Plywood Waterfall Desk (Made From Scrap)

So this project is something I kinda made up as I went along, and it is highly customizable. You can use your own scraps of wood, provided they are long enough (at least 4"), but I really recommend using a high quality plywood like Baltic Birch because it compliments the design so nicely.

The project itself doesn't contain any overly-complicated steps, however the tools or skills required for some of them may be out of reach for a beginner. It's a great project to learn those skills, or to collaborate with someone who can help you out if that's the case. I just wanted to give a heads up.

---------I HIGHLY encourage you to watch the embedded video in this guide before starting, as it shows many of the steps in more granular detail than I can provide in writing, and also because I worked really hard on it for no money :)----------------------

Supplies

TOOLS:

- Table Saw: or any saw capable of safely and reliably cutting wood or plywood into 1" strips. The table saw is truly the best tool for the job, but use your judgement wisely if you plan on substituting another method.

- Miter Saw: or any saw capable of reliably and safely cutting your strips of wood to length. This can be as simple as a back saw with a miter box, or as specialized as a chop saw or tabled saw sled. use your best judgement.

- Wood Glue: You are going to need a whole mess of it. It's say at least one full 18 oz container to be sure.

- Finish Nails/Nailer/Hammer: You'll be using the nails as clamps to hold the pieces of wood together after they are glued. A powered, finish nail/brad/pin nailer is the best option for this, however you could use a hammer and finish nails. I wouldn't recommend thicker nails or screws because they can be dangerous in later steps. If time isn't an issue, you can clamp each strip, but that will take forever.

- Sander/plane/card scraper/surfacing equipment: You're going to want to smooth out the surface of your desktop after it's made and round over any sharp parts. I used a drum sander, belt sander, a random orbit sander, a low-angle block plane, and a card scraper to achieve this. Any of these will work, some might take a little more elbow grease. I do NOT recommend using a power planer as it will dig into or grab the plywood edge and damage the project or you.

- Welder: Unless you are planning on making a base out of wood instead, or joining metal together mechanically, you're gonna need a welder to build the base. If you don't know what type to use, I recommend learning a bit about welding first from an experienced welder or at least online.

- Angle grinder: Or any tool that can reliably and safely cut steel bar and angle stock. I used a diamond cutting wheel and an abrasive grinding disk to cut and grind the metal for this project.

- Measuring tools: Pretty self explanatory. Grab at least a tape measure and a speed square.

- Circular saw: Or any saw capable of safely and reliably cutting a straight line across a 1" thick slab of wood.

- Marking tools: pencil/pen/marking knife, whatever you prefer. You'll need one that marks metal and one that marks wood.

- Paint: I went with matte black for my base, you can feel free to choose whatever color you want, just be sure that its a paint that will work on metal and use it according to instructions.

- Clear Finish: or whatever you want to use on the desktop itself. I chose clear satin polyurethane. Be sure to also have a way to apply it to the surface. I used my spray gun, but a foam roller or brush would work as well.

- Drill: You'll need a drill and a bit capable of drilling through steel. I used a titanium bit. You'll also need cutting/drilling oil to keep the bit cool, and a countersink bit that works on metal if you want the best, most finished look. Also grab a metal punch, which will help you to line up your drill bit.

Screws: If you used 3/4" steel stock, you'll need at least 8 one-half-inch screws and 8 one-and-a-quarter inch screws with tapered/conical type heads if you are going to countersink them, but with pan or button heads otherwise. I chose specially made screws with the tops already finished in black, but you can always paint yours later to match your frame. I recommend buying many more screws than you'll need, probably double.

- Biscuit joiner and biscuits (semi-optional): I used biscuits to align the two halves of my waterfall top. This can be done in a number of ways. The glue will eventually dry into a strong enough bond for this project, but using dowels, biscuits, floating tenons, or even just finish nails to keep the piece aligned while the glue dries is imperative.

- Wood or rubber mallet: You might need to persuade a few pieces to move where you want them to.

- Clamps: You're gonna need some long clamps, or devise a clamping system that can reliably squeeze the waterfall joint together. Depending on how long you decide to make your desk (mine's about 6 feet) you'll need something that can clap it from end-to-end, lengthwise.

