Home office desk questions...

[Anti-Powertools]

Hi guys, i'm in the process of building a home office desk but i'm unsure of what design to go for, even though i've searched through a million pictures on google.

I've got these four pieces of timber for my table top (which are 1"3/4 inches thick) and a little left over for the drawer fronts.

The table top dimensions will be 40inches long & 20inches wide.
I am using this wood because it was given to me for free & i'm going to keep it at it's current thickness because i don't want to be planing into my thirties. But maybe for that laziness i can create something interesting?

With such a thick table top and drawer fronts, can anybody recommend what design i should go for with regards to the table legs (style) and layout?

And then, could you please advise me on the wood that i should purchase for the legs, draws and aprons? Because this is my first real project for an indoor piece of furniture so i need all the help i can get on matching these things with the table top wood

P.S. I'm planning on doing a lot of the joinery work with pocket screws to make my life easier.

Thanks,
Ste.

 

[AndyT]

Some woodworkers are very imaginative and creative and can design surprising pieces not seen before.
Others look at lots of existing pieces, try to understand their design principles, and learn from others' experience.

I'm in the second group. Pretty much all the desks that I have used or seen were made from boards which started at 1" thick.
There are good reasons for this. It's a sensible thickness to yield stable boards with plenty of strength. It's economical. And (this is most important in your case) you get a finished piece that can be moved without a fork lift truck.

I think that if you use your salvaged joists you could make a nice bench or an unusable desk.

It might be possible to get your boards deep ripped and planed into something more manageable. There used to be companies making 'reclaimed pine' kitchens this way but fashion may have changed.

Sorry to sound negative. I'm all in favour of using free timber but there are practical limits that you need to think about.

(There are probably hipsters using workbenches as desks somewhere. I've seen them in shops used as display tables. I just don't think it makes as much sense as a desk that looks like a desk!)

 

[Anti-Powertools]

Well, thanks for ruining my day! haha. I was only considering it as a table top because wood is so expensive. I was at my local B&Q Store (I know) and anything worth having was way over budget.

 

[flying haggis]

as others have said a desk can be as simple or as ornate as you wish, I have a length of kitchen breakfast bar held up with ikea metal legs (£2.25 each) and it suits me fine, but you might not agree

 

[AJB Temple]

I you seriously want it to be a home office desk, 40" long is pretty small. If you want a cheap solution I would use your joist offcuts as legs (add some bracing to make a frame) and use 1" board (e.g. ply) for the top. Maybe add an edging. A usable desk needs to hold a screen, laptop, keyboard, phone, essential coffee cup and whatever papers etc you are using. Bigger is usually better. Second hand ex-office desk are very cheap from office clearance suppliers.

 

[Anti-Powertools]

as others have said a desk can be as simple or as ornate as you wish

Yeah i'm looking to boost my ego as well as have something practical. I want to make something i'm proud of rather than something that's just practical.

If you seriously want it to be a home office desk, 40" long is pretty small. If you want a cheap solution I would use your joist offcuts as legs (add some bracing to make a frame) and use 1" board (e.g. ply) for the top. Maybe add an edging. A usable desk needs to hold a screen, laptop, keyboard, phone, essential coffee cup and whatever papers etc you are using. Bigger is usually better. Second hand ex-office desk are very cheap from office clearance suppliers.

Well, let's say it's a 'smaller' office desk. I think 40" is definitely suitable to my needs and my space. Of course a huge desk with lots of space would be great, but i have to work within my limitations & I also want to create something myself, than take something second hand.

 

[Anti-Powertools]

I've also been given these.

I thought i could use these pieces for legs, they measure 3x3 and are 30" in length, but they're obviously a different wood to what i was considering for the table top.

Would i get away with it if i stain everything?

 

[rafezetter]

Well I would say that what you have is good enough for a desk - but a pretty basic desk - little more than 4 slabs roughly joined together for the top and a leg at each corner - slap some stain on it and walk away. It'll function as a desk but it will also look exactly like you've just put 4 slabs of rough wood together and attached a fence post leg at each corner.

