Project: Ultimate Ultra Super Awesome Overclocked Computer Desk - 2 In

[ultimatedesk]

lookin good. keep it up im anxious to see the end product

Thanks ShallowBay - hopefully the updates will get a little more exciting in the coming few weeks as I begin to order hardware and start assembly of the actual cabinets!

 

Well its coming along nicely.

You have inspired me. My desk will not be so precise as i am a duck out of water with our shop, but i am rather going over the top with the electronics of the thing.

Hey SpeedCrazy, I had a chance to go through the discussions on the link to your brainstorming there and you have some really cool ideas - I hope you're able to work out some compromise with all the electronics!

 

I decided it was time to glue the two surfaces together that would comprise of the actual desk surface and take a break from working on the drawers for a while.

 

Here it is, the first piece. At first I wanted to lay it face down, so I could evenly distribute screws through the bottom, but in the end, I went face up so I would protect the surface, and it would be a LOT easier to line up the holes.

 

 

I threw on the top layer, lined them up, and thought to myself: Hmm, I wonder what it'll look like with the top shelf stacked on:

 

 

Pretty cool. This was the first time I had actually pulled a chair up to it to get a real grasp of how big this desk is going to be. I was pretty psyched.

 

Just a note, the two pieces of wood on each end holding up the shelf will actually be the inner supports (ie, pushed inwards towards the middle of the desk a foot or two), and the cubby holes on the outer ends will support the long shelf. The long shelf also has to be trimmed a couple inches, it won't reach right to the end of the desk.

 

 

This next part was really quite a challenge on my own.

 

I lined it up as best as I could (According to the holes that I cut out, since the edges are easy to trim later), lifted one end with a mighty, strong arm, squirted as much glue as I could with my other arm (And only as far as I could reach!), put it down gently, ran to the other side and repeated.

 

Let me tell you - with the amount of glue I put down, and the fact that each side weighs 20-30 pounds - it did NOT want to slide around easily to get into perfect position.

 

In the end, I had to muscle it around a bit to get the holes lined up satisfactorily.

 

(I spoke with a couple friends about this afterward, and one of them suggested making some pilot holes and screwing in a few screws BEFORE the gluing, and then retracting the screws so that just the tips go through the bottom board. That way after the glue is put down, you shuffle around the top board until the tips of the screws find the pilot holes, thus, eliminating the issue of getting proper alignment before the glue becomes too tacky.)

 

I then threw some weight on top of the table, attached as many clamps as I could find, and started putting some 1.25" screws through the bottom.

 

 

A few clamp shots of the hole - everything lined up pretty much perfect. 1/2" on the left and right, 1/2" at the bottom, and I think just a little under 3/4" at the top. (The size of the lip between the upper and lower holes)

 

 

 

 

 

I wasn't satisfied with the way the clamping was going on lengthwise on the surface. I didn't have enough clamps to place them every half foot, so luckily, Mike had some of these nice, big, cedar logs lying around that I re-purposed temporarily.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The end result turned out quite nicely. The hole was lined up properly. There is only a small overhang / underhang of maybe 2/16's of an inch on two of the edges of the surfaces that should be easy to correct with a flush-bit on the router later.

 

We'll take a look at them next update! Thanks for staying tuned!

[SpeedCrazy]

Looking good. That is one thick desktop.

[mcw]

Have you been keeping track of how much time you're spending on this? Quite an undertaking...

 

 

[broooooooce]

looking over this thread, I can smell the wood. I am so terribly envious of your workshop.

[ultimatedesk]

Looking good. That is one thick desktop.

Thanks SpeedCrazy - it is super thick, but it is also super strong. I can lie on it with almost no deflection and only supports at each end, about a foot in

 

Have you been keeping track of how much time you're spending on this? Quite an undertaking...

Hey mcw, thanks for your interest - I will be posting a sort of "State of Affairs" sometime soon to list the expenses and time taken so far, so stay tuned

 

looking over this thread, I can smell the wood. I am so terribly envious of your workshop.

Heh, thanks caxis0 - it's pretty awesome working in a well equipped shop. I'll be moving everything into my own basement soon for sanding and assembly, and believe me, I'm not looking forward to it! Working in the shop is too much fun

 

Hey all, hope everyone had a good Holiday!

 

I got a chance to do some work on the drawer face trim - this was my first time doing solid wood trim.

 

I cut a nice piece of maple into 1/4" strips, glued, and sanded. I only did one piece this time, as I am not totally sure that this is the way I would like to go.

 

Something about the trim not meshing quite well with the plywood.

 

First, I set the table saw to the right width:

 

 

Measure 3 times, and you get a nice solid cut:

 

 

Made a few strips:

 

 

 

Cut, glued, and clamped on the initial pieces of trim. The trim pieces were about 2/16's of an inch wider than the plywood, which is great, since there will be no voids, though, I'll have to do quite a bit of sanding:

 

 

 

 

Took the sander to the top and bottom:

 

 

 

 

Overall, it looks pretty good. I'm still not 100% certain about it, however. I'm thinking there is a strong possibility I will go with solid maple for the drawer faces.

 

[El_Capitan]

Hurry up already, I want to fast forward to the end!

[SpeedCrazy]

Hurry up already, I want to fast forward to the end!

LOL me too. My desk is pretty much at a standstill so i am twice as eager to see how this turns out.

[mcw]

Yeah - the "USA OCD" thread is like watching a television series with a season long arc... Every single post is a cliff hanger! I beginning to wonder if you picked the title on purpose? USA OCD? haha

[SpeedCrazy]

That is actually quite good USA OCD.

Most westerners are quite ocd. I want something and i want it now.

[MandoPatriot]

Hey! Don't poke fun at Americans that have the "give me it now" mentality! It's not our fault that we.... OOH! COOKIE! GIMME GIMME GIMME

[SpeedCrazy]

Lol. I'm glad im not american. being ex-pat is cool.

[MandoPatriot]

Hey now, whether you like America or not, don't start things on this forum, please.