New Computer Desk

[Retired]

Hi,

Many thanks Tony; I'm pleased you liked the video. As you know Tony in America they go over the top on workshop kit and to rub it in it is much cheaper in America than over here; it was a few years ago when I used to check so I assume this to be still the same. Bron and I used to like watching “This old house” and “ New Yankee workshop” both American long running TV series. Norm Abram wasn't just a master craftsman but an excellent teacher; I picked up lots of advice and trips from watching his shows.

http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/tv/history

http://www.newyankee.com/index.php?id=48

Thank you for your kind comments David they are much appreciated and I hope I can follow through. I still find many of my projects to be daunting because they all tend to be different forcing me to think things through rather than simply repeat previous processes. Anyone could do what I do as it only comes down to practice over many years and making most of the mistakes that can be made. I enjoy such work and see it more of a challenge than a chore. It's not like me but I've been very slow to get stuck into this desk project and at first lacked enthusiasm mostly due to the lousy weather which continues to upset me.

Your 6” surface planer is actually a good size David for a small home workshop and if this is coupled up to a decent saw bench by using both together rough sawn timber can be dimensioned reasonably quickly using the technique I outlined earlier. For serious work hand planing just doesn't cut it; hand planing is hard work and requires a lot of skill if long surfaces are to brought to right angles to each other; getting one right angle is difficult enough to give a face side and face edge but to plane a true square or rectangle over say eight feet in length would I fear prevent most people from making anything in timber; softwood is easier but timbers like Sapele with interlocking grain that runs in opposite directions every inch or so across a board is enough to cause nightmares. Such timber ends up with strips of alternating dead smooth and ripped up. I once bought Maple flooring from an old local mill with the intention of making some cheap furniture when Bron and I first married; I couldn't even cut this using a hand saw and the hand plane simply skated across the surface; I gave it away for firewood.

Light cuts is the way to go as you rightly say David with the lighter machines. A good workman respects his tools/machines and any power tool that is labouring is being abused. Cutters must be sharp and everything kept in good condition and in adjustment; an oil can is a must but oil should never be allowed to contaminate metal to metal clamping faces; the large fence assembly on the Startrite moulder springs to mind here; if this fence was allowed to move whilst timber was being fed into the high speed cuter head a serious accident could occur. For many years I never liked routers but recently I've made friends with my very cheap (£15 new) B&D 1/4” router and I'm finding it of immense use whilst working on this desk. I used to have plenty of space until I filled it with my toys.

Yesterday I felt hot in the afternoon but this morning I felt perished and just didn't want to venture into the garage; the wind was bitterly cold and cut through me. I did however visit “Boards” and bought four lengths of softwood 1” x 4” to use initially as saw and router guides and later as the desk takes shape as drawer sides. From Boards I popped into my favourite store “Screwfix” and bought two 500ml cans of Evo Stik impact adhesive and also 1ltr of Resin W Weatherproof adhesive these setting me back £27.97. Then it began to rain. After dinner I stopped sulking and put my best clothes on and went into the garage as it had stopped raining and had warmed up a bit; with my coat on I soon settled down to some work. I spent a couple of happy hours cutting the MDF and Formica to length; I had already cut them to width.

Fed up with working on the garage floor I wheeled out the Startrite combination machine and used the remaining piece of MDF to make a nice big table. This was sheer luxury; being able to work at waist height in comfort. I used the newly bought softwood as clamps to sandwich both the previously ripped MDF and Formica; cutting the MDF to finished length for the four desk sides using the big Skil-saw and the Formica extra long for later trimming with the router. Care will be needed to remove all the dust from these before glue up as I don't want to see any little mountains in the Formica after it is glued into position.

       
Cutting MDF and Formica to length.

Cleaning the car then having a bath finished the afternoon off. Tomorrow I think I'll be attempting to attach the Formica to the MDF panels which reminds me; I intended to cut a lot of strips of 6mm MDF to use during glue up but forgot to do this. Once the panels are completed then perhaps I can relax a bit and make a start on the oak framework.

Kind regards, Col.

       
MDF and Formica now ready for glue up.