However - unless you have another pile of thinner bits of wood available (or drawers already assembled / salvaged) or intention of doing any cutting of the largers pieces you have to make up such components, then I simply can't see how you'd add a drawer framework, as that needs sheet wood.

Without wishing to also be negative, from the amount and type of questions you have asked, I think you should do a lot more research into what a desk with drawers is comprised of, how each part relates to the other, and the layout you'd need to accomodate how you intend to do the joints of the legs to the top.

Even the most basic "desk with drawers" requires more wood than you have so far shown, and there are just too many variables regarding what you would like and what level of skill you are at.

Just as a f'instance - if you don't have enough extra wood to form a set of rails to hold the legs together you could attach the legs to the top with a through mortice and tenon with a wedge - which done correctly and neatly would still be pleasing to look at, and would actually benefit from having a thicker top.

 

[Anti-Powertools]

Well I would say that what you have is good enough for a desk - but a pretty basic desk - little more than 4 slabs roughly joined together for the top and a leg at each corner - slap some stain on it and walk away. It'll function as a desk but it will also look exactly like you've just put 4 slabs of rough wood together and attached a fence post leg at each corner.

However - unless you have another pile of thinner bits of wood available (or drawers already assembled / salvaged) or intention of doing any cutting of the largers pieces you have to make up such components, then I simply can't see how you'd add a drawer framework, as that needs sheet wood.

Without wishing to also be negative, from the amount and type of questions you have asked, I think you should do a lot more research into what a desk with drawers is comprised of, how each part relates to the other, and the layout you'd need to accomodate how you intend to do the joints of the legs to the top.

Even the most basic "desk with drawers" requires more wood than you have so far shown, and there are just too many variables regarding what you would like and what level of skill you are at.

Just as a f'instance - if you don't have enough extra wood to form a set of rails to hold the legs together you could attach the legs to the top with a through mortice and tenon with a wedge - which done correctly and neatly would still be pleasing to look at, and would actually benefit from having a thicker top.

Hi, i have shown in the pictures that SO FAR i have enough for a table top and legs & i was asking what else i should purchase and if people could advise me. I know that what i have isn't enough, i need wood for the aprons and draws.

Alternatively, with the legs that i have, would i be better off buying wood for a table top, if so what wood and where to buy it?

 

[custard]

There are a few books that give standard sizes for furniture design, the one I use most is "Human Dimensions & Interior Space", based on that there's a couple of points to think about.

The top surface of a desk is usually about 740 to 760mm. I've built a desk at 790mm for a very tall client who used a Hermann Miller adjustable height chair, but even though he claimed it was very comfortable to work at, to my eye it still looked a bit odd. So let's take 750mm to the top surface as a good working average.

You then need a certain amount of clearance underneath the desk for your legs, especially at a desk where you may pull yourself right in to check details on a computer screen. So you're really going to need about 650mm underneath the desk, possibly even a bit more if you're long legged.

So that gives you a maximum of about 100mm for the thickness of the desk top plus drawers plus supporting rails. You really need every scrap of that which is one of the reasons why a 30mm thick desk top is unusual. It's effectively compressing the internal drawer height down to levels that can accommodate papers and files, but not the desk paraphernalia we all seem to need these days like battery chargers and docking stations.

Another issue to think about is flatness. I've made many solid timber desks but I always find out if a client is likely to be using a keyboard, if so I try and steer them towards veneered desk surfaces. The reason is that keyboards need almost engineering standards of desk flatness if they're not to rock when in use. One or two keyboards have levelling feet, but most don't and they're tricky to shim.

Thick, solid desk surfaces are still entirely possible, in fact I make plenty of "live edge" or "waney edged" desks and very striking they look too. But I generally have to invest a huge amount of time getting them flat, and I'll usually abandon drawers at least in the central seating section.

