Building a Computer Desk

[raze599]

Hi everyone

I'm a complete novice at woodworking. Not built anything in my life but hopefully I'd like to change that in the coming months. I've been watching lots and lots of videos over the last few months and woodworking is very interesting to say the least.

My computer desk is falling apart and I'd like to have a crack at building a new one myself. I'm working on a model of it in Sketchup but I have a few questions:

-What kind of wood is the best to buy and where is a good place to get it somewhat cheaply? I'm thinking of 18mm thick plywood but the prices and types vary a lot. Plus I'd like a type which you can get edge banding for.
-What is a good finish to use on the plywood? Some sort of oil? Plus can you use the finish on edge banding?
-Would I be able to get away with just a drill and circular saw? I have a very old very heavy corded drill and if I carry on with this project I'm considering buying the Evolution Rage 1B circular saw for £50 I think from Screwfix.

Thanks.

 

[rafezetter]

Hmm... ok

Yes you can use the same finish on the edge banding as the plywood as the edge banding can be bought as real wood veneer - even maybe as a contrast colour which often looks effective.

Oil can be used, but requires more effort - multiple applications with possible ongoing maintenance indefinitely; wood that has been fed with oil will need a once over every year to keep it looking it's best. Varnish is a hit it and forget it kind of thing - as long as the application technique is good - otherwise brush strokes may diminish the overall look. I personally prefer oil based varnish as it has a longer "open time" to work it and remove brush strokes etc; I've found many water based varnishes to be too quick to start setting up and becoming cloggy. Plus a water based varnish may lift any edgebanding you've applied, especially if it was glued on with PVA.

You might get away with just a circular saw and drill - it really depends on how handy you are - I've seen some amazing furniture made with just simple basic DIY grade tools.

The rage evolution mitre saw - forget it - at that price point they are strictly for basic framing cuts and the like; nowhere near accurate enough for cutting things like drawer sections, you'll have problems from the moment you set it up - even if you are utterly methodical in the set up with a perfectly accurate set square - at £50 there's a very high chance the machine will be unable to cut straight and true no matter how you fiddle with it. Case in point I bought a mitre saw costing £170 a few years ago (Challenge Extreme brand) and had used it for basic framing without major issue. Recently I tried using it to make some boxes and for the life of me I couldn't get a good 90deg box joint. After much fiddling and changing the blade to a very good quality one (to rule out a wonky blade as the culprit) turns out both the hinge drop mechanism AND the slide back and forth mechanism were bent by 3mm - it would NEVER have cut straight / vertical brand new out of the box. For critical cuts I would ask around and see if anyone can help with an accurate machine.

Google and see if there are any maker / hack spaces nearby with machines - they are becoming increasingly common.

For the actual material - are you considering housing the PC case inside the desk? (or did I just give you the idea to ) if you are you might want to consider how you would acheive that for best results & possible sound reduction benefits - there are hundreds of sites on the net of people doing similar - I know as I'm in the middle of said PC desk scratchbuild right now. The choice of material - at least surrounding the PC case may have a bearing on the overall plan. Mine is going to be double skinned with different materials at the PC area to take advantage of 2 forms of sound absorbtion.

You're right about plywood quality being hit and miss especially in most DIY stores (and some proper wood suppliers too) - but I can never remember the different gradings, so someone here might be able to help with that. A basic rule though would be to buy the best you can; less chance of voids, less chance of time causing it to delaminate (the individual sheets within separating) ruining all your hard work. Buy good stuff once instead of mediocre stuff twice.

Alternatively you could forget all that and grab a couple of sheets of 8x4 cut into 4 bits and screw together to get a desk - it all depends on what you are after (hammer) .

As I'm pretty well versed on this particular niche field (my PC custom desk has been several years in the planning - with hundreds of ideas considered and discarded), maybe posting your sketchup may spark some advice I could help with.

Either way good luck and doing get too hung up on problems - you can always buy more wood.

 

[raze599]

Hi

Thanks for the reply.

I meant the normal circular saw, not the mitre saw. It does have very good reviews. I will also make a straight track for it so I get perfectly straight cuts every time.

Currently I'm working out how much wood I will need. I have come to 6.67m^2 of thick plywood and 2.95m^2 of thin plywood. Thats not too much on the whole thankfully.

I would post images of my sketchup designs but it says my account doesnt have permission to post links for some reason and I can't attach the project file unfortunately. It says .skp is not allowed.

 

[Benchwayze]

Raze.

You won't get true straight cuts on a table saw unless the mitre channel/s, fence and blade are all parallel in relation to one another.
You need the table to be moveable about a vertical axis, so you can bring the mitre-slots parallel with the blade, and then tighten up again.
You also need to zero the blade tilting mechanism at the same time. The fence can then be adjusted to line up with the mitre slot; the one on the left of the blade usually. Then all three will be in parallel. All you need then to produce truly straight cuts, is the fence, the guard and a push stick.

Without this symmetry you won't be able to set the mite-guide accurately either, and you won't get true cross cuts, because the work will 'creep' as the mitre-guide advances.

HTH Raze.

PS... Scratch that! You are talking about a hand held saw, I see. Mind you, if you can adjust the sole, the same adjustments will make one of those even better. :mrgreen: