Building a Desk - Advice Needed

[pren]

Hey.

This is a quick sketch of what I was thinking with the steel. I agree that the corner overhang wouldn't be in much danger as it will be supported on the wall end.

Desk top supported on 3 sides by battens.

Underside view showing wall battens.

Underside looking towards the front edge. The steel runs straight from wall to wall. This means the desk is supported on 4sides.

The front edge can be made from laminating several layers of 6mm MDF. Not sure as to the size of steel angle. I'd have thought something around 60x60mm might work. Too deep and it'll dig into your thighs.

Hope that helps. 8)

 

[InfoH]

ah yes thats exacally what i had in mind

i think thats the best way forward, gives me the leg room i need an still all the support without having too much visable wood across the floor

my only concern is the left side wall(internal), will that be strong enough to attach the metal bar to it?

thanks for all your help, i've definatly benefited from all your experience

by the way what software do you use to create the sketches like that so quick?

 

[eoinsgaff]

The thickness of the torsion box can be varied considerably. To get it as thin as possible I would use 6mm MDF for the bottom sheet as well as for the 'infill' parts. A thicker sheet for the top would be better.

Still, I think the others are correct and the steel frame does seem the most practical. However I wouldn't use angle iron for the front. Some form of box iron at least as angle iron will dig into your legs if the clearance isn't enough.

Eoin

 

[Dibs-h]

my only concern is the left side wall(internal), will that be strong enough to attach the metal bar to it?

thanks for all your help, i've definatly benefited from all your experience

by the way what software do you use to create the sketches like that so quick?

There are batons screwed to all 3 walls. Perhaps 3"x2" - the angle goes into this on both the LH and RH batons.

Google Sketchup.

Dibs

 

[pren]

my only concern is the left side wall(internal), will that be strong enough to attach the metal bar to it?

Glad we're on the same page! I'm assuming your internal wall is hollow/stud wall? If so, if you can fix the battens to the studs within the wall (using a stud finder if you have one) ie: screw through the batten, through the plaster and into the stud, then the steel can sit in a notch in the batten.

Another option could be to make two deep box legs for the top to sit on. these can be fixed to the wall at either end and the steel can sit in/on them under the top.

Desktop has been removed to show box leg on right.

Closeup of box leg with steel sat on top.

Hope that makes sense! :lol:


I'm using Google Sketchup (free) to make these. Most people on here are fans. Checkout the Design board on here for more info.

 

[Dibs-h]

Oh Man you make Sketchup look so effortless - my Autocad affected brain just couldn't get on with it! Mind you, might be time to have another go at some point.

 

[pren]

Oh Man you make Sketchup look so effortless - my Autocad affected brain just couldn't get on with it! Mind you, might be time to have another go at some point.

Hee hee! :lol: I used to struggle with it because I was trying to force it to do what I wanted. SU is quite free forming. If you're used to working with precise tools such as Auto CAD that HAVE to be spot on then it is a learning curve to get your head around SU.

I've not used AC in a while but it seems that there are very different ways of getting to the same result. With SU it's more a case of making the basic shape and just pushing it and chopping bits off to make the finished artical.

 

[InfoH]

just to clarify

for attaching the metal bar to the wall your saying to attach the box leg to the batten and the metal bar sitting in that?

Also i spoke to my dad who has had some experience in the past of cutting MDF and he has said that cutting the curve i require in it could be difficult

does anyone have any tips in cutting the curve in the MDF? i cant use a table saw cos the wood is too large and would need to be done in the room, so that leaves me with either:

a jig saw
or a circular saw

there is also the option to use a power sander to grind it down slowly to try and reduce the risk of the wood chipping

any advice on this?

thanks

 

[pren]

Hey.

Just thinking, if you're going with the box leg idea, you can do away with the batten on the side walls. Just fix the box to the walls and set the steel into it.

Cutting thick sheets with a jigsaw can be a bit messy. The blade tends to bend and you'll end up with an uneven cut. The best way would be to get a router with a straight cutter and a guide bush. If you can make a template from some 9mm MDF of the curved shape of the whole desk then you can use the router to cut the edge shape. This would give you the cleanest edge.

If you have to use a jig saw and are either painting or covering the MDF top, then you can plant a strip to the front edge and fill the gap between the two with filler and then sand and paint.

 

[InfoH]

i have access to a router so that shouldnt be a problem

buying an additional peice of wood to do a template would just be an additional cost

is there no other way of trying to keep it from chipping?

