Michael's Desk

[Howard Rosenberg]

Hi all - I went hog-wild with the digital camera the other day and wanted to show these off too.

Pic #1 - I made this desk when Michael entered Grade One (First Grade for my American friends) - two years ago.

I made it out of a combination of 1" and 3/4" thick MDF.

Pic #2 - I wanted to suggest mortise and tennon joinery and provide different surfaces something of a reveal to catch shadows. The finish is Deft oil-based polyeurethane. I wanted to show off the desk's "MDF-ness" and not diguise the material as smoething else.

Pic #3 - The drawer fronts are flush to the front. The entire desk was assembled using biscuits, dadoes, grooves and glue.

Pic #4 - I used cello tuning keys for the drawer pulls.

Pic #5 - I've always hated it when there's THAT ONE PIECE OF GEAR that has to sit ON TOP of the wire grommet, so I thought grommets flush to the top might be a good idea. I drilled the holes and then routed rabbets for them to seat.

Thank you for looking. Howard

[Ken Garlock]

Howard, you should have just posted the first picture and told us that it was made of some exotic wood. You can't tell it is MDF from the first picture. :) I think you did a great job and that the use of all MDF was a great idea, especially for a youngster. I like your treatment of the grommet hole. Did you make a blank to fit in there when you weren't running a cable through the hole?

Nice work!

[Howard Rosenberg]

That's how I got into MDF furniture in the first place!
Cheap.
Strong.
Can't go wrong with combination.
When I first got into WW, Michael and his accomplice, his younger brother, Tony were extremely destructive. That's when I developed their code-names - Genghis & Attila.
I wasn't prepared to spend money on serious wood if they were going to break everything...
After they demolished the first bookcase assembled with biscuits, I discovered dadoes & grooves. What a Godsend! Even Michael's anvil collection <G> can't make 3/4" MDF in a 1/4" deep groove with a face frame sag.
Thanks for your comments. Howard
By the way - do you know of a city/town in Texas named Rosenberg? A friend sent me a photo of the Rosenberg Texas bus station but I've never found it on maps etc...

[Dave Arbuckle]

Very nice work, Howard. I like the grommet hole also, and the "truth" in finishing it clear.

Here you go, Rosenberg, Texas, The City That Works: http://www.ci.rosenberg.tx.us/default.cfm . Southwest of Houston, about 300 miles from me.

Dave

[Todd Burch]

Howard, Rosenburg, Tx is about 20 minutes from me. Do you need another picture? ;)

[Jim Becker]

Howard, I like how you "celebrate" alternative materials by highlighting them, rather than hiding them as in this desk. MDF with a good clear finish can actually be an attractive material and compliment certain decorative styles. As long as you use the right techniques for building these projects, it will be strong and good looking for a long time.

This thread reminds me of something I saw in a building about two years ago in the Cleveland Ohio area. I was visiting a large insurance company to brief them on some new technology my company was moving to. At that time, the group I was visiting was housed in a facility that featured a tremendous art collection in the lobbies and hallways. That alone was impressive and could have supplied hours of enjoyment. But what really caught my eyes were the panels hanging vertically on the walls at intervals. They were made of sanded 4' x 12' OSB edged with simple aluminum channel and finished in a satin clear finish. It was incredible how such a simple thing was so beautiful and interesting to look at. And I doubt it broke the decorating budget, either.

The challenge for me for using MDF is getting multiple thicknesses in the same "color"! There is little consistency in that around here it seems.

[Howard Rosenberg]

MDF is made of whatever wood they're processing that shift - the colour variances can be quite big. There also seems to be two main types - a slick outer layer and a lighter coloured not-so-slick outer layer.
It takes me quite a bit of hefting to match them when I'm at the big box. Considering 3/4" MDF is three pounds a square foot and I usually wear sandals in the summer I'm very careful...