Chris Bruno
12-12-2013, 12:28 PM
Well, I finally finished the T-shaped desk that I had been thinking/talking about for so long. I don't have many good construction pictures for this one. End result is good..not *great* but good.
Cabinets are made from poplar and BORG plywood and finished with sprayed on Benjamin Moore Impervio (found the old-style oil based stuff stashed away at a local hardware store).
Top is made from 2 sheets of 3/4" mahogany plywood (laminated onto 3/4" particle board), trimmed with padauk. The finishing schedule on the top was:
- Festool ROS with 220grit
- Dye with General Finishes Cinnamon
- Dye with General Finishes Light Brown (while the Cinnamon was still a little damp)
- Brush coat of General Finishes Arm-R-Seal
- *Light* sand with 220
- 7 wiping coats of Arm-R-Seal after 2nd and 4th coats I lightly sanded with 400 grit, after 6th coat I lightly sanded with 600 grit
- Use 8" power polisher (automotive) and a little furniture wax to buff top
I wrestled with the idea of using grain filler. I think I would have preferred the grain filled, honestly, but I've never done it before and didn't want to ruin the desktop learning. I could have experimented on some scrap, but I was a bit under a crunch to finish before Thanksgiving. Further, I knew that once moved all of the stuff back onto the desk, a lot of it would be covered. So I decided to stick with what I know for this project.
There is a 2x4 frame underneath that ledgers into the wall and onto the cabinet in the long direction to provide support. The edges of the 'T' are fastened to the main slab using countertop fasteners underneath. Because of the window trim I was unable to glue/screw those ends on in the shop and then move as one giant piece (just as well, it would have been pretty unwieldy), so I moved it in pieces and secured it in place. I then proceeded to trim the padauk and finish the top in place as well. Trimming was a bit of a pain because I had to keep running down to the garage to shave off another .005".. :-) Oh well.
Sorry for not getting better pictures before I started moving my computer crap back onto it.
The end result is that our new desk is a lot prettier than our old ones (2 mismatched desks back to back), has more surface area, better storage for the old laser printer, and slightly better ergonomics. The next part of this project are matching bookshelves on the back wall above the desk. Unfortunately, with the cold weather, I won't be able to spray those out on the driveway for some time, so I'm not sure when those will get finished, which is why I figured I'd post these pictures now. When I finish the bookshelves, I'll update the post.
Thanks for looking!
-Chris
276931 276932 276933 276934
Cabinets are made from poplar and BORG plywood and finished with sprayed on Benjamin Moore Impervio (found the old-style oil based stuff stashed away at a local hardware store).
Top is made from 2 sheets of 3/4" mahogany plywood (laminated onto 3/4" particle board), trimmed with padauk. The finishing schedule on the top was:
- Festool ROS with 220grit
- Dye with General Finishes Cinnamon
- Dye with General Finishes Light Brown (while the Cinnamon was still a little damp)
- Brush coat of General Finishes Arm-R-Seal
- *Light* sand with 220
- 7 wiping coats of Arm-R-Seal after 2nd and 4th coats I lightly sanded with 400 grit, after 6th coat I lightly sanded with 600 grit
- Use 8" power polisher (automotive) and a little furniture wax to buff top
I wrestled with the idea of using grain filler. I think I would have preferred the grain filled, honestly, but I've never done it before and didn't want to ruin the desktop learning. I could have experimented on some scrap, but I was a bit under a crunch to finish before Thanksgiving. Further, I knew that once moved all of the stuff back onto the desk, a lot of it would be covered. So I decided to stick with what I know for this project.
There is a 2x4 frame underneath that ledgers into the wall and onto the cabinet in the long direction to provide support. The edges of the 'T' are fastened to the main slab using countertop fasteners underneath. Because of the window trim I was unable to glue/screw those ends on in the shop and then move as one giant piece (just as well, it would have been pretty unwieldy), so I moved it in pieces and secured it in place. I then proceeded to trim the padauk and finish the top in place as well. Trimming was a bit of a pain because I had to keep running down to the garage to shave off another .005".. :-) Oh well.
Sorry for not getting better pictures before I started moving my computer crap back onto it.
The end result is that our new desk is a lot prettier than our old ones (2 mismatched desks back to back), has more surface area, better storage for the old laser printer, and slightly better ergonomics. The next part of this project are matching bookshelves on the back wall above the desk. Unfortunately, with the cold weather, I won't be able to spray those out on the driveway for some time, so I'm not sure when those will get finished, which is why I figured I'd post these pictures now. When I finish the bookshelves, I'll update the post.
Thanks for looking!
-Chris
276931 276932 276933 276934