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Made My own Desk !!! - for ~$125!!

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autolex84

Disabled
Joined
Apr 1, 2005
Location
Edwardsville, IL
Made My own Desk for $125 UPDATED!!!

UPDATED 5-1-06 SEE PAGE 3, MANY NEW PICTURES.

I decided to go ahead and make my own desk since the old one was dying and wobbling under the weight of my 52 lb generic 19" monitor.

Heres a Materials list with (rough) prices from Home Depot

I chose Baltic birch over oak (oak was only $2 more per big sheet) because of its unique grain, and superior flex resistance over oak (the oak was 5 ply the birch 10 ply)

1 x 10 Ply Baltic Birch 4' by 8' by .75" sheet-------------------------------------------$44 Each
2 x 5 Ply Baltic Birch 2' by 4' by .75" sheets-------------------------------------------$13 Each
4 x 90deg "L" brackets for the joining of the two sheets at the joint ------------------$3.50 each
2 x Cedar 2" by 4" by 8' s-----------------------------------------------------------$6.00 each
2 x Large (100ct) boxes of flat headed Phillips Sheet metal screws (9/16 long) --------$7.00 each
9 x Small Sheet metal 90deg wood joiners (in porch building section)------------------$0.94 each
4 x Large (thick) wheet metal wood Joiners -----------------------------------------$3.50 each

Total (approximate) ------------------------------------------------------------------$133.00

and the pictures will follow, (but I need to host them first so give me a few minutes)
 
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I really needed a corner desk to save some space with this monitor and the small room (appx. 12 x 14 ) so here goes.

DSCF0154.jpg


and heres a not so close shot of the grain (which I think is really cool)

DSCF0155.jpg


and the seam (which is pretty damn close for a circular saw)

DSCF0157.jpg


the underside, showing a few of the supports and such

DSCF0160.jpg


The two APC 350VA battery backups, ( I can play COD2 for about 15-20 minutes completely unplugged from the wall with these babies!)

DSCF0161.jpg


next post for more
 
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more of the underside (the crosswise diagonal two by four is the main support for the 19")

DSCF0162.jpg


one of the legs (very well torsionally supported, NO wobble, at all!)

DSCF0163.jpg


Closer up of the Baltic Birch's Grain (w00t!)

DSCF0166.jpg


and this pic, a crappy shot of the edges, (so you guys and gals can see the plys)

DSCF0181.jpg


Yet more of the plys, if you can see them.

DSCF0179.jpg


And one more of the whole setup

DSCF0164.jpg


Let me know what you think!! (btw it is in no ways completely finished, I just had to build the main section so I can later [after my colorado vacation that im leaving for tomorrow] add some bookshelves and other stuff)
 
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Thank you sir. I do kind of do this for a living, I work at a car stereo shop, building sub boxes, and kickpanels, and wiring and such, so this is by far NOT my first experience building something of this nature.
 
I need a new desk, so it looks like I'll be building one sometime soon.

Nice job.
 
Awesome desk! I bought mine at STAPLES, and after building an external water cooling box and having barely enough room, I wish I had a longer one. Mine too is a corner-desk, but the "arms" don't go too far. I reccomend that you make the corners of your desk smooth, because having your wrists, or even your arms, resting on the edge of the wood will get irritating. You get what I mean? I think it looks fine without stain.
 
Very nice job. Exactly what Im now planning on using to mount each leg togeather.
 
Nice job man! Looks very simple, yet sturdy! I like it!

*gets more ideas for when he builds his desk*
 
with all those braces your desk looks super solid. i was thinking about buying a desk too, it might be better to build one like you did. $125 is really good compared to what a good desk costs.
 
very nice, clean line and simple :D

amazing how cheap they are, thay would cost like $300 in Office crapo here.
 
Looks to me like some of the brackets and supports are overkill?
I used 2 4x8ft MDF sheets for my desk and kept the surface one big piece, almost exactly like yours but mines 8 feet long and 4 feet wide :) Is that birch harder to work with than MDF? Or is it all cosmetics?
 
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