New Computer Desk

[Tedzed1]

That is looking splendid Col.

[Retired]

Hi,

Many thanks Paul much appreciated.

The oak sections received two more coats of brush applied polyurethane varnish finishing them off.

The drawers were given a coat of brush applied shellac then when dry lightly sanded; they will smell nice for many years to come and the shellac took the "whiteness" from the timber toning it down a bit.

I was in the garage very early this morning and applied the final coat of varnish. Next job was to visit my favourite store; Screwfix; I bought 7 each of 1 gang 13A MK switched sockets and 1 gang 30mm moulded boxes. It was a pleasure to take my time after dinner installing these. When I designed this desk I was certain the cables would be tidied up so designed the desk top section with a recess at the rear to accept these sockets; plugs and power supplies. I think 7 will be enough but there is room for more should the need arise. The desk top was then carried up into the bungalow out of harms way together with the drawers. This is a major section completed and I'm very pleased with it.

   
Power laid on.

At last I have some bench space and the Startrite combination machine is fully accessible; I had been using this as a table. Tomorrow I'll start work on the two base units which should be easier as the panels are already covered with Formica.

Quite a while ago my chum David (Yorkie) made and kindly gave me as a gift a large wooden block with abrasive paper attached; this abrasive block has really come into it's own during working on this desk; I'm amazed at how useful it is and it is rapidly becoming a favourite item which I'm using more and more. Whilst freehand sanding the softwood drawer sections using abrasive paper; I was going at a fair pace when suddenly I thought I had ripped my little finger off as I felt a tremendous pain; on inspection and ignoring the blood my finger had a huge splinter which had gone right through the finger tip pad and was sticking out both sides; if I hadn't been a big lad I'd have cried. Boy it smarted but I grabbed the thick end and pulled it free then came up into the bungalow to wash the wound and put some anti-septic on. I didn't want blood all over the bare wood.

This was most unexpected as it is something which usually happens to me whilst sanding plywood. After this I used David's block in safety.

It's been a glorious day today but it has flown by again.

Kind regards, Col.

[Joe]

It's like it always is, Col. You've done all that machining safely then get wounded with a bit of glass paper.

- Joe

[Retired]

Hi,

Thanks Joe, yes it is so easy to get caught out on something trivial and long may it remain so. My machines would take a good bite out of me given the least chance. I've never liked sanding wood as I usually end up with a splinter or two in my fingers just to cheer me up.

With my expensive Bosch random orbit sander behaving like a discus thrower on speed ejecting sanding discs I tried my Bosch standard orbit sander on the oak but it was a joke as the abrasive sheet wouldn't bite; I didn't want another perforated finger with a big splinter by hand sanding so I thought it time to take control.

I had a lot of sanding to do and it was time to bring on the heavy artillery; I pulled out the Stanley #80 cabinet scraper and soon had a pile of gossamer thin shavings at my feet. This gave me a good work out but it turned a miserable sanding job into a pleasure of a job and this scraper easily removed all the circular saw and planer marks leaving a surface requiring a light hand sanding.

       
Stanley #80 in action.

I was in the garage before 8.30 this morning and knocked off after 5pm. I've been machining oak and cutting biscuit slots all day; I'm short of time but I'll add more notes shortly to show progress.

Kind regards, Col.

[Joe]

If anybody has been inspired by this, Aldi have got biscuit-jointers coming in on Sunday at thirty quid.

- Joe

[AlanBeckett]

That's the one I've got - pinched off my mate Pete. It works fine.
Alan

[Radio Fixer]

I'm trying to give up on woodwork... when I got into 'old radio' I didnt appreciate I would do so much of it. Not that I can ever think of where I would have used a biscuit jointer on a cabinet. I have used dowels but they were there originally and just replacements.

Gary

[Yorkie]

Biscuit jointers are one of those tools that I thought would be a white elephant, but I've had one for about ten years and it's proved really useful. Much more so than a dowelling jig, because biscuit jointers allow some lateral movement before glueing the biscuits and clamping up. It's easy to set the depth accurately, and you don't need to worry too much about the lateral positioning. I made my bench top from cheap 6"x2" rough sawn timber which I planed smooth on my planer/surfacer, then used two rows of biscuits to join the lengths of timber together to make a solid bench top about 2ft wide. A quick and easy way to make a solid bench top. I've also used it to make furniture - a reproduction 'antique' (well 'old' really!) bookcase to match another than my younger son had for example. All of the timber was reclaimed from an old oak utility wardrobe.

Thirty quid for a 900Watt jointer with a three year warranty from ALDI? What's not to like about that?

[Geaney]

Col,

Great project - looks like this will be a serious piece of furniture. Not like the hasty desk I put together over a weekend - functional but nothing to look at as I'm sure you'll all agree


On the biscuit topic, I'd say that since biscuits come in standard sizes, their use implies certain minimum dimensions for the project at hand. Where the dimensions are large enough then they're great for ensuring accurate surface registration.

If you don't adhere to the minimum dimensions involved things can go wrong - see:

http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/whenb...gobad.aspx


In the case of radio cabs the general dimensions are too small so in my exprience there is no practical use for biscuit joints. Mind you, I've not done a large floor standing cab yet!

Can't wait to see the final desk.

Cheers, John

[Mark Hennessy]

Yes - another vote for biscuit jointers! I also bought a cheap one (from CPC), and it's proved to be very good. Normally I avoid buying very cheap tools, but I figured that if I used it a lot, I wouldn't mind trading up when the cheap one gave up the ghost. Last time I looked, the name-brand biscuit jointers are really very expensive, and compared to the supermarket specials I'm not yet convinced it's worth the outlay - especially for light DIY use. Time will tell...

Really enjoying this thread, Col - keep it up

I made a computer desk many years back, but nothing like this standard. To be fair, I had no woodworking tools at the time, so used screws and dowel joints, having had the MDF panels cut to size by the supplier. For the top, I used an offcut of 40mm breakfast bar - 900mm deep and over 6 foot long - it's basically the same size as a single bed! It's supported by a pair of plain MDF cupboards - nothing special to look at, but entirely functional. Some pictures of it in the old house here: http://www.mhennessy.f9.co.uk/decorating/bed3.htm - though for some reason the louvre doors hadn't been fitted at this point...

Must say that this thread has given me some ideas for its replacement

Mark