Prototyping Desk

Although the desk is rather large, storage space is currently quite limited. I found that as I was working on the electrical, it was rather tedious having to juggle what's on the desk, what's on the floor, and what's in my hands. So taking a break from the electrical, I used some leftover 2x4's and plywood to construct a quick shelf. It's not ideal, but it works for now.

The 2x4 on the top linking the two supports was quite warped, and while I did my best with spacers to keep the platform level, it did end up a little sloped, but not too badly. The great thing about working with wood is it's cheap, easy to cut, and easy to put together. The problem with wood is it's heavy, and takes up a lot of room.

I don't have the tools to work with metal at this point, so for now I'll keep using wood. In the end, I'll probably replace the 2x4's with some steel or aluminum framing, and likely I'll integrate it with suspended monitors similar to this project.

When I first thought about this project, I immediately jumped into CAD and started modeling. I wanted to see how much I might expect to use in materials, what kind of orientation I would like, etc. The first models I made used a series of 3 individual desks. One desk was for electronics and more sensitive equipment. The 2nd was for drafting and storage. The third was for construction and meant to be rugged. In the end, I know I won't build them exactly as they appear in the model, so they are more to help provoke inspiration. For instance, it's way over-designed, there's no way I need that many 2x4's...Also some of them are in really weird spots like the one on the floor under the monitors.

(Also, how come there's no way to reorder project logs? I never uploaded this originally, but really it should be my first log...not the fourth)

Installing electrical is somewhat new for me, so I want to make sure I do it right. Ideally, the desk will plug in to a standard wall outlet. I've started by mounting some outlet receptacles on the legs, although I'm not 100% sure this is how I want to do it in the long run. I would prefer to mount all the electrical to the underside of the desk, this way it's self contained for when I have to move it.

The first outlet is a GFCI, just in case the outlet I'm plugging into is not.

I have an 8 port ethernet switch mounted above the 10 outlet power strip. This will connect to 2 - 2 port ethernet outlets, as well as the computer, and home network. The ethernet outlets are screwed directly into the frame, I cut two holes to let me feed the cables through.

The electrical and network wiring will probably be an ongoing thing, as I need to make room or come up with ways of making it better. Next step: Shelving

I wanted to be able to use the desk as I worked on it, so I brought it inside and set it up. I also added a 10 outlet power strip to an 8 foot 2x4 in the back to help with cord management until I get the electrical worked out. Next step: Electrical

Starting simple, I cut an 8x4 piece of 1/2" plywood and screwed it on top of a 2x4 frame for support. The open piece at the bottom right I eventually added two more pieces to make a triangle. I didn't want a 2x4 going across the large gap because that's where I would be sitting.

Originally I used four 2x4's bracketed to the frame for legs, but replaced the back two with 4x4s bolted through for increased stability. I am going to re-purpose the two back-legs for supports in the middle to help reduce sagging. I ended with a coat of stain, and 3 coats of polyurethane. Coming next, electrical and cable routing...

Edit: Since this post I've also replaced the two front legs because the brackets just weren't holding up very well to moving the desk around. I'm currently considering adding casters to all 4 legs because even though they're bolted through, they still are not are not solid enough for my likes. I also have two extra supports in the middle to keep it from sagging, and I'm not sure what to do with these (whether I should also get casters for them or if there's better solution.)