[Retired]

Hi,

It was cold again in the garage this morning so I didn't want to tackle gluing the laminate as I would need the garage doors open to release the fumes from the contact adhesive. I got everything ready for the glue up though. I had forgotten to buy wooden dowels to use for glue separators which would keep the laminate and MDF apart until everything was aligned after applying the glue.

   
Bench cleared for action

I pulled out a 2' square piece of 6mm MDF and setting the saw bench at 18mm ran 19 strips off. All the sharp edges needed sanding so my chum David came to my aid as David had very kindly made me a long sanding block quite a while ago and this made a a quick job of it unlike trying to sand with a bit of hand held abrasive paper. All were then dusted off.

   
MDF glue separator strips and David's excellent sanding block.

Whilst in the garage I had a look at one of the tins of Evo Stik and noted the coverage was stated at one surface 2.8 square metres with half this for two surfaces which I would be doing. Now the question was did I have enough adhesive and to make matters worse I only had one foam 4” roller. A trip to Screwfix solved this as I bought another 500ml of Evo Stik and also bought a 5 pack of foam rollers. I didn't want to run out of glue in the middle of a panel or drop the only roller I had onto the garage floor; better safe than sorry.

Again David's sanding block came in handy as I used it to lightly sand all the MDF panels removing any roughness left by the saw and to provide a key for the glue; the Formica panels were also sanded around the cut edges to remove any bits. The bench was cleared and everything dusted down.

       
Light sanding and laminate roller.

Wow; the sun came out after dinner and it warmed up so I was in business. With the garage doors open I still had my coat on and decided to tackle the desk top panel first as this was the largest panel and if this went OK the others would be much easier. Having watched the “You tube” video I was looking forward to rolling the Evo Stik Impact Adhesive on with ease; 30 years ago I used a brush for a similar job and didn't like doing it. As on the video I poured a quantity of adhesive onto the Formica and set about rolling it out; this proved highly stressful and I simply found it impossible to use the roller as it was making the job a gooey sticky mess leaving everything patchy. I must admit I wasn't sure what roller had been used in the video so assumed a foam roller would be OK; well it wasn't and my stress was going off the scale. Supplied with the adhesive was a toothed plastic spreader so the roller was dumped out of the way and the spreader was just as bad; this adhesive was terrible to spread and it was gelling much too quickly; near to panic I rushed up into the bungalow and grabbed a 1.5” paint brush. Like 30 years ago using a brush to apply this adhesive certainly was not a pleasant job but eventually I coated all ten panels (5 MDF & 5 Formica). I'm glad the doors were open or I would have been glue sniffer of the year.

Now came the moment of truth; a mistake whilst aligning the MDF and Formica for the desk top could prove expensive. The MDF panel was resting on the Startrite combination woodworker and I placed MDF strips onto the adhesive knowing they would not stick as this adhesive only sticks to itself. The Formica was very easy to align and the middle strip was gently pulled out ensuring the Formica didn't lose alignment; the rubber roller was used to press the Formica into contact with the MDF and then the rest of the strips were removed one at a time allowing the Formica to go down flat without air bubbles.

   
Desk top panel ready for Formica.

I had allowed rather too much extra size on the Formica; 1/2” extra all around when in fact 1/4” all around would have been much better. Too much overhanging Formica is just asking for trouble whilst rolling under pressure; one slip off the panel would destroy the overhang leaving a ragged edge. Fortunately I realized this before I did any damage. Not wanting any air gaps in the glue joint especially around the edges I went mad in applying roller pressure; so much so in fact that the roller became quite hot. At last the Formica was laid and I could move on to the other four smaller panels; by now I was hot and bothered so removed my coat and really got stuck into the other panels doing these on the bench. One thing I quickly picked up on was the sound as I rolled; at first there was a lot of “cracking” sounds as the roller was forced hard into contact with the laminate but after a few passes of the roller all would be quiet indicating the joint had gone together.

