The Ultimate Computer Desk - 2 Integrated Desktops

[TheMainMan]

Looking forward to following this to it's completion! Love the sketchup drawings to model it out, always helps to get it right. Keep up the good work!

[Waynio]

Excellent idea & want to see this unfold for sure , subscribed.

[ultimatedesk]

Looking forward to following this to it's completion! Love the sketchup drawings to model it out, always helps to get it right. Keep up the good work!

Thanks TheMainMan, I agree with the Sketchup comment - I've built a half dozen aquarium stands, always pre-sketching with Sketchup and saves me a lot of headaches! You can even "build" it virtually to find any problems before you even purchase any materials!

Excellent idea & want to see this unfold for sure , subscribed.

Thanks Waynio!

[ultimatedesk]

I was able to spend some time in the shop this weekend, and didn't get as much done as I would have liked to.

One of the main things holding me back right now is the fact that I have not selected the motherboard tray, and template for the motherboard input and outputs, as well as PCI slots. This prevents me from cutting the holes accurately in the back of both of the modules, which prevents me from assembling the actual modules.

I have some "spare" desktop chassis lying around, and will be working to find a solution to that soon.

In the meantime, I started working on the drawers for the right-hand module.

I first took them through the table saw again, trimming off the last 16th or two from some of the boards.

Then went to work sanding all of the pieces down with 150 grit. I will likely go up to a 180 grit before the final stain goes on. I clamped a straight-edge on to the table saw so that it was easier to sand with the grain (Thanks Mike)

Slowly, but surely, I went through all the pieces for the drawers, except for the faces. Yes, bad things happen when I don't have my sketchup drawings. I start drawing with markers.

Mike was doing some work in the shop at the same time as me that day, so there was quite the mess.

I put together my tools of the trade

And here are the gluing steps I went through

A few somewhat artistic clamp shots

Everything looks pretty straight

Glued and clamped together the largest of the drawers, I will likely put some hanging folders here.

Then I screwed everything together with #8 1.5" screws, all holes pre-drilled and countersunk. Most of the holes will be covered by the actual drawer sliding mechanisms, but the exposed ones will get some wood putty.

It's funny being in someone else's wood shop - I couldn't find the countersink bit anywhere - I tried looking through all the drill bit boxes (There were several) and nothing, so I had been using a small bit, then switching to the big bit to countersink, and then switching to the screw bit to screw in the holes.

Mike walks in half-way through the holes and you could tell he was rather amused - he goes to the back of the shop, pulls out a box, pulls out a box from the box, and then a small medicine container out from the box in a box - "Geez, didn't I tell ya to just look around? Oh. Wait. I guess this one was sorta hard to find eh?".

At that point, he also points out that there are several drills in the shop - silly me. So one drill with the countersink bit, one drill with the screw bit. It's been very interesting working in a shop dedicated to this type of work - very, very different from working in the basement with just basic hand tools.

I haven't attached the faces of the drawers yet as I haven't determined how I would like to attach them. I would also like to attach the trim to the outer edges of the faces before attaching them to the drawers, since it'll be much easier to clamp all the faces together at once.

And that's it for todays update - a bit short, yes, a lot of pictures of clamps, sorry, I got carried away

I'm spending some time in the shop tonight, so hopefully I'll have another update for all of you tomorrow or the day after!

[RogueOpportunist]

This is gonna be sweet, I've wanted to do something similar for the longest time but I just don't have the room to work with wood on that scale... Would be sooo sweet to have a custom fab workspace though... Ahh well, maybe someday... Definitely gonna keep an eye on this one. +Rep

[x88x]

Nice work, I always love seeing good woodwork. There's just something about a big pile of wood...wait...that didn't come out right...

A worklog you might want to check out (if you haven't already) is Spotswood's latest case.
http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/f...ad.php?t=22632
There's a lot of really nice craftsmanship in there.

It might be a little late for this, but have you considered using biscuit joints? It would let you have nice, secure corners with even less screws.

[TheMainMan]

At that point, he also points out that there are several drills in the shop - silly me. So one drill with the countersink bit, one drill with the screw bit. It's been very interesting working in a shop dedicated to this type of work - very, very different from working in the basement with just basic hand tools.

