Scratch Build: The Ultimate Computer Desk

ultimatedesk

New Member
Some More Hardware

A 128gb SSD...........................................

you have no idea how sad I am....but at least grats to you

I want one!
Aww c'mon, no need to be sad!

Mohawk furniture grade waterborn dystain. Being a dye, the color turns out uniform and not muttled. The natural colors in the wood, make the color variations in the finished piece. The porosity of the wood(soft spots make bloches)does not affect the consistent color acheived, without the "wash" coat.(wash is usually 1/2 sealer-1/2 solvent but I make it weaker beacuse if its too much it may not all sand back out enough). With dye, no wash needed.

Each color the raw wood has, takes on it's own stained color. Make sence?Has that deep(as in depth, not dark) look, yet clean and clear. Like 3D if you will. Has that slight glisten like it's wayyy down in the wood, when the light shines on it. I think this is what your looking for. You probably have some furniture that looks like that.
Very easy to use, just brush it on, and let it dry. There are other alcohol/solvent type wood dyes but those are for other specialty finishes and the waterborn is the way to go. I know you been working on this stain for a while, and working hard I see, but I think you'll be glad you looked into it, if you do. They have mohagany, but it doesnt have to be that brand. I'm suprised Randalls didn't show/have some. Perhaps they do!

http://www.mohawk-finishing.com/catalog_browse.asp?ictNbr=178 suggest dark read mohagany. color can be easily adjusted/lightened from there if wanted.

If interested, call a couple Architectural Millworlk companies in your area, that do the finishing themselves.
Thanks for the info Benny - I checked out the site. I had read a bit about dye stains, but I could not find anywhere locally to go and check them out in person. Calling a local millwork company is a fantastic idea. I have, unfortunately, already stained a few of the actual pieces, so this is what I will be sticking with for the entirety of the project, but I will certainly check out the Mohawk products in the future.

What the hell are you sad for??
Seriously!

Is the build finished yet?
I wish!!


Sorry about the lack of updates everyone, it's not that I haven't been working on the desk much, but it's more that I've been using the camera a lot (You know.. kittens) and I haven't had time to sit down and sort through all the photos, re-size, crop, etc for some real proper updates.

I've had this update sitting on the back burner for a little while now and I've been meaning to squeeze in it somewhere. I had been talking with some folks at Danger Den because I was looking at their motherboard trays and I/O panels, and they've decided to sponsor me!

Big thanks go out to Danger Den, as these are critical components required for a professional end result - you've all seen the mangled results of the cases I tore up earlier in the project.

dangerdenlogo.png

http://www.dangerden.com

img5555p.jpg


Everything came very nicely packed - not much loose play, and plenty of foam to absorb any shipping issues.

img5559.jpg


I had these PSU support brackets custom made:

img5564kf.jpg


I sent them a higher resolution image of this, that I threw together in Sketchup:

psubracketsketchup.jpg


Also included in this little shipment were some momentary switches for power and reset. (These are really popular these days, aren't they?)

img5565m.jpg


And some real nifty motherboard trays:

img5571c.jpg


img5577q.jpg


All the acrylic is 1/2" clear - I will leave them wrapped up until the project is close to completion. With these parts -finally- settled, I can cut some holes in the cabinets and actually put them together -for real- !!

Stay tuned, I'll sit down this weekend and sort through the next round of updates ;)
 

ultimatedesk

New Member
IO Slot Cutting

Looks like it's all coming together nicely :D

I can't wait to see the finished product.
Slowly, but surely! It's taken a while to get here, but I can finally see the light on the horizon lol


So - it's been sometime since I've posted an update - apologies, things have been very busy lately.

With the parts from Danger Den having arrived, I could now move on to some more specific details with both of the cabinets that will contain the computers.

Once again, I started with a test fitting, this time, it was a very accurate fitting, requiring quite a bit of sanding and fiddling around to get as close to the final product as possible.

img5599e.jpg


img5606z.jpg


img5607s.jpg


I then placed some test parts for fitting, and traced some outlines on the wood. The motherboard tray was placed on some thin strips of packing foam that I cut up, to help isolate any vibration from the CPU Heatsink.

img5611r.jpg


img5612yt.jpg


Installed some new blades on the jigsaw, put my biggest drill bit in the drill, and went to town!

img5615u.jpg


img5619ca.jpg


After doing the rough cut with the jigsaw, I took out the router and free-handed with a straight bit to smooth out the edges.

img5623w.jpg


The semi-finished air intake for the left-hand cabinet:

img5627w.jpg


The power supply rough cut:

img5631tg.jpg


img5632.jpg


I decided that the PSU bolts will need a little more clearance around the screw holes.

img5634w.jpg


The I/O Shield cut out was a bit tricky to measure, but I think I did a pretty decent job:

img5635u.jpg


img5636n.jpg


img5637br.jpg


And a final shot from above and below:

img5638z.jpg


img5640l.jpg


Next update, I'll have pics of actual assembly of the left hand cabinet, and then more cutting, and biscuit joining on the right-hand cabinet.
 

ultimatedesk

New Member
Left Cabinet Assembly

ahh i need more updates. i check everyday to see if you posted more pictures! :)
lol, thanks for the support emac227, sorry things have been a little slow lately! ;)

It's been a while, but I can assure you, progress is still moving forward with the Ultimate Computer Desk!