I was delighted to have finally put this job behind me and I could stand back to inspect my handiwork. This Formica looks wonderful. The instructions on the adhesive tin say that the adhesive should be left for 24 hours to cure but I wasn't happy with this because the Formica overhang on each panel was just waiting to become damaged so I decided to have a go at removing this excess using the router. With a flush cutting bearing guided cuter installed into the router I actually found this part of the job very rewarding; the router did a brilliant job in bringing the Formica flush; the adhesive tended to pile up in places but was easy enough to remove with a thumb nail then the router was put around again just to ensure everything was indeed flush as intended. The hardest part of routing was securing the panels as they just wanted to skate around and again I was afraid of causing damage to the overhang. Clamps and packing were a slow way to go but worth the effort giving me five lovely panels ready for an oak frame to be added. Please note these panels are still covered with a clear plastic film and it is this film that is scratched by the router base and not the actual laminate; the film will remain in place until the desk is completed as it affords protection to the laminate.

   
Top panel Formica in place.

I wandered up into the bungalow for a pot of tea and Bron accompanied me back into the garage to see what I had been up to. The garage looked a bit of a mess after all the routing but was soon cleaned up. Bron also liked the new panels and is looking forward to me installing the new work surfaces in the kitchen. In the end I only used one 500ml tin of adhesive leaving two tins for use on the kitchen work surfaces. When I picked up the foam roller it was bone dry without a sign of adhesive on it?

   
What a relief; success at last.

As with every project I do some things are easier than others to do but I can honestly say applying impact adhesive with a paint brush isn't my idea of fun. I need to do a bit more research before my next laminating job; what adhesive is used and what type of roller to apply it with; it looked so easy on the video but as usual I have to learn a new technique the hard way.

These panels are a major feature of the new desk and having successfully made them I feel a lot more confident that the desk will eventually turn out well. Next job is to make the oak frames and this should prove interesting as the frames need to be very accurate to accommodate the panels without ugly gaps at the joints.

Kind regards, Col.

[Mark R]

Looking good Col!

cheers Mark

[Retired]

Hi,

Thanks Mark; it's progressing slowly.

I was in the garage early this morning keen to make some good progress. First job was to get everything into position and move things out of the way; the parts of this desk take up quite a bit of space and I don't want to damage any of them.

I set up the Startrite again as a work table and placed upon it the new desk top panel with Formica down. Next the oak was roughly arranged which would form the outer frame. I wasn't in a hurry and juggled the oak around for best results avoiding splits and planer snipe then I very carefully marked the length where the mitres would fall.

       
Rough frame layout and hardwood hazard.

It's extremely important to ensure mitres are cut the correct way; it is infuriating to end up with a mitre cut in the wrong direction and in this instance would prove costly as the oak is expensive and I don't have any spare to play around with. It only takes a few seconds to indicate with a pencil the way the cut should go and to mark the waste side of the cut. Marking the waste side of the cut with cross hatching might appear over the top but to cut on the wrong side of a pencil mark will give a length 1/8” shorter than wanted due to the saw kerf. (Width of saw cut). 1/8” doesn't sound much but this amount would look huge in a mitre joint rendering the length unusable. I'm going on at length about this because it is so important to be perfectly clear when it comes to machining timber. I check and double check and I can still make silly mistakes.

   
Which way to cut.

I've owned the Evolution compound mitre saw now for a couple of years but seldom used it as it was a pain kneeling on the garage floor due to lack of bench space. I recently sold my industrial Wadkin chop saw so now I could set up the saw on the bench at last and use it in comfort. I'm not used to using this saw at all so it is another learning curve for me. The saw is fitted with a laser for alignment but I only use this as a rough guide and certainly don't trust it for precision cutting. Using this saw I found cutting the first mitre difficult as the saw was slow going through the oak leaving a ragged cut; I cut the mating half of the mitre and although this would possibly be acceptable for DIY on a less demanding project it wasn't acceptable to me. The cut wandered slightly and splinters were produced so work on the desk stopped abruptly as I can do much better than this; I needed to get to know this saw and set it up for accurate work otherwise it was going on eBay. I bought the saw brand new costing over £150 and it is a new generation saw having a huge cutting capacity of 3” x 12” and not only does it cut timber this saw cuts steel.

   
Poor mitre joint.

