Desk building project

[DVA]

Hey guys! So I wanted to see if there were any handymen or carpenters in here that could throw me a few tips! 

 

First off I didn't find a section dedicated towards desks so I am posting it here as a "planning" category. 

 

I saw a beautiful desk on PCPP that was being featured, I can't remember the user but here is basically the same thing. 

 

The only difference is that the one I saw stood on top of filing drawers.

 

Anyway, my plan was to using tongue and groove flooring (thin blocks) and brace it underneath with plywood to prevent possible sagging. This project would cost me around 30-40 dollars depending on material availability. We would of course have the flooring braced to the plywood and finished off with darkwood stain. 

Now the question, do any of you DIY'ers have any better suggestions to achieve a product similar to the one below? Or is the one I've opted for a viable option based on craftsmanship?

[Dissitesuxba11s]

What are you looking to use as legs?

 

When you mentioned that you found a user that used drawers as legs, they probably used some Alex drawers from Ikea. It's much cheaper to just buy used and it comes pre-assembled.

 

For my desk I made it out of two 2' x 2' MDF sheets braced by a two long pieces of 2x4. For the legs I used Adils from Ikea. MDF absorbs water so to prevent any mishaps from spills, I covered the top with some contact paper.

[emosun]

well , i am a woodworker by trade , it's my actual job

the desk in the picture is going to be a "solid wood" desk which is a way of them trying to make "particle board with crap veneer" sound as if it's good.

your plan of using flooring on top of plywood will yield a very cheap and bouncy table with very bad edges as i assume you won't have a real table saw or any other shop equipment to ensure the edges are perfect.

honestly , buy a real desk , stick with early 1900's or older and make sure it's thick with no stringers , if it needed them it's probably garbage. 

[DVA]

Just now, Dissitesuxba11s said:

What are you looking to use as legs?

 

When you mentioned that you found a user that used drawers as legs, they probably used some Alex drawers from Ikea. It's much cheaper to just buy used and it comes pre-assembled.

 

For my desk I made it out of two 2' x 2' MDF sheets braced by a two long pieces of 2x4. For the legs I used Adils from Ikea. MDF absorbs water so to prevent any mishaps from spills, I covered the top with some contact paper.

Funny you mention the Alex drawers as those are the exact ones used in the featured build I saw. 

 

The top alone is around 160 or so and the drawers would be another 120+ on top of that so I figured some DIY would be perfect and add a bit of fun. 

 

I was planning on just sitting on top of drawers also, though I'd prefer to buy them secondhand or on a clearance (Some sort of discounted price). 

 

I would LOVE to see your desk if you don't mind? It just gives me a good outline and whatnot. I will have to look into the contact paper! I kind of want to stick to the nice basic look of wood with a stain finish, but this could be an interesting alternative. Thanks for the response!

[Blasteque]

There are a lot of ways of achieving that look.  You can laminate solid pieces together (butcher-block style), wood veneers (there are many), or re-purpose other products (like what you are suggesting).  Which is best for you depends on your level of craftsmanship and budget.

 

Veneers can be the most visually stunning, but have the highest skill ceiling.

Butcher blocking is not at all hard, but is time consuming and can get expensive depending on the woods.

Gluing  flooring to some plywood risks looking like you glued flooring to plywood, but if you take your time it could be nice.

 

Some things to watch out for:

1.  A plywood table will sag over time.  Consider adding additional supports underneath like 1x4 hardwood or just 3/4" x 3.5" plywood on edge at the front and back.  Set them back from the edge 4-ish inches for looks.

2.  Coat the top with a durable clear coat that won't leave water rings from glasses.  I use 3 - 4 coats of marine varnish or plenty of shellac.

3.  It will be heavier than store-bought products, so be ready for that.  Attach the legs in such a way as to allow them to be removable; this makes moving it in the house or to your next house much easier.

4.  If it doesn't turn out the way you wanted it, don't worry.  You didn't spend that much money and you'll have learned something for next time.

