Nine foot desktop

[Jeremy Snow]

Hello all. I am re-purposing some base cabinets from one room to another and need to add a work surface/desktop. The overall dimensions are 26" x 110". The cabinets are cherry. 4' x 8' cherry plywood is common enough albeit 14" too short. I cannot find any 4' x 10', presumably it is out there, perhaps MDF veneer??

I can probably find 10' 3/4 stock and do a glue up for the panel and deal with the nature of wide panel when assembled to the base cabinets. Getting it flat would be my biggest concern. I would hate to have a splice in the panel but I guess that could work.

The center 60" will be unsupported. It can attach to the wall on the back and I will stiffen on the front appropriately underneath with metal and hide that with molding.

What are some of your thoughts on spanning that distance of 110"?

Thanks,
Jeremy

[Bill Adamsen]

Jeremy ... using Woodweb's Sagulator calculator (https://www.woodbin.com/calcs/sagulator/) , the sag on 3/4 material ply (or certainly solid) with a normal load is acceptable over a 60" span.

[Jim Becker]

10' material should be available from a good commercial plywood/sheet goods supplier. Mine (Industrial Plywood) carries it and I'm sure there are sources out there on the left-coast, too. I wouldn't be too concerned about the sag, but you can easily insure it will not be a major factor if you either double your edges before applying your edging or by installing a short stringer of solid stock or veneer plywood oriented vertically under the edge.

[Kevin Delgado]

Is a tortion box an option?

[Jeremy Snow]

I will be stiffening the 60" span as I am not concerned about he sag but rather a springy feel. A springy work surface is annoying. I got a bead on some 4' x 10' MDF core. Any thought on working with MDF, I haven't touched the stuff in year. The free span will definitely need some help in MDF.

[Jeremy Snow]

Yes but I am still faced with the 110" overall length.

[Brian Behrens]

You can put a few pieces of solid cherry in the center, running front to back. Or even use a contrasting wood . It could be a design feature. If you do a torsion box this can solve your issue on the length of the cherry plywood

[Patrick Varley]

I'd go with a torsion box using 1/2" cherry ply for the sides, 1/2" MDF for the inner webs, and 3/16" or 1/4" MDF for the skins, and finished with paper-backed cherry veneer (https://www.veneersupplies.com/products/Paper-Backed-Cherry-Veneer-Flat-Cut-4-x-8.html). You'll obviously need to splice the veneer, but you can get matched pieces.

[Ole Anderson]

My local cabinet supplier stocks 144"x 30"x 1 1-1/8" particle board which I have used as desk top with laminate. I did a lot of 30" x 72" desks for work as well as a computer hutch/desk for home (fist pic). A number of laminates will look nice with cherry. Laminates come stock 30" wide and as long as 144". You could use a solid cherry edge. If you haven't used laminate, give it a try, you will be surprised how many uses you will find for it. Second pic is my TS outfeed table where I used a scrap left over from my desk project 5 years earlier. I use Wilsonart water based contact cement with good success.

[Jim Becker]

It occurs to me that you might be better served by going with nominal 1/2" thick material for the 10' top's top surface with a layer of either plywood or MDF under it for thickness. The thinner material will be a LOT easier to handle and also cost less. :) I build all my tack trunk commissions using 1/2" veneer plywood for exactly that reason. I couldn't lift a sheet of 3/4" material safely by myself at this point.

[Jamie Buxton]

Instead of having one monolithic desk top that is nine feet long, consider having three pieces of furniture: a five foot desk flanked by two two-foot cabinets. That could work. Okay, make the desk part so that it has no legs. It is supported by the two flanking cabinets. You can make this from readily- avalable plywood. Also, this approach is easier to install. Installing a single-piece top between two walls is challenging. Those two walls are guaranteed to be not straight. They’re also likely to be narrower at the front than the middle.

[Jeremy Snow]

I thought of breaking it into pieces but hate the idea of the "lines". I have found a source of 4' x 10' alder plywood. Alder is much softer an will not hold up as well as a desktop. I think I may go with what Jim suggested.

[scott vroom]

Why not glue up some 10' solid cherry boards? I've done a number of desk tops with solid wood, wouldn't consider ply...solid will finish better than veneer and can be sanded down and refinished down the road. In my area the cost of cherry veneer is in the same ballpark as solid.

[Jeremy Snow]

For that, I'll have to check my pipe clamp count. Sanding may be an issue as well.

[scott vroom]

My method on desk tops is to do the glue up in 2 stages. First stage I glue up 2 halves and run each through the planer, then do a single joint glue up of the 2 halves. Minimizes sanding. Properly jointed boards shouldn't require many clamps on a 9' top.

[Jeremy Snow]

I like that method. Thanks Scott.

[Tom Bender]

For the front edge you might want to do something a little more interesting. How about an arch, say 3" at center and 5" at the ends? Add a 1/4" ebonized Maple bead on the bottom of that,,,now it will be remarkable.

Also, consider that someone will definitely sit on that desk and probably stand on it too.

[Mike Tagge]

I run into this often for long box shelves. I use solid hardwood for the front and glue up thicknesses of plywood for the center. For long load bearing surfaces I would do a half lap style. From there, i contact cement on a paperbacked veneer and then clean up the edge with a nice radius. The veneer blends seamlessly to the solid wood front and I have no seams.