It didn't take long to remove the chip limiting special Evolution 255mm tipped blade. At first I was baffled how the blade could be released as the bottom blade guard was preventing it; I then noticed the guard activating arm was attached to a pivot secured with a spring clip; this arm was released and the blade removed easily. The blade was blunt and this is down to the saw only ever being used to cut metal and I'm not surprised it is dull because one job I did was to cut a lump of 5” diameter cast iron using it; the saw manufacturers were amazed when I sent them pictures of the cast iron. I do not recommend others to follow my lead because I have been trained in mechanical engineering and the cast iron was securely clamped into position on the saw otherwise such a cut would be highly dangerous.

I didn't want to use the Startrite combination machine saw-bench to cut the mitres or the big Startrite band-saw; I wanted to set this Evolution saw up once and for all so now was the time to sort it out. I'm sure there will be a vast improvement once a new blade is installed and here I must point out I'm practising what I preach; keep all tools and cutters sharp. I hadn't realized the blade was blunt because it still cut steel OK otherwise it would have been changed earlier.

I came up into the bungalow and browsed the Screwfix catalogue; circular saw blade selection was limited to fit this saw but I noticed a Titan blade that would be OK so I went online to check availability; whilst checking I decided to register with Screwfix so that I could order online then collect in store. Wow; what a surprise this blade had been reduced in price from £16.02 to £5.99. I ordered three. Unfortunately I have to wait until tomorrow afternoon to collect them but this isn't a hardship especially as I'm saving so much money.

It was pointless trying to carry on with the desk so after dinner I decided to set up the Evolution saw giving it a permanent home on the bench. This sounds much easier than it actually was because the saw protruded much too far in front of the bench to be bolted down to the bench permanently and it would damage the car so a solution was needed. After a great deal of thought and a bit of experimenting I found I could swivel the saw to allow it to be used then parked out of the way. A few quick measurements were taken and I found I had a perfect piece of thick chipboard that could have been made to measure requiring no cutting whatsoever. Four holes were drilled to accept 8mm bolts for the saw feet. Two strips of timber were cut to lift the chipboard clear of the bolt heads then a bit more experimenting gave me the point to drill through the chipboard and bench top for the pivot bolt.

       
Underside of sub table and two locking nuts on pivot.

A 10mm bolt was used for the pivot and installed using large pan washers and a pair of locking nuts. The nuts were adjusted to give a friction fit allowing the saw to be turned without play. It was a tight fit but the ends of the guide bars just cleared the wall and when parked there was only a couple of inches clearance at the central heating boiler but this pleased me as the saw was now found a home and could be used at will. I think it's turned into a blessing that the blade was blunt as I've finally got the saw sorted out; hopefully a new blade will give the desired results and I'll update in due course.

       
In cutting position and parked out of the way.

To round the day off Bron asked me where the ladder was which I used to climb over the garden wall onto the lane. I said I had stored it in the bushes against the wall bottom out of sight. It was out of sight all right as it had been stolen; what a society we live in when a low life steals such a ladder and of course no one sees it being stolen. With my luck an insurance lawyer will be contacting me to drag me into court because the low life has suffered an accident whilst using it; life is truly wonderful.

Kind regards, Col.

[Retired]

Hi,

Screwfix did well and the three new blades were waiting for collection as promised. It did make a difference to the cut quality but not as big a difference as I would have liked. For this kind of work an 80T blade would be much better but Screwfix didn't stock such a blade with a 25mm bore although now I've bought the new blades I could buy an 80T blade as spacers were supplied with these blades taking the 25mm up to 30mm; normally I would simply turn a spacer but both my engineering lathes are in bits.

This Evolution mitre saw is excellent for general work but for high precision it leaves a lot to be desired as there is play in the saw mounting head that would be difficult to eradicate. I don't like compromise in my projects but unfortunately if I want to progress I'll have to accept it; the saw cut is a lot better than it was but compared to my previous industrial Wadkin it demonstrates the difference between made to a high standard and down to a price. The Wadkin was cast iron whereas this Evolution is aluminium. I'm not grumbling about the Evolution saw; far from it because for the price it is a decent bit of kit and it would be grossly unfair of me to compare it on the same level as the industrial Wadkin.

I spent ages yesterday just cutting the four mitre joints for the desk top oak surround (frame). I did my best and the joints although not perfect would suffice. This morning I was keen to make a start so was in the garage just after 9 o'clock. It was cold and windy outside so I was in my coat again which I dislike whilst playing around with machinery.