[DVA]

2 minutes ago, emosun said:

well , i am a woodworker by trade , it's my actual job

the desk in the picture is going to be a "solid wood" desk which is a way of them trying to make "particle board with crap veneer" sound as if it's good.

your plan of using flooring on top of plywood will yield a very cheap and bouncy table with very bad edges as i assume you won't have a real table saw or any other shop equipment to ensure the edges are perfect.

honestly , buy a real desk , stick with early 1900's or older and make sure it's thick with no stringers , if it needed them it's probably garbage. 

I appreciate the honest answer lol. 

 

My father has a lot of tools and workbenches that I can use, he does a lot of DIY at home and it always looks amazing. 

 

If I were to stray away from just buying a real desk, what kind of wood do you suggest? I am currently looking at oak, but if I can't figure out a good way to build this without it being cheap than I will take your advice and purchase something with longevity and real wood. 

[Blasteque]

4 minutes ago, DVA said:

Funny you mention the Alex drawers as those are the exact ones used in the featured build I saw. 

 

The top alone is around 160 or so and the drawers would be another 120+ on top of that so I figured some DIY would be perfect and add a bit of fun. 

 

I was planning on just sitting on top of drawers also, though I'd prefer to buy them secondhand or on a clearance (Some sort of discounted price). 

 

I would LOVE to see your desk if you don't mind? It just gives me a good outline and whatnot. I will have to look into the contact paper! I kind of want to stick to the nice basic look of wood with a stain finish, but this could be an interesting alternative. Thanks for the response!

Depending on how "cheap" you want to go, there is the another way...  Take two 2-drawer filing cabinets and put a door on top.  https://www.homedepot.com/p/30-in-x-80-in-Unfinished-Flush-Hardwood-Interior-Door-Slab-5127/202036186

 

It's a bit "getto", but it is cheap.

[emosun]

6 minutes ago, DVA said:

If I were to stray away from just buying a real desk, what kind of wood do you suggest? I am currently looking at oak, but if I can't figure out a good way to build this without it being cheap than I will take your advice and purchase something with longevity and real wood. 

for you? pine

again , if you don't have a table saw , or a planer or router or any furniture experience then you will most definitely build exactly what every persons first piece of furniture looks like , a somewhat lumpy ... unrefined.... under/over sanded creeky object.

pine will ensure that no hardwood was wasted and that the learning experience will be very cheap before you ultimately buy a real desk. lol

[DVA]

4 minutes ago, Blasteque said:

There are a lot of ways of achieving that look.  You can laminate solid pieces together (butcher-block style), wood veneers (there are many), or re-purpose other products (like what you are suggesting).  Which is best for you depends on your level of craftsmanship and budget.

 

Veneers can be the most visually stunning, but have the highest skill ceiling.

Butcher blocking is not at all hard, but is time consuming and can get expensive depending on the woods.

Gluing  flooring to some plywood risks looking like you glued flooring to plywood, but if you take your time it could be nice.

 

Some things to watch out for:

1.  A plywood table will sag over time.  Consider adding additional supports underneath like 1x4 hardwood or just 3/4" x 3.5" plywood on edge at the front and back.  Set them back from the edge 4-ish inches for looks.

2.  Coat the top with a durable clear coat that won't leave water rings from glasses.  I use 3 - 4 coats of marine varnish or plenty of shellac.

3.  It will be heavier than store-bought products, so be ready for that.  Attach the legs in such a way as to allow them to be removable; this makes moving it in the house or to your next house much easier.

4.  If it doesn't turn out the way you wanted it, don't worry.  You didn't spend that much money and you'll have learned something for next time.

I will definitely take the advice for the support beams underneath. 

3-4 coats sounds great! I was leaning more towards 3 and have to check how the quality looks. What amount of time do you suggest between coats?

Two fully grown men should have no problem carrying this sucker in.

I will be setting this on top of drawers, so once the top is removed, it's just a giant slab of wood.

Yeah, I'm sure my dad can make use of it somehow. 

[emosun]

10 minutes ago, Blasteque said:

I use 3 - 4 coats of marine varnish or plenty of shellac.

I actually cringed while reading that

[DVA]

Just now, emosun said:

for you? pine

again , if you don't have a table saw , or a planer or router or any furniture experience then you will most definitely build exactly what every persons first peice of furniture looks like , a somewhat lumpy ... unrefined.... under/over sanded creeky object.

pine will ensure that no hardwood was wasted and that the learning experience will be very cheap before you ultimately buy a real desk. lol

I've used all of the above, especially the planer, I was working on a project that for some reason just did not want to work out. Eventually we had to shave down some wood at 1/32inch at a time. It was such a pain. 