I finally got around to assembling the left-hand cabinet - here it is, all glued and clamped together. It's a really solid unit - the dado cuts lined up really well, and the structure is rock solid.

img5643um.jpg


img5645p.jpg


Here I am doing a mock-up of the right-hand cabinet. This one was a little trickier to put together. There is a pretty specific order of assembly, otherwise, you're left with a piece that just doesn't want to fit properly.

img5647y.jpg


Some outlines for the motherboard I/O and power supply

img5652h.jpg


I remember mentioning that I free-handed the holes with the router for the left-hand cabinet. I decided to play a safer route for the right-hand cabinet.

I took a piece of wood, lined it up with my straight edge, and ran my router on top of the wood with a straight bit - this game me a perfect "stencil". What I can do then, is take the stencil, line up the edge with a line that I've drawn on the target piece, place a straight edge behind the stencil, clamp down the straight edge, remove the stencil, and run my router across the straight edge for a straight, accurate line.

Wow, that was a mouthful.

img5654b.jpg


img5656q.jpg


And the end product:

img5657.jpg


img5661y.jpg


And then I made a pretty huge mistake...

Here is the suspect:

img5662f.jpg


Bam. Can you guess why this was a bad idea?

img5658m.jpg
 

Iceyn1pples

New Member
I wish i had the skills and resources to do this project...Kudos to you!

If i might add my 2 cents, i would suggest that you turn your gaming computer compartment, into a removable compartment. Example, make it a drawer underneath the glass. that way, at least the PC can be moved around if need be, and prolly be much easier for upgrades.

Love your file server compartment tho, pretty sleek. The only problem i see is that the keyboard compartment is kinda pointless...if its a server, might as well just Remote Desktop into it, saves hardware, and all you need is the power cable and an ethernet, Hopefully you plan on getting a GIGABIT router and use the LAN insteand of wireless.

Awesome work tho!
 

ultimatedesk

New Member
Lol, not a mistake, a feature!

Hmm.. little bit late for the drawer idea, but it is certainly a good one I'll have to keep in mind for the next big project. As for remoting in - occasionally there will be a second user for some multiplayer gaming, or I'll want to fire up a movie on the second computer without quitting any full screen apps I might be running on the primary.

Holy moly, I'm really sorry for the lack of updates folks - I've been sick for quite a while and the weather has been miserable so I haven't had much time to work on the desk. Apparently I had cedar poisoning! Wonderful!

Anyways - back on track!

Those of you who guessed it right - yes, I shouldn't have made the hole in the first place. I don't know what I was thinking. This is the right-hand cabinet.

img5663h.jpg


Whoops!

img5664u.jpg


Here's the biscuit joiner I was using. It worked pretty well for what it is. The tricky part was determining the order of which pieces/faces/sides to glue first and how to keep it all from falling apart before completion.

img5667.jpg


img5668z.jpg


img5671p.jpg


img5672tw.jpg


Here's the left-hand cabinet all dried and ready for some trim

img5675c.jpg


And voila, my erm.. elegant clamping solution (I need to grab some cauls!)

img5676.jpg


img5677d.jpg


Hope you enjoy! Rest assured, this project WILL BE FINISHED! Just.. mm, I don't really know when. I'm moving in a month and a half, so all the staining/sanding will have to be done, at a minimum.

Take care!
 

ultimatedesk

New Member
Staining the Desk Surface

Coming together nicely, quite literally :)
Hehe, I see what you did there ;)

This part of the project took a better part of a month. There was a lot of sanding, waiting, and sweating as I put on each thin layer of polyurethane on the desk surface.

Here it is at the start of the phase - what a mess!

img5696e.jpg


img5697x.jpg


You can see there was still sanding to do from when I put in the wood filler back in... November!

img5699l.jpg


All cleaned up, ready to rock the stain. It was starting to get nice as well so it was time to lube up the 'ol bike chain as well!

img5871e.jpg


img5700gc.jpg


Part way through the first coat

img5874pe.jpg


Note that this is the bottom of the desk surface. I did this intially without any kind of pre-stain or wood treatment to see if I could get away with it.

img5876g.jpg


img5878t.jpg


I actually noticed a significant amount of dark spots and uneveness, so for the top of the desk, and for all future staining, I went with a pre-stain, and two coats of Old Masters Gel Stain. Here is the desk surface approximately a month later with around 8 coats of polyurethane on top. It will be getting a good ol fashion rubbing out in another month from now once it has fully cured.

img5959.jpg


Have a good weekend everyone!
 

ultimatedesk

New Member
Prepping the Upper Desk

omg that looks beautiful :eek:

That is something I didn't think I would end up saying...about a desk :p
lol, never thought I'd hear it either!

Looks great man! :)
Thanks!

i really like the shine and that the grain in the timber shows too. what kinda wood are you using?
It's maple-veneered plywood, with Old Masters Deep Red Mahogany Gel Stain (2 coats + gloss poly)

I want one! :D
Hehe, same here! ;)

So, with the main desk surface out of the way, it was time to start focusing on the top shelf portion, which, at this point, hadn't been sanded, cut perfectly, or assembled. Here were all the pieces required.

img5961.jpg


A quick mock up:

img5972.jpg


A few tests with the biscuit joiner to make sure I was aligned properly:

img5974j.jpg


img5978x.jpg


img5983n.jpg


I couldn't get it exactly in the center - the bottom of the joiner is a bit concave and it made lining it up a little difficult. The tool is generally used to join boards end to end, so there wasn't really any facility for on-face joining like this.

Assembly and glue up time:

img5987g.jpg


img5988.jpg


img5989b.jpg


Enjoy! You can never have too many clamps you know? I couldn't continue on doing the side pods until this stuff dried up first.
 
Top