the two outer layers. You still have to be careful about splitting plywood, but there are many solutions to that concern. Since you are going to ask your local people about plywood, ask them about the number of layers in their plywood (some plywood is made with 5 layers, some 7). Your local climate could also be a factor in choosing the best type of plywood; also think about how much weight you might place on the top and the span of surface area you may have between leg supports (ie. a 6' long table top versus a 4' table top). The longer your unsupported span, the more layers of plywood you may need).

 

I really do think you will be much happier with using hardwood plywood. Let me know what those lumber guys tell you.

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i see, i'm pretty sure i have worked with some of the lower grade plywood as it also had the same quality wood throughout it.

i found a local store online that deal with birch plywood, as far i can see they seem to have a couple of different grade birch plywood.

 

they have theese 5 variants (translated from danish, so i don't know if it makes any sense, didn't make much sense to me in danish either)

 

Cross- veneered B / BB = Generally stopper free front / back stuffed .
Cross veneer S / S = Generally stopper free 2 pages
Cross veneers S / BB = Generally stopper free front / back stuffed .
Cross veneer BB / BB = Crammed 2 pages
Along veneer B / BB = Generally stopper free front / back stuffed .

 

anywhere from 3mm to 30mm

 

so i'm gonna go visit them and here what they have to suggest

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cool project, good luck! 

Thanks! =)

 

Yay Cerwin Vega

 

Hell yea!?

cant wait seems awesome! good luck dude!

Thanks buddy, cant wait to get started! :D

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so i started drawing up some things in google sketchup being the first time ever using such a program there have been some difficulties drawing up exactly what i wanted so it is more for reference and measurements, and this is the result i ended up with;

 

I meant to add: even though you just started using the sketch program, it looks like you have caught on very fast; looks good.

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so i was out talking with the local wood store today, the staff there was there at this moment didn't seem to be very informed about their products nor very helpful, but as far as i could gather they have something called Okoumé plywood that's made of birch, it seems to be made of 7 layers, and these are 18mm thick.

 

20150401_164651_zps1dwdimva.jpg

 

20150401_164656_zpsfjnhjiwl.jpg

 

they did add that this type of wood over longer lengths may give/bend a little over time, so i would have to reinforce it underneath to keep it straight, i don't know if this will be the case for my design as its supported without having too long lengths between.

 

Also i find this birch to be a quite light color, is there any way to get a darker wood look out of it, or would i have to find some other wood type?

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it seems to be made of 7 layers, and these are 18mm thick.

18mm comes out to about .70 inch which is about right when it comes to 3/4" plywood (which is the thickness I would recommend for your construction). You can use 1/2"-5/8" for drawer sides and 1/4" for the drawer bottom (although I may use 1/2" for my drawer bottom just for added rigidity). If you are making drawers, you can look up their design. I never liked the fact that 3/4" actually meant less (which is why it's only .70 inches). By the time the board is constructed, heated, pressed, sanded, planed, it loses that little bit of thickness. Why don't they just start off by making the board 7/8" knowing that its final size will actually be 3/4"? I just like to be more precise with numbers.

Also i find this birch to be a quite light color, is there any way to get a darker wood look out of it, or would i have to find some other wood type?

I liked it for the fact it is light in color, but there should be other types of hardwood plywood out there that have darker tones and even more distinct grain patterns. If you want a darker wood to start with, just look around to see what is available in your area. Red Oak is darker, so is Poplar, Walnut, Cherry, etc... just look around. The reason I like the light color is because I can stain it as dark as I want. If you want a really dark table (by the looks of your drawing), then you can use a very dark stain - you can make it as dark as you want. I wouldn't suggest painting it, but that's your choice. Some people have even mixed stains with certain paints, but you have to make sure you mix the right stuff. I'm going to stain mine to a color called Espresso - here is something similar in color.

http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/956652/Realspace-Magellan-Performance-Collection-L-Desk/

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Okey the "drawer" looking thing is actually going to support most of my stereo equipment (3 amps that weigh out at about 50 pounds each) so i think i might keep that in the 3/4" plywood just to keep it strong enough to support all that weight, and the front panel is going to have to be able to carry quite some weight too as one of the amps is rack mounted, though i'm going to support it with with a frame underneath.

the 2 legs under the pc components is going to support a 1080 radiator each behind the mesh that i marked orange, so that have to be able to carry some extra weight there too.

 

Rad%20in%20legs_zpswwjia66a.jpg

 

i like the color the wood gets after staining it, so i think i'm going to look towards that way, if u can get it as dark as the Espresso u showed me, that would hit right on the mark.

i'm going to research into staining abit see how difficult it would be for a beginner at that.

 

i'm also guessing milling in plywood is quite messy? i had in mind to mill out the holes for the mesh and the glass and such holes with a router when it was in MDF, but would that work for plywood or completely splinter it?

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i like the color the wood gets after staining it, so i think i'm going to look towards that way, if u can get it as dark as the Espresso u showed me, that would hit right on the mark.

i'm going to research into staining abit see how difficult it would be for a beginner at that.