Good luck!

 

[Anti-Powertools]

There are a few books that give standard sizes for furniture design, the one I use most is "Human Dimensions & Interior Space", based on that there's a couple of points to think about.

The top surface of a desk is usually about 740 to 760mm. I've built a desk at 790mm for a very tall client who used a Hermann Miller adjustable height chair, but even though he claimed it was very comfortable to work at, to my eye it still looked a bit odd. So let's take 750mm to the top surface as a good working average.

You then need a certain amount of clearance underneath the desk for your legs, especially at a desk where you may pull yourself right in to check details on a computer screen. So you're really going to need about 650mm underneath the desk, possibly even a bit more if you're long legged.

So that gives you a maximum of about 100mm for the thickness of the desk top plus drawers plus supporting rails. You really need every scrap of that which is one of the reasons why a 30mm thick desk top is unusual. It's effectively compressing the internal drawer height down to levels that can accommodate papers and files, but not the desk paraphernalia we all seem to need these days like battery chargers and docking stations.

Another issue to think about is flatness. I've made many solid timber desks but I always find out if a client is likely to be using a keyboard, if so I try and steer them towards veneered desk surfaces. The reason is that keyboards need almost engineering standards of desk flatness if they're not to rock when in use. One or two keyboards have levelling feet, but most don't and they're tricky to shim.

Thick, solid desk surfaces are still entirely possible, in fact I make plenty of "live edge" or "waney edged" desks and very striking they look too. But I generally have to invest a huge amount of time getting them flat, and I'll usually abandon drawers at least in the central seating section.

Good luck!

Thanks for your informative response, there are a lot of things to consider there. very helpful.

 

[custard]

I realise I haven't answered your question about legs. It's obviously very subjective but personally I'd stick to an industrial theme that's consistent with the scaffolding board look of your top boards, plus given that you want to keep the joinery dead simple I'd go for painted trestle legs like these.

Now, there's a bit of a problem as normally you'd want each pair of trestle legs to have at least a 250mm width for stability reasons, plus you'd want the outer edge of the trestle legs to still be underneath the desk so that you don't kick them every time you walk past, and finally you'd want at least 600mm between the trestles for you to sit at the desk. But those are guidelines for a commercial piece, if it's something for yourself then you can push the boundaries a bit. So 200mm trestle width, the desk underhangs the trestles a bit, and you squeeze your space down to say 500mm. Then it would all just fit with the boards you have. Incidentally I'd finish the top with matte Osmo, not satin or semi gloss, but matte. It's a very cool and very contemporary look that would be absolutely right for this project, the legs could be painted in gloss or semi-gloss, especially if it's a fairly bright colour.

The other thing I'd do is either have a small underhung drawer in the very centre (say 400mm wide and 30mm deep) riding on drawer slides that hang down from the top, or I'd do away with drawers completely and instead build a funky little "desk tidy box" for odds and ends like pencils and pens, I'd paint it the same colour as the trestle legs and park it loud and proud on the desk top.

But hey, that's just my opinion, you're the one that has to live with it.

Good luck!

 

[No skills]

I'm all up for making things out of scrap/left overs/reclaimed materials etc etc

But I do wonder how good those top boards are going to be, if your writing on a thin pad (for example) and the wood underneath is a poor surface then its going to suck as a desk imo. It will also suck for writing/drawing if its too soft, I would suggest preparing a section of one of the boards and seeing how good they are going to be before committing to them.

JMO

 

[Anti-Powertools]

Thanks guys, i will keep you informed of my progress.

 

[Anti-Powertools]

Hi guys, it seems to have taken me about 2 hours 15minutes to plane one face of this knotty pine and i haven't even finished that yet! It's been taking me a long time to get the cupping out of the board. Should i change my name to Pro-Powertools?

P.s. You can see where i've fought with the end grain too. I'm going to have to try my best to remove that with the smoothing plane later.