After all the preliminary work; dreaming up the desk design; gathering information then buying the materials and setting up the garage once again for cabinetwork I've finally reached the interesting part where results can be seen. I've spent the day fitting the oak surround to the desk top and this has been bad on my nerves but before I show the results of my labour I would like to introduce members who have never seen or heard of a biscuit joiner to the delights of such a power tool.

Bron bought me this biscuit joiner from “Sargents Tools (Mail order) Ltd trading as Tabwell Tools in Bakewell. It was my Christmas present from my lovely Bron and it was an expensive one at the time costing £99.99 with 1,000 free biscuits. The power tool is a Freud JS 100A and was bought when we visited Tabwell Tools on 29- 12- 92. The details supplied with the tool describe it as a Freud Joiner Machine which uses “splines” these splines are also called biscuits or plates.

       
Freud JS100A in its case and close up.

Bron asked me what I would like her to buy me for Christmas and at that time I was installing our solid hardwood kitchen which was incredibly slow going as we had little money; a huge mortgage and I was scrounging lots of Meranti offcuts. £99.99 was a great deal of money to us at that time. I had only just completed cutting the joints for the upper wall unit doors; 7 doors giving 28 mortice and tenon joints. For cutting the mortices I had set up a 3/4HP 3.000rpm 2 pole electric motor with a metal sleeve to fit snugly onto the motor shaft and the other end of the sleeve to accept an engineering four flute end milling cutter (£11 cutter). The motor was mounted upon a sturdy wooden box and a wooden worktable was added allowing freehand feeding of the timber to be jointed into the revolving cutter. This worked very well considering it was home made and gave good accuracy. The tenons were all cut by hand using a tenon saw and the shoulders were trimmed to exact size using a Stanley shoulder plane; I'll never ever forget how laborious my first attempts at woodworking were; I used to suffer blisters to my hands and these 28 joints occupied me fully for two days.

I had already bought scrap machinery and was restoring these during evenings and weekends. The machines were cast iron industrial types with flat belt drives. Working at Brook Motors I obviously was in the perfect place to either scrounge single phase motors from our No8 Spares & Repair Department or at times would buy motors at reduced prices I also received a works discount from our Wakefield factory that made control gear; on top of this I was forever raiding the scrap bins and one of the electricians would occasionally put together a motor NVR (No volt release) starter for me from scrap. £1 in those days was a lot of money to us so anything I could get my hands on that wasn't smoking and free I grabbed. I converted a 9” cast iron surface planer from 3 phase to single phase as I did with a very big cast iron saw bench; both these machines were also converted by me from flat belt to “V” belt drive and rigged up with proper starters; all this didn't happen overnight; our friends were going abroad on holiday and we remained at home working on our home.

With these machines fully restored then I could visit our local timber yards for offcuts and I could get a car load of sawn Meranti for £20 this Meranti being in lots of different sizes looking like firewood. Put through the saw and planer though and the Meranti came to life; I obtained a very crude attachment to fit the planer; this was an adjustable metal plate turning the planer into a rough and ready thicknesser which worked but it was incredibly hard labour forcing the Meranti through by hand.

So I had a basic selection of machines enabling accurate dimensioning of timber but I still spent forever cutting mortice and tenon joints. Even with the new set up it took two days to cut the door joints and as I was next going to make 7 similar doors for the base units I gladly accepted Bron's offer of a Christmas present and she kindly bought the biscuit joiner for me.

I had all the Meranti for the 7 doors dimensioned and cut to length ready for the joints adding and I'll always remember Bron popping into the workshop saying dinner will be ready in about an hour. In that hour I cut all 28 door joints using the biscuit joiner and even tidied up before dinner was ready. What a revelation this power tool was and at the risk of being boring I'll add details of this remarkable tool.

http://www.right-tool.com/freudfixfenb.html

There are two types of biscuit joiner; sliding and pivot head; mine is a sliding head. It is a dedicated single function power tool which only cuts half oval shaped slots into timber or board materials. It is best described as an angle grinder fitted with a small TC blade of a very precise thickness. The sliding head is fitted with an adjustable fence up or down only and for some jobs such as I've done today the fence section can be removed completely. In use the blade at rest is totally retracted from the front face and this affords a great deal of safety to the operator. The motor unit is spring loaded so that when not in cutting mode the spring retracts the blade. To each end of the blade fitted into the face are two very sharp points which engage the material being cut to prevent the blade deflecting the tool as the cut is brought on. Depth of cut on the slide head is fully adjustable to accommodate three different sizes of biscuits. The depth of cut needs to be adjusted to give just over half the maximum depth of the biscuit chosen; this ensures the biscuit doesn't bottom out before the joint fully closes.