Different woods absorb different stains in different ways, so see if your store has samples of stained wood and hopefully you will find a combination that works. It's all about testing before you make a final decision. Some stores may even have small packets of stain that you can take home to test (ask for take home samples) - they may cost a few bucks, but it would be worth knowing ahead of time. If you are going to have that much weight on a drawer (assuming it will slide open and closed using drawer guides), make sure you get the drawer guides for your weight range. Those guides are not all the same.

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Great, i'm going to head back there tomorrow and check if they have some samples, hopefully they have some of those take home packages so i can do some tests, and post some pics.

 

i managed to find some videos and such on using a router on plywood and that seems very doable without completely splintering it, so that shouldn't be a worry.

 

i think i'm going to have the stereo equipment standing just like a shelf with no drawer system, and then get a dark tinted glass door to cover it.

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i managed to find some videos and such on using a router on plywood and that seems very doable without completely splintering it, so that shouldn't be a worry.

What part of the desk are you talking about using a router on plywood? I hope it's not for the table top - you should be using hardwood for the table top (not hardwood plywood). I would only use hardwood plywood for: desk sides, desk bottom, all 4 sides of drawers, shelves, and inside support structure (actually I would use something like pine for inside support). I would only use actual hardwood (not hardwood plywood) for drawer face plate, trim/moulding, and table top. If you were talking about using plywood for the table top, maybe that's why those people mentioned this wood could give/bend over long lengths. If you are set on using hardwood plywood for your table top, and after making sure you have placed a LOT of support under the long lengths, then I would glue/nail a strip of hardwood around the table top edges and THEN router the edge. Once this is stained, you shouldn't notice the difference, but you don't want to router any plywood. You would see all those layers and splitting would happen regardless. This is why I would use hardwood to act as trim and then router the hardwood. But again, I would really suggest using full out hardwood for your table top. You will have to glue several boards together to get a desired width, and hopefully you would be able to find boards long enough that you wouldn't have to piece together a table top. You are better off with buying boards long enough to just glue their sides together opposed to having to piece a top together like you see on hardwood floors. Let me know if you understand what I'm talking about and I will show some images.

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I think i understand what u mean, when i started out the only table tops i could find where 600mm deep and when asking around i was told that they didn't get much deeper than that (most likely made for kitchens)

so i will have to glue some pieces together obviously (i feel abit dumb right about now), so i need a table top piece for the corner part (i'm going the get a big piece and cut out the corner was the plan) so i found a store that sells a piece that is 1030mm x 700mm (i need 2010mm x 1360mm for the corner part if i'm going to cut out the corner) so would i be able to glue such 2 pieces together? or does board by board from scratch make out a better tabletop?

 

i didn't quite understand what u mean by using hardwood for trim/moulding?

The places i wanted to mill out i have marked with red circles

 

AutoSave_Bord%20layout%202%20farvet%20me

 

Thoose parts would be made out of plywood if i understand u correctly.

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If you can send me the full resolution image of your desk sketch, then I will draw what I'm talking about. It's easier to reference things as I'm pointing.

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Sure thing, i have send u a image of the sketch, and a sketch file.

 

i have managed to find 3 parts that if i could glue together would get the whole surface area, like this;

 

3%20table%20top%20glue%20solution_zps99k

 

And the just do a cutout in the red marked plate to get the corner

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Seeing your sketch-up more closely, I have a slightly different suggestion. You are building your desk in a different style than I am (which is perfectly fine). Your design is more "modern", so the types of wood and building technique can be more varied than the style I'm building. The main thing I'm talking about is the fact you are not using any trim molding (again which is perfectly fine, different styles for different design ideas).

 

But, going back to what I said before about adding a piece of real hardwood around the edges and then shaping that with a router, I would still suggest do that opposed to you using a router directly on plywood. If your wood is 3/4" thick, then I would cut a piece of hardwood (maybe something like hardwood birch, maple, oak, poplar, your choice) in strips of 1" wide and however long you need, then router that edge similar to this, then you can attach that trim to the edges of your desk, but honestly, with the style I think you are going for, I would suggest to NOT router any edge at all (unless you want to round off the edge). I would keep the edge like it is now (flat) and to prevent being able to see the layers of plywood, I would use a veneer of some kind. You know, this really is hard to explain with words and not show in person, so I hope I'm making sense.

 

The bottom line is:

1. I would stay away from MDF, period.

2. I would use good grade 3/4" hardwood plywood for everything (unless you want to use actual hardwood for the table top, but again, your style would be able to get away with using good grade plywood and either a stain or possibly a veneer across the entire top).

3. You can use simple 1/4" panel wood for the back of your desk.

4. Use good finishing nails, glue, and support pieces (I would stay away from screws unless you use screws to attach your support pieces).

5. Use something like the dowels discussed earlier for when you have to glue boards side by side in order to make a wider piece.

 

As far as the layout, angle, and position of the pieces of wood used to construct the wide table top, you might want to visit a local furniture shop to see how they construct their tops. Some manufacturers might do what you outlined above, others may criss-cross the boards, but the main thing to focus on is which method will provide the most support for the particular weight you place on it. This is where you can take your sketches to local lumber stores and/or furniture design shops and hope to find someone who knows what they are doing... in my area, it seems that 95% of the employees have no clue as to the industry they are employed.

 

Keep posting updates, and let me know if you run into more questions.

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