iMac Cabinet Idea

[SketchUp Guru]

I recently bought an iMac. What a cool thing it is. I've decided I want to make a very small desk for it and I want to be able to hide it away when it isn't in use. Here are some views of what I've come up with. It may not be so clear but the doors are bifolds that slide back into the case when the computer is in use. The keyboard would be on a slide out tray.

First, a rendering of the SU model done in Kerkythea. I added some tapering and curvature to the legs before making this rendering although I don't think it is very apparent.

And next a couple of angles of raw SU output. The legs hadn't been slenderized yet for these views.

Comments would be welcome.

FWIW, I have no intention of having anything but the computer in this cabinet. Well, there would be a small shelf added on the left to hold either a video or a still digital camera for uploading files to the computer.

 

[Philly]

Dave
I like it-just a couple of points.
Depth-are you going to bang your knees on the wall when sitting in front of it?
Keyboard-where is the tray going? Don't forget mouse-mat room. Will the cabinet be sturdy enough not to be tipped over under "heavy" use?
Not critisisms, and I'm sure you've already thought of the answers. :lol:
Cheers
Philly

 

[MikeW]

Very nice, Dave!

Like Phil, the cabinet as is may be too shallow for stability, especially if there are any small children. A single anchor screw through the back rail into the wall would suffice though.

Perhaps a slide-out, tilt down keyboard tray with space for a wireless mouse? That could be a potential solution for both keeping your knees away from the wall and provide a certain ergonomic for keyboard use.

But I like it. Have you given thought to woods at this stage? The colors and textures in the rendering are reminiscent to me of English Brown Oak for the upper cabinet, Thuya burl for the doors and Jatoba for the stand...Regardless, it is a pleasant design to me.

Take care, Mike

 

[CYC]

Hi Dave,
Are you doing a pair or just showing open and closed? A pair looks nice :wink:

Your design is aesthetically beautiful. On the practical side I would point or question:
- What about power supply wires? won't they/it show a lot with this design or can you hide it in one of the legs :wink: :wink:
- I hope you won't use this mac for long periods because I don't think you will feel comfortable on it. The depth means you can only have a very small tray for your keyboard and mouse. Now maybe you plan to use some wireless peripherals but you will still only have a little pull out tray to rest on. I think you need to look into a solution to make it comfortable to browse the forum. I used a PC with a small tray before and it won't take more than 5 mins to get on your nerves.
- If this is the Mac I think it is, it's huge, and has a really big screen. Again with a short sliding tray you will be so close to the screen you will get either sore eyes or you won't see the edges of the screen hehehe :lol:
- Where will be the chair, under this desk or else where in the room? Something to think about in the look of this piece.

Wild thoughts time:
- When you open the doors a tabletop fills the entire open and hinges down to deploy legs. This gives you a big working table. I hope you understand what I mean here.
- A table under the table sort of say.

I hope I didn't make silly comments. Again, to look at it's splendid

 

[SketchUp Guru]

Thank you all for the comments. I appreciate them. And none have been silly yet.

I have thought through most of your points already. The cabinet is shallow on purpose but there is already a slide out keyboard/mouse tray designed in. The view, below, shows that. With the pull out tray it will be plenty deep enough. The top of the tray is at about 28 1/2" from the floor. I've included a generic desk chair I got from the 3D Warehouse to give an idea of depth. I tend to sit with in 16 or 18 inches of the screen when I'm 'computing' so I'm not so worried about the lack of depth.

When the computer is not in use, the chair will be elsewhere. It may be turned with its back to the wall next to the cabinet or it might be at another desk.

The only cable that needs to run into the cabinet will be the mains. I intend to rout a groove in the back of one leg to take that cord. I'll hold it in place with a few dabs of hot melt glue or silicone adhesive. Connection to printer and DSL modem are wireless and those devices will be remotely located.

As far as tipping, I would fasten it to the wall with a bracket however the bulk of the weight will still be behind the front legs.

I still have two PCs running at home and they will be used primarily for word processing and internet browsing.

I've considered a fold down front however the resulting desktop would be deeper than I want due to the height of the case. I also considered the change in location of the center of gravity and didn't like the alternatives of making a deeper base or added legs. I decided to make the doors bifolds and retractable to keep the CG aft as much as possible.

I'd still welcome further comments. Oh, and I haven't chosen the woods yet but I'm thinking some sort of figured veneer for the doors. I'm also wondering about making the doors with some sort of very straight grained light colored wood--yellow cedar comes to mind--and use something more figured for the rest of the case. That's still up in the air, though.

I've also given some though to a drawer case that would fit inside should I ever decide not to use if for a computer. Perhaps my wife could use it for jewelry. In that case I would make the drawers out of 2" thick material. This would make the storage space neccessarily tiny. They say the stuff in a garage exapnds to fill the available space. I expect it is the same for jewelry boxes.

Thanks again.

 

[CYC]

Good to see you have thought everything through

I still think, looking at this new visual, you don't have much space on your pull out tray. There is no space for you wrists to rest on, any typing will quickly become sore. If you feel confortable with that then who am I to argue

I really like the wood colors you used in your sketchup design.

 

[Nick W]

Dave,

It looks very nice but ...
How will the doors get past the slide out tray, and what mechanism are you going to use for them (the doors that is)?

 

[SketchUp Guru]

CYC, good suggestion on some sort of wrist support. I have an idea in my head I need to work out for that.

Nick, I haven't decided what to do as far as the sliding hardware for the doors. Blum have some hardware but I think it is a bit too large for the application. At least I'd like to come up with something a bit more petite for that part of it. Got any suggestions?

As drawn the keyboard tray retracts to a 1/4" or so behind the back of the doors when they are closed. They'll swing out straight (I think) and then fold back upon themselves before sliding into the case.

I think I'd use straight knife hinges (Brusso ST-18) between the door panels.

 

[dedee]

Dave, I like you design and look forward to seeing the finished project.

As a felllow iMac owner I too think it is cool, so much so I canot imaging wanting to shut it away in a cabinet even an outsandingly beautiful one as in your design.

Andy