 

I'm personally not the most inclined with these sort of things but my dad is. He has always done DIY and remodeled his home turning it from a 80k value to a 200k value. All done by him and his brother. (My uncle makes homes from the ground up, from framing down to the flooring and cabinets. 100% of it, with others of course)

 

I will let you know how it goes though so you can judge me with your unforgiving eyes

[Dissitesuxba11s]

11 minutes ago, DVA said:

Funny you mention the Alex drawers as those are the exact ones used in the featured build I saw. 

 

The top alone is around 160 or so and the drawers would be another 120+ on top of that so I figured some DIY would be perfect and add a bit of fun. 

 

I was planning on just sitting on top of drawers also, though I'd prefer to buy them secondhand or on a clearance (Some sort of discounted price). 

 

I would LOVE to see your desk if you don't mind? It just gives me a good outline and whatnot. I will have to look into the contact paper! I kind of want to stick to the nice basic look of wood with a stain finish, but this could be an interesting alternative. Thanks for the response!

Spoiler

Spoiler

I actually made a second one so that I have an L desk. I can't show the whole desk since I moved most of the stuff on it to that side and I really don't want to show off the mess.

[emosun]

6 minutes ago, DVA said:

I will let you know how it goes though so you can judge me with your unforgiving eyes

every contractor we ever worked with could easily add value to houses by remodeling them and adding bathrooms and bedrooms and each and everyone is exactly the same. they know contracting and house building but have no clue how to work with and restore wood. lol. we had to fix MANY borked wood restoration attempts over the years that had been done by the "local handyman" with his can of shiney goop.

but yes I'm very unforgiving with woodwork. lol. don't worry about it others won't notice it and be as picky as me.

[DVA]

3 minutes ago, Dissitesuxba11s said:

  Hide contents

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I actually made a second one so that I have an L desk. I can't show the whole desk since I moved most of the stuff on it to that side and I really don't want to show off the mess.

Wow that looks great! How long did it take you to do this? and I've never worked with contact paper, is it difficult to work with?

[Blasteque]

4 minutes ago, emosun said:

I actually cringed while reading that

And I actually cringe while reading that.  If you have a suggestion, make it!

 

My experience with furniture is entirely for my own use, I'm not an expert (my carpenter days were long ago).  Those results have worked for me, but if there's a better way it would be good to know.

[DVA]

1 minute ago, emosun said:

every contractor we ever worked with could easily add value to houses by remodeling them and adding bathrooms and bedrooms and each and everyone is exactly the same. they know contracting and house building but have no clue how to work with and restore wood. lol. we had to fix MANY borked wood restoration attempts over the years that had been done by the "local handyman" wish his can of shiney goop.

but yes I'm very unforgiving with woodwork. lol. don't worry about it other won't notice it and be as picky as me.

I would still like to hear from a woodworker, this will be a side project so I will @ you when it's eventually done in a few weeks. I am in no rush to make it and I want to craft it to the best of my ability. 

[emosun]

Just now, Blasteque said:

 

My experience with furniture is entirely for my own use, I'm not an expert (my carpenter days were long ago).  Those results have worked for me, but if there's a better way it would be good to know.

all mineral spirits , stain , sand and seal , tongue oil , use coasters

all hand oil compatibles

don't load it down with shellac , it's a table not the dashboard of a bmw

[Dissitesuxba11s]

1 hour ago, DVA said:

Wow that looks great! How long did it take you to do this? and I've never worked with contact paper, is it difficult to work with?

It actually took me maybe three weeks total since I initially planned on only doing one, but with two (for the L-desk) it took longer and I was doing this all after work. You can probably do it all a week even taking into account the numerous times I sanded, and painted.

 

Working with contact paper wasn't too bad since I had a yard stick to smoothen creases and air bubbles out (a squeegee would be better) . I would suggest getting a second person to help you to make the application easier. And it would be cleaner to get contact paper that spans the whole width of the desk; mine has a line on it where it splits between the separate sheets.