Need desk building advice

[Jim Bailey]

I've been thinking of building myself a new desk for my office. I've got a design in mind but it brings a couple of questions to mind, as I've never done a desk - lot's of cabinets and furniture of many kinds, but never something that is going to span probably 60" (by 30") without a whole lot of support.

(Actually I'd post a picture of one that's very similiar to what I want to do, as reference, but I hate to take the copyright beating and lectures that I know I'll get :) )

1. What I've got in mind has a mixture of white and black (possibly melamine) panels and wood - very modern looking. How would melamine hold up as a desktop ? It's easy enough to go ahead an laminate something but melamine was a thought, as an option.

1. I'm not planning any side drawers - only a pencil drawer. That's going to mean I'm spanning about 60" with only the support of that front partial panel (I believe thay call it a 'modesty' panel). Even if I set it back from the front a foot or so, that seems like minimal support for a 60" long

3/4" thick inch span. I hate something that sags over time. Double thickness for the top maybe ? I'm afraid that's going to make it so heavy I'll never move it !

Thoughts ?

jim

[RonB]

Post the picture. I don't think you can take a beating for showing us your inspiration piece. A lot of creativity starts with others ideas. If you are going to put a back panel or partial back panel it can help with some of your span concern.

RonB

[David]

Melamine is like non-stick surfaces on cookware. It's fine until it gets a scratch. Then in needs replacing. Wood you can refinish unless it's thin veneer.

Dave

[Jim Bailey]

OK - why not. It's posted to binaries. Thanks RonB.

jim

[dadiOH]

I'm sitting at my "down and dirty", temporary computer desk. I've used it daily for at least five years. The top is 3/4 PB with melamine. It is still good. One of these days I am going to make my permanent desk... ______________

Surely, you will have aprons under the top. If so, they will be entirely adequate for weight of the top (my temp one is 24" x 72"). The problem lies in the apron where the drawer is to be...they wind up pretty skinny where the drawer will be. The answer is to put in cross pieces each side of the drawer (between front and back aprons) and use them for drawer runners too.

Just looked at your picture. With end panels like those and that huge apron you have all the top support you would need for the top but personally I'd still put in the cross pieces. That way you can sit in the center of the top :)

I'd also make it longer than 60" unless you are really cramped for space...

-- dadiOH ____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06... ...a help file of info about MP3s, recording from LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that. Get it at

[alexy]

A laminate on plywood will be much stiffer than the typical melamine panel, which is MDF.

While using plywood will help, the real answer is a torsion box. It doesn't have to be all that thick to give you the stiffness you want. My desk only spans 48" between the pedestals, but has no modesty panel. It is 2-1/4" thick and has no give that I can detect when I plop my 200-lb derriere on the center of the span, even if I "bounce" on it. It is made from two pieces of 1/2" plywood, over a core of

1/8"(?)x1-1/4" stirps in a 8" grid.

Mine is probably overbuilt, since I don't have the knowledge to engineer it properly. Maybe someone else here does, or can point you to something like the sagulator, but for torsion boxes.

[Robatoy]

In article , "Jim Bailey" wrote: [snipped for brevity]

I quite like the design. It shouldn't be that hard to build either.

Put laminate on top with wood trim. melamine, even the 120-gram stuff is not really designed to be a continuous wear surface. Shelves, which are more passive are okay, but in a few years, melamine will show it's use.

Having said that, I have a melamine top on my office desk, and it has held up well. I have, however, seen others which didn't fare as well.

[Robatoy]

*slaps self for grammatical blunder*

will show ITS use....jeeeeeeeezzzz

[Swingman]

Danm, Bubba ... if it's bothers you that much, their is a solution ... plonk yourslelf!

DAMHIKT ;)