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Mega Desk - build log

CostcoSamples

So I've got 3 computers at my house - two desktops and one laptop.  All of them are gaming capable, so I thought I'd build a desk big enough to accommodate all three.  My personal rig will be in the middle, with the two others on either side.  Features of this setup include:

 

- Birch tabletop with Maple edging, dark brown stain with polyurethane finish

- Three workstations along one wall, each having an ergonomic desk cutout (see photos)

- Wall mounted cabinets (old Ikea cabinets cut up and modified for wall mounting)

- Built in 5.1 surround sound with Yamaha receiver (to be connected to my main rig in the middle of the desk).  Sound system was previously for a home theater (ceiling mounted speakers)

- Desktop computer cabinets beneath the desk with slide-out rails for easy access to each computer case.

- Cable management

 

I didn't think of posting this until halfway through, so I don't have any earlier photos.  Sorry!

 

Step one - mount Ikea cabinets

Step two - procure supplies for desk.  Desk will be made of 3/4" plywood with Birch veneer, and maple edging.

Step three - cut plywood to shape of the desk:

 

IMG_20170612_225240.thumb.jpg.daea54a7b584324a29350f4bb5099556.jpg

 

 

The desk is just nearly 14 feet long, so I had to join two pieces of plywood end to end.  This is a very difficult task because in order to get that joint nice and tight, you need to have the two edges fit together.  Also, the walls are not perfectly square, so I had to cut the back and sides to fit the wall.  The technique I used to make the joint was to line them up as close as possible (leaving a small gap of 1/8") then splice the two sides together with some scrap wood from the bottom.  Using a straight edge as a guide, I made a cut along the joint with my router (using a 1/2" straight cut bit).  The router made a cut on both sides of the joint, and any imperfections in the joint are duplicated on both sides simultaneously.  It means that even if the cut is not perfectly straight, the two pieces still fit together perfectly.  This whole process of fitting and jointing took roughly 12 hours of work!

 

Once that was done, it was time to install the maple edging:

IMG_20170616_122510.thumb.jpg.386315b760c1a71a9733145ba2ce1379.jpg

 

clamping onto a 45 degree angle is hard, and I didn't want any nails along the edge.  I came up with this system of screwing scraps on the bottom to clamp against.  It worked really well!  I got to the end and was about 3" short on maple!  The store is 45 minutes round trip so I just spliced on another scrap piece and you can barely tell.  Once the glue dried, I used my router with a 45 degree chamfer bit to chamfer the top and bottom of the maple edging.  

 

IMG_20170616_151500.thumb.jpg.57f21d035d405e21d7e3909fae1fa1fb.jpg

 

 

After sanding it was time to stain it:

 

IMG_20170617_202244.thumb.jpg.eff82dc00a987ddb2129eba8adb80e2c.jpg

 

I was going for a black-brown, which isn't exactly what I got, but I like it anyway.  Three coats of polyurethane and the desktop is finished!

 

Next up will be the computer cabinets and cable management.  Hope you like it!

 

i7 4790k @4.7 | GTX 1070 Strix | Z97 Sabertooth | 32GB  DDR3 2400 mhz | Intel 750 SSD | Define R5 | Corsair K70 | Steel Series Rival | XB271, 1440p, IPS, 165hz | 5.1 Surround
PC Build

Desk Build

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