DIY Thread: How to make a Desk

platypus · 27 Nov 2009 at 17:59

I bought the pine from Ridgeons, for a total of £38.95. The brackets and screws from B&Q for £8. I used my mitre saw to cut the wood into the legs, and my jigsaw to cut the panel to size.

Treating the wood is important naturally, as the pine is easily marked and will damage/scratch easily.

Drill the holes in the top/legs being careful not to drill to deep! I'd suggest drilling by hand unless you have a variable speed electric drill (which I used) as you might go to fast and end up going through the surface.

Brackets on both sides for stability, and legs indented to leave room for cladding.

And here is the almost finished product:

I'm going to go and get some more wood to add cladding around the legs so that the sides are covered, and about two thirds of the back - this will add stability and allow me to hide cables and what not away

.

PhillyDee · 27 Nov 2009 at 17:59

Simples.

Nice. Now make me one!

Firestar_3x · 27 Nov 2009 at 18:00

I'm going to be honest with you, its hardly the desk build of the year.

You should have attached the legs with propper fittings, rounded off the edge of the desk top, and built in something to tie the legs together.

platypus · 27 Nov 2009 at 18:08

Firestar_3x said:
I'm going to be honest with you, its hardly the desk build of the year.

You should have attached the legs with propper fittings, rounded off the edge of the desk top, and built in something to tie the legs together.

Bit harsh, I'm no carpenter!

I know, it's pretty naff to be fair, the edges are rounded with the sander, didn't really feel like routing it though, I'd already used enough power tools for one desk

.

PhillyDee · 27 Nov 2009 at 18:09

platypus said:
Bit harsh, I'm no carpenter!

I know, it's pretty naff to be fair, the edges are rounded with the sander, didn't really feel like routing it though, I'd already used enough power tools for one desk .

No such thing as too many powertools. I have 3 drills

Firestar_3x · 27 Nov 2009 at 18:10

platypus said:
Bit harsh, I'm no carpenter!.

Sorry, one thing i would do without fail it brace the legs, if you don't over time your desk is going to have a nice slant on it

Antar Bolaeisk · 27 Nov 2009 at 18:13

Looks grand, cheap, cheerful and does the job, though I do agree that you will probably need more support than those brackets for the legs (all depending on how much abuse you give it)

Did something similar myself this year due to my inability to find a suitable desk

The result:

Had to go with MDF due to cost (I was trying to keep it under €100), this has resulted in a few rough edges and I certainly would have preferred real wood but I'm happy enough with the results.

/hijack

PhillyDee · 27 Nov 2009 at 18:14

Firestar_3x said:
Sorry, one thing i would do without fail it brace the legs, if you don't over time your desk is going to have a nice slant on it

I'm going to go and get some more wood to add cladding around the legs so that the sides are covered, and about two thirds of the back - this will add stability and allow me to hide cables and what not away .

So the op kinda is . . . .

And now I must stop posting. Must eat

Biohazard · 27 Nov 2009 at 18:16

Star Trek fact files lol

I remember them..

platypus · 27 Nov 2009 at 18:18

Firestar_3x said:
Sorry, one thing i would do without fail it brace the legs, if you don't over time your desk is going to have a nice slant on it

Aye I plan to brace the legs when I get the cladding, will be getting that tomorrow.

uv · 27 Nov 2009 at 18:47

no offence, but for the amount you spent you could have bought one from Ikea

TheSwede · 27 Nov 2009 at 20:49

Antar Bolaeisk said:
Looks grand, cheap, cheerful and does the job, though I do agree that you will probably need more support than those brackets for the legs (all depending on how much abuse you give it)

Did something similar myself this year due to my inability to find a suitable desk

The result:

Had to go with MDF due to cost (I was trying to keep it under €100), this has resulted in a few rough edges and I certainly would have preferred real wood but I'm happy enough with the results.

/hijack

I had to do as you, use MDF, to keep my costs down when I did my desk a few years ago. When I made the desk it was much bigger, but due to moving I had to resize the desk to make it fit! :eek:

The shelvings above my screens has been added on recently, due to need some storage space and somewhere to place my TV. Sorry for the mess, but not in the mood to do a clean up!

Sorry for the crap quality of the pictures, had to use paint to resize the pictures and resave them as a GIF to make the file size smaller then the 1.7 MB that they were at from the beginning! Don't have a better program then paint to use either.

BigglesPiP · 27 Nov 2009 at 20:52

My kind of desk.

PhillyDee · 27 Nov 2009 at 20:52

Get GIMP. Free.

Biohazard · 27 Nov 2009 at 20:53

lol i got rid of vhs years ago.

TheSwede · 27 Nov 2009 at 20:57

Biohazard said:
lol i got rid of vhs years ago.

Well, I would too but I have programs I taped years ago and not find a good way to get them transferred to disc's without breaking my wallet, although haven't been looking lately so if you got any suggestions, feel free to let me know!

PhillyDee said:
Get GIMP. Free.

Thank you! Just downloaded it, shall gibe it a try!