   
Aligned ready to cut.

The tool is simplicity itself to set up and use and I must add; mistakes can be made as I've made the usual ones over the years. These mistakes are not safety related but due to the sheer ease of using the tool as only two small marks are required for each joint and believe me it is incredibly easy to cut a slot in the wrong face or edge.

As I'm using this tool throughout this project I can expand on cutting a joint and also give pictures in the hope that this clarifies what I'm trying to explain. Take for example this desk top. It has a centre panel of 18mm MDF but this is faced with 0.7mm thick Formica. The heavy oak panel surround (frame) is much thicker than the panel at around 30mm thick. The frame members are 3” wide (75mm). These oak frame members are bowed due to sresses being released during dimensioning which is normal but cause a number of problems.

   
Showing amount of lift due to bowing.

It is imperative to ensure everything is accurately aligned then the positions of the joints need marking. Two pencil lines are all that are required to mark each joint but here is the problem; it is ever so easy to misinterpret these pencil marks once the parts are removed from the whole; I've cut joints in the edge when in fact they should be cut in the face; clear identification is needed or for sure this mistake will be repeated many times; I can still get caught out. Now for the actual cutting. I set up a large sheet of 18mm MDF onto the Startrite combination machine allowing me to use it as a table with full access to all four sides. For my own sanity I decided to cut the joints with the parts upside down (Inverted).

   
Biscuit slot cutting.

The joints had been clearly marked and the parts clearly identified for quick positioning during assemble; no ambiguity is allowed here or trouble will ensue once assembly begins and everything is wet with glue. The MDF panel was easy to press into close contact with the table. The blade height of the joiner didn't need adjusting as it was perfect without the height fence attached; the tool would be used sitting on the table whilst being plunged into the material. The panel was clamped to the table to prevent it sliding around and within a few minutes one row of slots had been cut. I did spend ages checking and double checking that the panel was face side down as would be the oak. The slots in all four edges of the panel were cut then once again the frame was placed back in position but this time ensuring the face side of the frame was down onto the table. I checked this many times because a mistake here would cost oak and a lot of time.

       
All slots cut in frame and showing how biscuits are installed.

The oak was clamped to the table and again with the tool sitting on the table the slots were quickly cut ensuring the blade cut to full depth each time. I was worried about the bow in the oak and took a lot of trouble pressing the oak onto the table before commencing each cut; any lifting from the table by the oak would give a slot at the wrong height. I was now settling to the job of cutting the slots and all was well in my world until a neighbour decided to knock on the garage doors destroying my concentration. No I hadn't seen the two fox cubs but I would keep a look out for them and thanks for letting me know; I showed the neighbour what I was doing after all this is what he came to find out in the first place having heard me running the machines and seeing materials being delivered. This completely shattered my concentration and the last few slots took a lot of time because it is usually at such times I make stupid mistakes. Today I didn't make a mistake and cut all the slots perfectly.

Inverting the panel and frame onto the flat table allowed me to use the table with the utmost confidence that the slots would all be perfectly aligned for height. Please note the slots in the frame are off-centre; this is the area where silly mistakes creep in and must be guarded against.

