New desk build - Thought and questions.

[abt]

I'm about to DIY a new desk. I was going to build some thing like this:

Does anyone have any thoughts on the angle of the top racks? I think this one is angled at about 20 degrees, I was thinking of bringing it up to about 25. This will make it about 50mm higher at the top but more visible but should still be out of the firing line of the monitors.

Has anyone used this type of desk? Any good?
Anyone have any other thoughts or ideas?

 

[Wolfeman]

it's between 15-20 deg

 

[Wolfeman]

Actually, I just found the exact value- It's 20 deg.

Changing it to 25 will bring the top up 1.4 inches (35mm)

 

[abt]

Thanks Wolfe. Yeah I worked it out to be 20 degrees as well. I was going to kick it up to 25 to make it easier to view rack gear but 20 works well.

 

[Wolfeman]

Good luck on the build. That desk looks nice, and doesn't look extremely hard to do. Post pics of the build progress!

 

[abt]

Well on the way now. I'm not the best woodworker around but I'm getting there.
Any thoughts on what finish? I was going to go for a varnish with a light stain in it. I think I'll avoid flat black. I'm not sure what to do about the screw heads. I tried filling them with putty but it looks like crap.

 

[Rob Logic]

Could you buy/make little wood punch outs to put over the screw caps? I remember I had them on a piece of furniture I had. Could be as easy as getting a little wood veneer and cutting them. Don't know if there is a tool to do this or if you would have to use an exacto/scissors for every hole. It would be pretty seemless looking and less permanent than wood putty if you need to ever break this guy down.

 

[abt]

Could you buy/make little wood punch outs to put over the screw caps? I remember I had them on a piece of furniture I had. Could be as easy as getting a little wood veneer and cutting them. Don't know if there is a tool to do this or if you would have to use an exacto/scissors for every hole. It would be pretty seemless looking and less permanent than wood putty if you need to ever break this guy down.

This is a good idea. I'm going to give it a try. It might be too much work for me.

 

[sprack]

Veneers are a pain. Not worth the effort. Puttying over the screws is only worthwhile if you're going to cover it in like a latex paint. You could pull the screws and run dowels. Most likely you just want a useable desk though and don't care that much.

Looks great so far. Can't wait to see more.

 

[Wolfeman]

Dowels or a decent glue joint for everything would have been the way to go. It takes more time overall, but is better in the end.

If you don't want to take out the screws, you should just inset the a little further and use hole fillers as has already been mentioned. They sell them at most hardware/woodworking places and have different woods and sizes to match everything up right. Or you can make your own. I usually take the sawdust and mix it with glue to fill holes. It will look very normal after finishing.

Of course if you go the route of covering the screw heads, you won't be taking the desk apart ever again. Just keep it in mind.

Your finishing options are limitless. Just go with whatever you want! Just be warned, if you don't veneer the edges of the plywood, it looks kinda tacky. If you go with a solid color paint, you don't have to worry about it. But just do whatever you feel comfortable with! It's your desk after all

 

[006]

Wow! Looking great already man! Please keep posting pics of the progress

 

[GeertSamuel]

Looking good! Why did you take plywood and not save a bunch of money using MDF?

 

[JeffTD]

Looking good! Why did you take plywood and not save a bunch of money using MDF?

MDF is heavier than balls and looks like crap without a veneer if you plan on staining it.

 

[abt]

I've never been a big fan of MDF. Like Jeff said it's heavy and looks crap. I've also had bad experiences with screws spinning or pulling out of MDF. The ply I bought was not that much more expensive.

I've spent $320 (AUD) so far, not bad considering the cost of buying one, not to mention the limited options available to me locally. Importing one would cost a bomb.

Here's some updated pics:

I decided to angle the rack cabinets in at 30 degrees from the back. It was a lot less but I found it a bit hard to see the rack units at that angle. I also thought that it would be a cool way to able to align monitor in at 30 degrees.

@Wolfe. You're right, if I had to start again (I won't be doing that!) I'd use dowel and glue joints, much nicer.

I'm still thinking about the finish. I might pike and just paint it a solid colour, probably black. I might do some experimenting with different fillers or dowels but it seems like too much work.

 

[exoslime]

wow, this looks great

 

[GeertSamuel]

MDF is heavier than balls and looks like crap without a veneer if you plan on staining it.

In case of veneer I would also take plywood, missed the veneer part, sorry. If you would just go for a solid finish, MDF would be my choice. It's easy stuff to work with imho.

@ABT These last pictures look great! Love the design, and the work you're doing on it! With the screws I'm on Wolfie's idea. Dowels are a lot of work, but worth the looks, done it last year in my kitchen bar, I'll make a picture tonight and post it here, looks really slick. Other option wolfie mentioned is also good and if you probally go with a bit of darker veneer you won't even notice it, if you sanded it properly.

 

[abt]

Just be warned, if you don't veneer the edges of the plywood, it looks kinda tacky.

I like the stripy edge look. Like this chair:

http://www.seatingzine.com/2010/03/28/kurven-chair-cody-stonerock/

Dowels are a lot of work, but worth the looks, done it last year in my kitchen bar, I'll make a picture tonight and post it here, looks really slick.

That would be cool.

 

[Pot]

looking good

 

[Wolfeman]

I like the stripy edge look. Like this chair:

http://www.seatingzine.com/2010/03/28/kurven-chair-cody-stonerock/

Ha, that actually looks pretty cool.

 

[sprack]

One other feasible replacement for screws/dowels would be glue + a ton of finishing nails. You set the pressure right on the gun and they're less than 1mm below the grain easy to fill that and stain over with little visibility.
I've done 4 cabinet builds w/ 3/4in ply and then 4 coats of teak oil over that. Looks good to me. I prefer the warmth of oil or stain over a paint.