May 12, 20197 yr Popular Post comment_190311 My son asked me to build him a computer desk. He gave me latitude for the design except for the length, depth, and height. I know that he would be adding a computer monitor bar and he wanted power and USB grommets installed in the top. Material: Top: 13/16 hard maple. Base: 1 x 2 cherry. Drawer: 5/8 hard maple Base construction: Front legs are cherry bent lamination with 14 degree cant. Drawer has box joint construction. Finish: Base has one coat BLO, one coat 1 ½ # shellac, one coat gel stain, and another coat 1 ½# shellac. Overall, everything has two coats pre-cat lacquer. I wanted the desk to be and to appear to be light weight. I know there will be a structural issue if someone sits on the desk top. I want the desk top to have a floating surface appearance, the base to have curves & angles; and the drawer to have a clean look. The inner form radius for the bent lamination was 7 7/8. The base joinery is M&T. Each joint was doweled with two ¼ dowels. Thanks for looking. Danl Report
May 12, 20197 yr comment_190315 Awesome Build!! I really like the addition of the addition of the accessible power and USB ports. That's a super handy idea! Nice dual monitor mount, too! Report
May 12, 20197 yr comment_190317 Wow Daniel, Super Nice Build!! Mind telling me where you got the Power/USB Port assemblies? Report
May 12, 20197 yr comment_190320 That is one fantastic desk . I like the tower on the wall but can see that limiting possibilities in the future . The clean appearance is a big plus. I assume he is a gamer. Report
May 13, 20197 yr comment_190328 Great desk and also some add on room if needed. However your workmanship makes it all happen and look great. Report
May 13, 20197 yr Author comment_190329 2 hours ago, Larry Buskirk said: Wow Daniel, Super Nice Build!! Mind telling me where you got the Power/USB Port assemblies? I purchased the electronics from Amazon. Danl Report
May 13, 20197 yr Author Popular Post comment_190330 2 hours ago, Gerald said: That is one fantastic desk . I like the tower on the wall but can see that limiting possibilities in the future . The clean appearance is a big plus. I assume he is a gamer. Having the tower on the wall was my son's request. The shelf was painted with Rust-Oleum black lacquer. Yes, he is a gamer and I'm an enabler. Danl Report
May 13, 20197 yr comment_190333 Very nice build, the lamination glue up looks like a well thought out process. Did you have to allow for any spring back on a piece this thick? How much more open time does the glue provide? Report
May 13, 20197 yr comment_190334 Danl, that is one beautiful desk! Thanks for sharing it with us. Report
May 13, 20197 yr comment_190350 Beautiful desk. Love the design and build. All the pictures topped it off. Report
May 13, 20197 yr comment_190361 Tower on the wall great idea for cord access/upgrading, which is BIG in gaming (so my sons tell me!!). Leave enough room for air circulation on the wall side? Report
May 13, 20197 yr comment_190390 That's one sweet piece of construction. Very nice build. Thanks for showing us your WIP. Your son must be happy as a clam. Report
May 14, 20197 yr Author Popular Post comment_190443 On 5/13/2019 at 5:06 AM, Pat Meeuwissen said: Very nice build, the lamination glue up looks like a well thought out process. Did you have to allow for any spring back on a piece this thick? How much more open time does the glue provide? I found an article which gave a formula using number of plies and project radius to determine form radius. I wanted a 9” project radius, so I was to use a 7 7/8” form radius. When the lamination was pulled of the form after ~ 24 hr., I had zero spring back. I had 10 plies, each 0.095 thick. When I pulled of the clamps and caul, I noticed a crack in the outer ply. I believe this was created perhaps due to by a combination of the wood grain not being straight grain, the shifting of the plies during the clamp up, and I continued to apply additional pressure during the curing (I am not certain). I do know that as time goes by, the glue minutely moves and some of the clamps result in having less pressure. I had extra plies available so I glued another ply to the assembly. After I pulled the glue-up from the form and let it set for the weekend, I had a slight enclosed angle. Having a tighter radius was better than a larger radius. The final results were excellent (beginner’s luck). The pics reflect 76 deg. and zero degree, exactly what the form was built to. Unibond 1 is a PVA glue. Per the mfg description it does not have the same performance as a two part glue but is a good and safe adhesive. The specs say that you have 15 min assembly time. I would argue and say that the time is closure to 30 min. The clamping time is far less than for a two part glue, but I did not what to risk testing the outcome. I let my assembly set for ~24 hrs. Danl Report
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