Reliably flat work surface: the flatter the area on which you build the desktop, the less work you will have sanding and leveling it out later

Workbench/surface protection: A plastic sheet or, as i used, some contractor-grade garbage bags, to protect the top of your work surface from the glue that WILL leak from the piece as you work.

- All appropriate safety and PPE gear for the tools and materials you are using. If you don't know what they are, look them up. Please use all equipment according to instructions.

MATERIALS:

- Wood: I used scraps of Baltic Birch I had left over from a client gig. You can really use any wood you want for this project, but I recommend a good quality plywood with good veneer layers so you can achieve the striped pattern on your finished piece. Depending on how big you are making your piece, the amount of plywood you need will vary. I recommend buying about 50% more than you think you need. However I do think that it might be a cool looking desk with all ransom species of wood, so dig into that scrap pile! The pieces should have one dimension that is at least 3/4" thick.

- Steel: You'll need enough 3/4" square tube to make your entire frame, save for the two long pieces of the apron (the part under the top) for which you will need 3/4" angle steel. If you choose to use my measurements, you'll need at least 28ft (30 ft recommended) of square tube stock and 13ft (16ft recommended) of angle stock.

Step 1: Cut and Arrange the Wood Strips

- Using the table saw, cut your wood into strips that are 1" wide, and as long as you can manage

- The strips will also need to be a uniform thickness, which is lucky if you're using 3/4" plywood like I did. The end goal is to have all of your strips be at least 1" by 3/4" x whatever length your entire waterfall top will be (length of desk + height of desk) and no shorter than 4-5 inches.

- Begin to arrange the strips along your work surface as they will be on the desktop. The 3/4" side should be facing upwards while the 1" sides are the ones that will be glued together. This is more important if you're using plywood, but regardless, make VERY SURE to have all of the similar dimensions of the wood strips in the same orientation.

- Stagger the short ended joints of the wood like a bricklayer would, to ensure strength in the glue-up. Having any/too many pieces' ends lined up next to each other (even one row apart) is a recipe for disaster. Take your time on this step, and remember that you can always adjust the length of your pieces with the miter saw. If you cant visualize this, look up a picture of a butcher block counter too see how it's laid out.

- To achieve the "waterfall" look at the end, make sure to just stagger some of your strips so that they appear to be falling like a sheet of water. At the point where your desktop ends, you will need to make sure you don't have any gaps in the pattern for at least 3"- 4" after where the cut will be. You need a solid pattern the full depth of the desktop, so make sure you don't begin the drips any higher up what will be the side than that.

- You can watch how I did it in the video or try your own way, just know that the entire length of this glue up will be the length of your desk PLUS the height of your desk. The very end of your design will be near or touching the floor so plan accordingly. I recommend making the entire glue up at least a foot longer than needed.

Step 2: The Big Glue Up

Ok it's officially party time. Put on some tunes or your favorite podcast and start gluing the strips together.

- Spread glue uniformly and completely in a thin layer on the side of each piece that will be touching another strip.

- CAREFULLY align the strip so that it is as even with the rest of the desktop as it can be.

- Put a few nails (at least two for every strip, but no more than is needed to secure it while the glue dries) into the strip and move on to the next.

- I made my desktop 24" deep, but you can adjust yours as needed. For example, if you're gonna make an entryway table in this style instead, you'd likely use 10"-16" as your depth. My desk is also 6' long, while you might only need 4'. Use your brain here, basically. I believe in you.

Step 3: Measure, Mark, and Cut Your Steel

- The base of the desk is made of entirely steel. My desk is 31" high, 72" long, and 24" deep. My finished steel frame measures 30.25" tall, 71" long, and 23.5" deep. Here's how to figure out the cuts you need to make, regardless of your design choices. Use your measuring tools, specially the square, to ensure accuracy here.

4 x Legs - Your legs will need to be the height of your desk, minus the thickness of your desktop, and will be cut from 3/4" square tube stock.

