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

[wormy]

looks great, and did you drill in to the part below where you were putting the hole?

[bishop245]

moar moar moar

[ultimatedesk]

Holy moly, I'm really sorry for the lack of updates folks - I've been sick for quite a while and the weather has been miserable so I haven't had much time to work on the desk. Apparently I had cedar poisoning! Wonderful!

 

Anyways - back on track!

 

Those of you who guessed it right - yes, I shouldn't have made the hole in the first place. I don't know what I was thinking. This is the right-hand cabinet.

 

 

Whoops!

 

 

Here's the biscuit joiner I was using. It worked pretty well for what it is. The tricky part was determining the order of which pieces/faces/sides to glue first and how to keep it all from falling apart before completion.

 

 

 

 

 

Here's the left-hand cabinet all dried and ready for some trim

 

 

And voila, my erm.. elegant clamping solution (I need to grab some cauls!)

 

 

 

Hope you enjoy! Rest assured, this project WILL BE FINISHED! Just.. mm, I don't really know when. I'm moving in a month and a half, so all the staining/sanding will have to be done, at a minimum.

 

Take care!

[camaro_dude15]

well i was starting to wonder if you forgot about it, lol, a diamond in the rough.

 

 

[BluePanda]

So where's the DESK? lol. hehe Can't wait to see it finished. It's been fun watching... just getting impatient. I understand the moving too -- as we will be moving soon too!

[ultimatedesk]

well i was starting to wonder if you forgot about it, lol, a diamond in the rough.

Heh, can't say I could forget about the huge mess in the basement that is my working space for the desk... unfortunately. It'll get done don't you worry lol

 

 

So where's the DESK? lol. hehe Can't wait to see it finished. It's been fun watching... just getting impatient. I understand the moving too -- as we will be moving soon too!

Heh, actually, I can actually put it together right now, there's just some detail and staining left to do really

 

This part of the project took a better part of a month. There was a lot of sanding, waiting, and sweating as I put on each thin layer of polyurethane on the desk surface.

 

Here it is at the start of the phase - what a mess!

 

 

 

You can see there was still sanding to do from when I put in the wood filler back in... November!

 

 

All cleaned up, ready to rock the stain. It was starting to get nice as well so it was time to lube up the 'ol bike chain as well!

 

 

 

Part way through the first coat

 

 

Note that this is the bottom of the desk surface. I did this intially without any kind of pre-stain or wood treatment to see if I could get away with it.

 

 

 

I actually noticed a significant amount of dark spots and uneveness, so for the top of the desk, and for all future staining, I went with a pre-stain, and two coats of Old Masters Gel Stain. Here is the desk surface approximately a month later with around 8 coats of polyurethane on top. It will be getting a good ol fashion rubbing out in another month from now once it has fully cured.

 

 

Have a good weekend everyone!

[BluePanda]

I want a nice little shop like this where the weather and wind and weather can not ruin my day.

[SpeedCrazy]

That desktop looks AWESOME!! I would love a desk like that.

[krazypoloc]

This is looking fantastic sir. Good luck to ya there aye now! (I can make fun of your silly Canadian accent because I used to live in the U.P. and talk the same way!!)

[camaro_dude15]

looking good!

[ultimatedesk]

I want a nice little shop like this where the weather and wind and weather can not ruin my day.

I hear ya BluePanda - I'm moving in July and I don't think I'll have space like this to work all day long

 

 

That desktop looks AWESOME!! I would love a desk like that.

Thanks Speed

 

 

This is looking fantastic sir. Good luck to ya there aye now! (I can make fun of your silly Canadian accent because I used to live in the U.P. and talk the same way!!)

eh now? what say you good sir? You be sayin I speak with an accent? Uncanny!

 

 

looking good!

Thanks!

 

So, with the main desk surface out of the way, it was time to start focusing on the top shelf portion, which, at this point, hadn't been sanded, cut perfectly, or assembled. Here were all the pieces required.

 

 

A quick mock up:

 

 

A few tests with the biscuit joiner to make sure I was aligned properly:

 

 

 

 

I couldn't get it exactly in the center - the bottom of the joiner is a bit concave and it made lining it up a little difficult. The tool is generally used to join boards end to end, so there wasn't really any facility for on-face joining like this.

 

Assembly and glue up time:

 

 

 

 

Enjoy! You can never have too many clamps you know? I couldn't continue on doing the side pods until this stuff dried up first.

[ultimatedesk]

With the first phase of the top shelf all solid and dried, I could continue on to the two side pods. Here's the initial mockup.

 

 

 

Notice the pencil lines for the biscuits I'll be installing.

 

 

Those biscuits are so dark and moody... lol!

 

 

Aaand, some gratuitous clamping shots. Like that extra-long setup? Yeah, that worked this time, but I don't recommend it. It wasn't too stable, but there wasn't really anything else I could clamp on to for that end-pressure required.

 

 

 

 

Mmmm glue.

 

 

So that's it for this update, I know it's a pretty simple one, but hey, it's one more phase done. Just needs to have some trim stuck on and then staining!

 

Have a good weekend!