At last I could proceed to glue up. Biscuits are made from compressed beech with an hatched embossed pattern across both faces; these are very dry and must be stored dry. In use; water based wood working glue is used; the glue is spread liberally into the slots and onto the joint butting faces; biscuits are inserted and if tight will need gently tapping home with a hammer ensuring they are centred in the slot then the joint is closed and securely clamped until the glue fully dries which takes about four hours but is better left if possible overnight as I am doing with the desk top. The wet glue expands the biscuits creating a very strong joint indeed

I used my home made sash cramps and applied a great deal of pressure to pull the mating faces up tight; protection was added to the oak to prevent damage. I hope I've covered most of the relevant details. These biscuit joiners are absolutely brilliant for this type of work and indispensable for anyone serious about making and installing their own units whether they be for a kitchen; wardrobe or even furniture as in this case. I can highly recommend a biscuit joiner; it might sit in its case for a couple of years unused between jobs but boy is it a valuable tool when needed in earnest. More joints will be shown as work progresses.

   
Glued and clamped waiting for glue to dry. fingers crossed.

The desk top is looking OK and although the joints are not perfect I think the desk once completed will be worth all the TLC involved in making it.

Kind regards, Col.

[Retired]

Hi,

Work on the desk stopped until yesterday due to the miserable; cold and dark weather so I've been sulking.

The desk is to be fitted with a row of drawers just under the top surface and yesterday I concentrated on making the lower frame to support the three drawers. It's slow going because I've not made any furniture for a long while and it is so easy to make silly mistakes whilst marking and cutting materials. Selecting mitre joints for the corners certainly isn't taking the easy option as these need careful aligning.

I found it an impossible task trying to align all the frame joints with the pieces loose on the table so as an aid I clamped one long piece to the table making the job much easier. Once the mitres had been cut then the two centre pieces could be cut to length and the spacing worked out. Biscuit joints were again used throughout.

   
Checking for fit.

As I get more used to the big Evolution mitre saw I'm gradually obtaining better and more precise cuts as can be seen in the picture of the mitre. Before cutting the saw is checked with a 45 degree set square between fence and blade; the table has a number of indents pre set at various angles but the table can also be locked at any desired angle to give good accuracy. This takes longer but is worth the time spent.

   
Better mitre cut.

One major problem with using mitres in frame construction is clamping during glue up and getting alignment just right; it looks simple in the picture but to ensure the joints mate correctly takes a lot of adjusting; If I had a big table with many holes to accept individual clamps then clamping would be simple but I have to make do with what I have to hand.

   
Frame glued and clamped.

The frame has been left clamped overnight and after dinner I'll resume work on the desk; the desk top and this frame will need to be joined taking a fair bit of work because exposed ends will require oak lipping and the two end panels will require Formica. There is still a lot to do but the work is interesting and tomorrow we are forecast some global warming at last so perhaps I can work without wearing a coat; now that would be something.

Kind regards, Col.

[Yorkie]

Great progress Colin - the desktop will look great, indeed it already does!

What a wonderful bit of kit biscuit jointers are.

[Retired]

Hi,

Many thanks for your continued encouragement David; it is much appreciated.

Yes David; a biscuit joiner is a handy bit of kit and a power tool that isn't in constant use but boy it is useful when needed as in this desk project and I'm making good use of it.

Progress is steady but with each session I can see where I've been. We had a friend visiting us yesterday so I only managed a couple of hours in the garage but I did some useful work making the two top side panels and the two inner drawer dividers. The two outer panels needed to be laminated with the Formica then the oak ends fitting. The two inner panels are merely MDF with a single oak end each. The two end panels are full width but the two inner panels are shorter as I'm adding a recess to accept the supply sockets and plugs; extra depth is allowed for cable storage; this will become clear later in the project.

       
Routing Formica and top side panel components.

First job today was to visit the timber yard again for a single length of softwood; this will form the back of the recess for the electricals. I thought I would get cracking early and set off just after 8 o'clock this morning; this was a mistake as the roads were extremely busy so obtaining this bit of timber took an hour.

It's been a scorcher weather wise and I've enjoyed a few happy hours working on the desk. Even with a biscuit joiner I found it took ages sorting out how to cut the slots and the first three were cut wrongly but these are under the top panel so no harm was done other than to annoy myself.

       
Top sides and drawer dividers and new drawer compartments under-way.

The ends and drawer dividers are now fully installed and next job will be to cut the biscuit joints and add the lower oak frame; I thought I would be heading for disaster trying to cut all the slots whilst the pieces were loose and flat on the bench; I've been caught out too many times trying to speed such a job up so a bit extra time won't hurt.