I got a chance to work in a similarily equipped shop this summer. Multiple DeWalt drills and Quick Grip clamps. What a joy that was! I spent the entire time wishing I could mod there, glad to see that you can!

Keep up the good work!

[dr.walrus]

I got a chance to work in a similarily equipped shop this summer.

Yeah last summer I had to do a few bits and bobs but had a luthier's workshop available. Side panel fan cutouts with a drill press and a set of hole cutters makes life much easier...

I like the look of your desk. I like that the construction is so industrial in scale!

[DonT-FeaR]

this is going it be awesome!

[ultimatedesk]

This is gonna be sweet, I've wanted to do something similar for the longest time but I just don't have the room to work with wood on that scale... Would be sooo sweet to have a custom fab workspace though... Ahh well, maybe someday... Definitely gonna keep an eye on this one. +Rep

Thanks RogueOpportunist, I hear you on the "not having the space" thing - in my last apartment I had such a bug to build something, I put up a sheet of plastic dividing half of my living room into a wood shop, taped floor to ceiling! I had to go out one balcony door, and enter the shop by the other balcony door, to avoid getting sawdust all over the rest of the apartment

Nice work, I always love seeing good woodwork. There's just something about a big pile of wood...wait...that didn't come out right...

A worklog you might want to check out (if you haven't already) is Spotswood's latest case.
http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/f...ad.php?t=22632
There's a lot of really nice craftsmanship in there.

It might be a little late for this, but have you considered using biscuit joints? It would let you have nice, secure corners with even less screws.

Haha, yes, you wouldn't believe the number of "I like wood" jokes that go on in the shop. The owner has several friends and family members that pop in to use the shop occasionally, and there are plenty of laughs

I have been following Spotswoods case, there are a few ideas that I've been gleaning from it

I have considered using biscuit joints, since the wood shop is so equipped, however, since I've already cut the main pieces with the dado cuts in mind, I think that there would be too many adjustments for not too many advantages.

I got a chance to work in a similarily equipped shop this summer. Multiple DeWalt drills and Quick Grip clamps. What a joy that was! I spent the entire time wishing I could mod there, glad to see that you can!

Keep up the good work!

Yeah last summer I had to do a few bits and bobs but had a luthier's workshop available. Side panel fan cutouts with a drill press and a set of hole cutters makes life much easier...

I like the look of your desk. I like that the construction is so industrial in scale!

Thanks TheMainMan and dr.walrus, I too absolutely love coming to the shop. it's really amazing when you think to yourself "Hmm, how can I make this particular cut or jig" and you search around the shop, and then BAM - 10 different solutions that are all... fun!!

The next big wowee moment I think is when I find someone with a machine shop and full cnc..

this is going it be awesome!

Thanks a lot DonT-FeaR!


Here's a quick, small update for those of you ~waiting in anticipation~ oooooohhh!

I finally got around to putting the second hole in the desk surface area (Since the desk is composed of two sheets of plywood, there are two holes needed, with the "top surface" needing a hole that is .5" larger all the way around, so the "bottom surface" supports the piece of glass which covers the gaming computer).

I took a few more detailed pictures compared to last time.

As with before, I started by cutting out a rough shape with the jigsaw. I was able to get within .5" comfortably of my marked lines. Sometimes if you rush the jigsaw, your cuts can get a little squirrely, so I was playing it safe. This is the top surface, so no screwing up here!!

I then took an extra dose of patience, and went in straight to the corners with the jigsaw. This is a step I did not take last time, and I made a mistake with the router because of this.

I then took the router and pressed the bit right into the corner, and clamped a straight-edge on behind it. This is how I set the distance from the bit to the straight-edge. I repeated the same for the other side.

All it took was a good solid pass from right-to-left and I had a very clean straight edge without having to go all the way into the corners, where mistakes can be made, since it is quite difficult to see where the actual router bit is when the tool is running.

Unclamp, reset router, reset clamps and straight edge, lather, rinse, and repeat:

This hole had a very small margin of error overall, and I am very pleased with the result. The jigsaw is an incredible versatile tool and can be very accurate, as long as you have patience. This one corner is the only one that will need a touch-up with a file and/or sandpaper, and you can see, it's only going to need less than a 16th of material removal!

And that's all I had time for in the shop that day Enjoy some of my mess!

Until next time - I have some images in the queue, but I haven't quite gotten around to resizing them just yet