I was told that using masking tape could stop it?

 

[InfoH]

I have a slight question regarding hiding the metal bar under the desk, since it will be going across the entire span I was going to put a virtual piece of wood in front of the metal bar going from left to right, however I realised I cannot do this due to the curve in the desk, well I could but it would look odd since the piece of wood cant follow the curve.

Any ideas?

 

[jimi43]

I have a slight question regarding hiding the metal bar under the desk, since it will be going across the entire span I was going to put a virtual piece of wood in front of the metal bar going from left to right, however I realised I cannot do this due to the curve in the desk, well I could but it would look odd since the piece of wood cant follow the curve.

Any ideas?

You could do what I do with guitar kerfing which is to kerf the back of a thinish strip which will allow it to bend around curves...

Jim

 

[petermillard]

Not quite what you're doing, but I built this desk:-

for a customer using the same 'torsion box'/grid/array as I use for making chunky flush shelves, and that's been suggested here. The span of this desk was 3.6m and was to be used as a workstation for two people, so a central leg for support wasn't an issue in this instance.

The overall thickness of the desk ended up at about 55 - 60mm, with an 18mm top and 6mm bottom MDF 'skin' over softwood battens at the edges and the core 'grid'. Once it was glued up it was surprisingly rigid, even without the central support - though obviously over a span of that size it's far better to have it than not, and it was always designed to have one.

I'd also suggest a length of steel box section at the leading edge - I usually just glue this in with epoxy behind the front batten when making flush shelves of any significant span and it works well. Don't be too tempted to over-engineer it though - unless you're planning on dancing on it, desks generally bear less weight than shelves

For the curve on the above desk I roughed this out with a jigsaw and finished it off with a router, clamping a piece of bent MDF in place as a guide. The front lip was simply glued in place, then rounded over in situ.

This was fitted in a Victorian house with original walls, only one of which (left-hand side) was external. The battens were fixed through to the studs as described further up the thread.

HTH, Pete

 

[Benchwayze]

Hi Info and welcome to the forum.

Over a 97" length you won't get away without some sag, however thick the top. You probably will need intermediate supports.

36" and 40" (thereabouts) sounds a bit deep for a desk, unless you are having someone else sitting the other side, (as per a 'partners' desk). Which it seems you ain't!

So, I would advise against having the desktop too deep/wide. You will eventually get tired of reaching across for stuff, sometimes having to actually stand up and lean across to reach the back of the desk.

If you want a PC on the desk consider putting the keyboard on a sliding tray beneath the desktop (Some drawer runners on a piece of 18mm MDF will do this for you) 30mm sounds fine for thickness. And don't worry about the strength of MDF. As long as you use sensible thicknesses it's fine. It just stinks when you cut it, so wear a face mask of some sort.

If I were you I would buy some sort of pocket hole jig, and watch a few YouTube vids on using one. :wink:

HTH
John

 

[InfoH]

thanks for the advice,

the reason behind having the large span desk with total leg room is purely for cosmetic reasons, the metal square tubing should stop any sagging correct?

i think the kelf is a good idea and i will definatly be looking into that.

thanks

 

[big soft moose]

* not sure if this will work - no image coming up in preview.

your image link needs to finish in the file extension , like this

 

[petermillard]

your image link needs to finish in the file extension...

Many thanks BSM - duly edited, and noted for future reference.

Pete

 

[InfoH]

I have a slight question regarding hiding the metal bar under the desk, since it will be going across the entire span I was going to put a virtual piece of wood in front of the metal bar going from left to right, however I realised I cannot do this due to the curve in the desk, well I could but it would look odd since the piece of wood cant follow the curve.

Any ideas?

You could do what I do with guitar kerfing which is to kerf the back of a thinish strip which will allow it to bend around curves...

Jim

I had a quick try at making some of this tonight and it proved to be a tough task, is there anywhere that sells it which i can just buy? would make my life much easier

 

[jimi43]

I cut my own on a table saw and this site may help you get the idea:

Making Kerfing

What gear do you have to make it?

Alternatively you can buy it from luthier supplies but that is probably going to be expensive and not wide enough....

Here is a link

...just Google "Luthier Supplies" for other suppliers

Another option as per the above photo is to get a piece of thin veneered ply with the finish you need to match and then some thin square stock and cut little blocks and glue them in a row next to each other. When set...you can then bend the ply to the profile you need and glue the blocks to the underside of the desk top.

Hope this helps

Jim