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Five years ago I wanted a desk. When I was a kid my mother made a desk out of an interior door and two filing cabinets. I already had one filing cabinet about 29 inches tall, so I bought another the same height and tried the desk out.
It blew.
It was ugly, tended to slide by itself, I hit my hip on the corners occasionally, and I heard disconcerting cracks and creaks when I put my 20" CRT in the middle where I wanted it. So I thought again.
My specifications were, in order of importance:
1) Elegant - I liked desks that wrapped around you
2) Easy to Make - Minimize tools and time
3) Cheap - Ideally made out of one piece of plywood.
4) Movable - I 've moved too many times to set myself up with a cumbersome desk.
I like corner desks as a rule, so I drew up a design with 6' legs from a corner, with a couple of curves. 6' on a side was a good size not just aesthetically, but because with judicious cutting I could cut all the structural pieces out of one piece of good, double-sided plywood. In my book, elegance of design is something you enjoy long after you've forgotten the monetary cost.
This project took an morning for the woodwork, plus the rest of the weekend for staining and poly coats.
Caveat maker: I have no in-progress photos of this project as I made it 5 years ago. I've done my best to provide as clear instructions and drawings as I can. If you are unclear about any step, leave me a comment and I'll try to explain better.
(Please rate this project by hitting the (+) or (-) buttons near the upper right of the page)
It blew.
It was ugly, tended to slide by itself, I hit my hip on the corners occasionally, and I heard disconcerting cracks and creaks when I put my 20" CRT in the middle where I wanted it. So I thought again.
My specifications were, in order of importance:
1) Elegant - I liked desks that wrapped around you
2) Easy to Make - Minimize tools and time
3) Cheap - Ideally made out of one piece of plywood.
4) Movable - I 've moved too many times to set myself up with a cumbersome desk.
I like corner desks as a rule, so I drew up a design with 6' legs from a corner, with a couple of curves. 6' on a side was a good size not just aesthetically, but because with judicious cutting I could cut all the structural pieces out of one piece of good, double-sided plywood. In my book, elegance of design is something you enjoy long after you've forgotten the monetary cost.
This project took an morning for the woodwork, plus the rest of the weekend for staining and poly coats.
Caveat maker: I have no in-progress photos of this project as I made it 5 years ago. I've done my best to provide as clear instructions and drawings as I can. If you are unclear about any step, leave me a comment and I'll try to explain better.
(Please rate this project by hitting the (+) or (-) buttons near the upper right of the page)
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Signing UpStep 1Gather Materials and Tools
Materials:
Two (2) short filing cabinets of equal height
One (1) 4'x8' piece of 3/4" double-faced plywood. Just make sure both sides are pleasing to the eye, since you will have to flip one half over to marry it with the other.
One or two (1-2) table/trunk/whateveryoucallem-latches. You know the kind---two pieces, one with a loop and a level thing to grab onto the other side. (see picture below)
Four pieces of 1/2" radius quarter round trim, 18" long.
Metal strapping or corner brace for extra support in the center. I used a corner brace because I had one handy, but a straight bracket would make more sense.
Paint or stain plus polyurethane for finishing
Optional:
~12 feet of real wood edging with heat-sensitive glue on back.
Tools:
Jigsaw
Screwdriver
Optional: circular saw and long straightedge
Optional: Clothes Iron or possibly curling iron
Sandpaper of varied grits
Paint brush/drop cloth
Two (2) short filing cabinets of equal height
One (1) 4'x8' piece of 3/4" double-faced plywood. Just make sure both sides are pleasing to the eye, since you will have to flip one half over to marry it with the other.
One or two (1-2) table/trunk/whateveryoucallem-latches. You know the kind---two pieces, one with a loop and a level thing to grab onto the other side. (see picture below)
Four pieces of 1/2" radius quarter round trim, 18" long.
Metal strapping or corner brace for extra support in the center. I used a corner brace because I had one handy, but a straight bracket would make more sense.
Paint or stain plus polyurethane for finishing
Optional:
~12 feet of real wood edging with heat-sensitive glue on back.
Tools:
Jigsaw
Screwdriver
Optional: circular saw and long straightedge
Optional: Clothes Iron or possibly curling iron
Sandpaper of varied grits
Paint brush/drop cloth
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The hardest parts were to get the halves to match (thick sheet, a bit shallow circle-saw) and the painting.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Swedish-Wraparound-Desk-Made-From-One-Sheet-of-Pl/
At around the time you were building this I paid around £200 (in a sale, no less) for a flatpack . corner unit
Ok, so mine has a slidey keyboard shelf and a monitor riser on it, but I prefer yours and I'm thinking that I may have to do one just for the sheer joy of having made it.
Genius.