Apron - Your apron, the rectangular part that the desktop rests on, will be made of 2 pieces of 3/4" angle steel, cut to a length that is the total desktop length minus 2" (the two legs are 3/4" wide and then an extra 1/2" for aesthetic purposes) and two pieces of square tube steel, cut to a length that is the total depth of your desktop, minus 2" (for the same reasons as before)

Lower Stretchers - You'll need one piece of 3/4" square tube stock, cut to the exact same length as your pieces of angle steel from the apron, as well as two pieces of 3/4" square tube stock, cut to the same exact length as your pieces of square tube stock from your apron.

Step 4: Lay Out and Weld Your Frame

I'm not gonna teach you how to weld in this guide, sorry. There are plenty of places to learn how, and it makes no sense to go over it here.

- This is how you want to lay-out your frame. Start with two of the legs, lay them parallel to each other with one of the square tube apron stretchers perpendicular along the top, but in between the legs themselves, as shown, where the tube with the open top is the leg, and the tube with the top blocked is the stretcher. Weld these together.

- You should have a rectangle with one open side now. On that open side (the bottom) measure up a few inches and place your lower square tube stretcher in between, same as you did on the top. This height is purely aesthetic, however this bar needs to be positioned somewhere in the lower third of the legs, at least 3" from the bottom. I went with 5" for mine and it worked well. Make sure the lower stretcher is positioned completely perpendicular to the legs and parallel to the top stretcher. Weld it together. Repeat this procedure exactly for the other side of the frame.

- Place your angle-steel apron stretchers between the front and back legs of the frame. Orient them so that one flat side is facing up towards where the desktop will rest, and the other is facing outward towards the front and back of the desk, respectively. I'm sure you'll need to move the frame around quite a lot to get this all done, just be sure everything stays at right angles while you do so. Weld these together. Your frame should be able to stand freely on its own now.

- At the same height as your lower stretcher bars (remember mine were 5"?), place the final square tube stretcher between the BACK legs of the desk. In case you've made any cosmetic mistakes during this process, this is your chance to decide how to hide them. Weld it in place.

- What you should have now is a completed frame similar in layout to what I have in the video, with no open tube ends that will be visible after you add the top.

Step 5: Grind Your Welds

- Obviously if you are a welding god or whatever you can skip this one, BUT, this project looks really nice with a flat, flush surface to the frame. So break out that angle grinder and grinding disk!

- Really, all you need to worry about are the welds you can see, so grind those down flat and nice, and only get the the ones that are hidden if you really feel the need to do so. These just need to be nice and flat for the paint to look good, so there might be some hand sanding involved as well.

- Also be sure to grind any sharp edges off of the steel, especially on the bottom of the feet.

Step 6: Measure, Mark, and Cut Your Top/Side to Size

Ok, so here's the big cut. You want to make sure your waterfall end, the piece that will go up against the side of your desk, is the same length as the side of your desk frame, but minus a couple of inches to ensure floor clearance.

- I nailed a straight edge to what will be the underside of the desktop in order to get a nice straight cut with my circular saw. Whatever method you choose to make the cut, be sure to take every precaution necessary to be sure that your cut will be as straight and as perpendicular to the length of your desktop as possible.

- You can also take this time to trim the main, rectangular part of the desktop to the final length. I recommend doing this from the opposite end that you made the waterfall cut, but use your judgement. If there's some part of the waterfall cut that you think needs to be lopped off and can manage to keep it the correct length while doing so, then do so carefully. These are the cuts you want to make absolutely sure are as accurate as possible.

Step 7: Joining and Creating the Waterfall Edge

- If you're using a biscuit joiner to align the joint, you'll need to mark out where the biscuits are going on both of the pieces, along the narrow edge of the desktop and along the broad, inside face of the waterfall side. Make sure they are perfectly lined up and at the same height from what will be the surface of both.

- If you are using another alignment method, take your time and make sure everything lines up properly.

- Add glue to both surfaces where they will meet, as well as inside of the biscuit slots. Insert the biscuits into the slots on the waterfall side, and cover them in a thin layer of glue as well.

- Carefully line up the biscuits to the slots on the desktop and gently urge them into place.