Kind regards, Col.

[Retired]

Hi,

Yesterday I made good progress much to my relief. The top and under frame needed to be brought together and biscuit joints were used throughout. In order to prevent ending up with a lot of scrap oak and Formica this job was done in two parts. The first part was to add the two end panels; two drawer dividers and the rear cross member to the underside of the desk top using biscuits.

It looks very easy to simply attach the lower oak frame using biscuits but in fact it is very difficult unless this type of work is carried out frequently. It is extremely easy to cut biscuit slots in the wrong position so I had to devise a fool proof way of adding the slots. For butt joints two pencil marks are added in the joint centre position and with the pencil marks uppermost the joint is very easily cut. Now add two pencil marks for a joint where an edge is to be joined to a face and not just one joint but in this case twelve of them.

       
Method of aligning joint and a difficult joint made easy.

The sole of the biscuit joiner needs to be positioned so that both slots align perfectly in both directions; lengthwise is easy but across the biscuit can prove difficult and at times frustrating to get right. Once the pencil marks are added and the parts separated things quickly get out of hand and in a pair of big sections like these there is a lot of room for error. Some slots were in line with members but others fell across members.

   
Biscuit slots cut.

Gluing the members to the underside of the desk top worked out very well indeed. I placed the top face side down onto the MDF table leaving the members standing upright; the lower oak frame was then very accurately positioned ensured this too was placed face down and all the upright members were drawn around using a pencil leaving the shape and before separating all the joint positions were clearly marked. A lot of time was spent doing this as a single slot in the wrong place would spell disaster. On the upright members a strip of wide MDF was attached at each joint using quick release clamps; this ensured the joint was truly straight but it was difficult at first to keep alignment because activating the joiner switch was awkward and once power was applied the joiner gave a strong kick as it isn't soft start. With a little practice I soon grasped what was wanted and with the MDF guide in place could cut two slots very quickly by switching the joiner on before locating it; the sawdust covered me but I carried on.

The top side of the oak frame was much easier as a wooden straight-edge could be aligned and these slots were cut at speed. Not being brave enough to add glue a dry test fit was important and it came as a total relief to see the two parts come together perfectly with every biscuit perfectly aligned and where it should be. Glue up followed. Plenty of water based woodworking adhesive was added to the slots and brushed well in and before pushing the biscuit into the slot the biscuit was also coated with glue.

   
Biscuits added dry for test fit.

Before assembly a lot of time was spent sanding. At first my Bosch random orbit sander was tried and this was a rather expensive machine when bought years ago but is now just a load of junk; it throws sanding pads off with ease rendering it useless due to the hook and loop pad attachment; I've no intention of spending around £16 to buy a new base for the sander only for this to fail at some future time; when I get some spare time I'll try to add a new home made base to accept glued pads.

I resorted to using my old but trusty Bosch standard orbit sander with the abrasive sheet mechanically clamped in place. Unfortunately this causes as much work a it saves because it leaves deep swirl marks which are a real pain to hand sand out. I did so much hand sanding yesterday that I suffered a lot of pain in both arms and shoulders last night in bed.

       
Underside of top and new drawer openings.

I'm pleased the two sections went together so well and next job is to make the three drawers; this top section will be completed and finished before work starts on the two bottom sections. The Formica panel still retains its protective film which will remain in place until finish is applied to the oak frame.

   
New desk top still with protective film on Formica.

Kind regards, Col.

[Retired]

Hi,

The desk top section is almost finished just requiring more coats of varnish. The three drawers were time consuming to make then hand fit into their respective openings. With the drawers sliding nicely Formica was then added to their fronts and routed using a flush cutting bit. The router bit leaves a razor sharp edge on Formica so the edges were softened using abrasive paper.

       
Drawers fitted and Formica added.

At last I was happy to remove the protective film from the Formica revealing its beauty. Time was spent dusting everything down then masking tape was added around the Formica panels and the first coat of Matt Polyurethane Varnish was laid on with a brush. Two more coats of varnish will be applied then the 13A sockets will be fitted before bringing the top into the bungalow out of harms way.

   
One coat of varnish applied to the oak framework.

It's looking good so far and certainly built to last many years.

Kind regards, Col.