- Use a rubber or wooden mallet to coax them pieces together, tapping gently so as to not make the joint separate.

- When they're in place, clamp along the entire edge with clamps long enough to go across the entire top of the desk. Be absolutely sure that the joint is set at a right angle while drying.

Step 8: Paint the Frame

- While the glue is drying on the waterfall joint, it's a good time to put a few layers of paint onto the frame. This is pretty self explanatory, but be sure to take your time, follow the paint manufacturer's instructions, and cover every bit of the steel, even the undersides, uniformly.

Step 9: Adding the Assembly Holes to the Frame

Once the paint on the frame is completely and totally dried, you can add the holes for the mounting screws that will connect the top to the frame securely.

- You'll need 4 holes across the top side of each angle steel stretcher where it will meet the underside of the desktop, 2 holes in the underside of the square tube stretchers of the apron, and two holes in the top few inches of each leg on the waterfall side, near the joint. These last holes should be just a couple of inches apart and in a place where you know for a fact they will meet with the wooden side panel.

- To drill the holes properly you should use a punch to make a dent in the steel where you want the hole.

- Add some oil to the dented area to cool the drill bit properly.

- Drill a hole that is the same exact size or slightly larger than the shaft of the screws you intend to use (including the with of the threads). The holes you drill through the square tube will need to go through both sides, so when you get through the top, make sure the bit is straight up-and-down, and continue drilling through the back side, adding a couple drops of oil to the inside of the bar through the first hole if needed.

- Use a countersink bit to form the end of the holes where the screws will be inserted into a shape that will accept the screw head, making it flush to the surface.

- Test the hole with a screw and a block of scrap wood to make sure it will securely fasten

Step 10: Surfacing and Sanding

Using whatever methods at your disposal, flatten out the desktop and side panel.

- You can use a drum sander and/or belt sander for the heavy work, then move on to a random orbit sander, low-angle block plane, or card scraper as you refine it more and more.

- I used my random orbit sander to round over the waterfall edge, but you can choose whatever methods you prefer. It might be easier for you to use a router, or to use add a chamfer instead of a round over. You do you, just make sure to be careful.

- Save some of the sawdust from this stage (about a cup full) and mix it with wood glue until it has a peanut butter consistency, and use that to fill any gaps, chips, or holes that may have occurred in the surface. This includes the waterfall joint, as it may not be perfectly aligned and any gaps will make the glue line more obvious.

Step 11: Finish the Top

- I used a clear, water-based, satin polyurethane on my desktop. I like that it doesn't yellow the wood too much, and it works well in my sprayer. I encourage you to choose whatever finish you are most comfortable using that gives you the look you desire.

-This is a desk top, so you're going to want to do a lot of layers on the top surface. You can get away with 2-3 on the sides and underside, but the top and edges should have double that.

Step 12: Assemble the Frame and Top

I find this step is easier to accomplish if you turn them both upside down, put them on a raised work surface, and work from underneath. Also be sure that the desktop finish is completely dry.

- Line up your frame so that the waterfall side is where you want it to be (either the right or left side) and position the frame so that side sits flush up against the waterfall panel. Double check that everything is lined up properly, with the desired amount of overhang on every side.

- Attach the top using the shorter screws in the angle steel holes and the longer ones in the square tube steel holes. You may need to drill a pilot hole (with a bit the width of the smooth part of your screw shaft, minus the width of the threads) if you are using hardwood for the top. With softwood or plywood this will be less of an issue, but can still be done as a precaution. Check your alignment as you go to make sure nothing shifts.

- Once its assembled, carefully turn the piece over (having some help for this part is recommended) and set it on its feet, double checking to make sure everything is correct.

- Sit back for a few minutes and admire your new desk before...

Step 13: Move It Into Place and Enjoy!

Congratulations! You have a unique and elegant piece that you made yourself, and not much beats that feeling.

If you found any errors in this guide, or any parts that you were unable to follow, feel free to leave a comment so I can fix it. If you built this piece, let me know in the comments, I'd love to see it!

Good luck on your build and have fun.

Later, Makers!