Particleboard Desk

Our son recently turned into a teenager. We thought he should have his own teen cave. It literally became a cave. Constantly exposed to new ideas, social situations and people, teenagers' personalities and interests change from day to day. In people's lives, this period lasts 5-6 years. This is a short period. Most of the things acquired and accumulated at that time are not worth buying the best quality and most expensive ones, since a significant part of them will become victims of the garage sale after a few years. That's why I chose laminated particleboard to make your furniture. I know I'm losing a lot of readers at this point because people look down on this material. Not durable enough, harmful to health, bad cutting lines, etc. However, like it or not, it has its place in the furniture world.

Designing a table for a teenager is not an easy task. You need a work surface that is suitable for your studies and your hobbies. In addition, a sufficient amount of storage space must be provided to serve the above. The design of the table should suit it personality in a way that does not offend the parents' taste. Our child has a wide range of interests. He play music, sports, makes models, draws and in addition to all this, studies mechatronics technology. All of this requires a large table. First, I designed a solid wood desk on paper in about ten minutes. It turned out very spectacular, my child liked it immediately. The disadvantage is that it is very expensive, it takes a long time to complete, and its use of space is not optimal due to its unique shape. That's why I designed a simpler one with Tinkercad.

• drilling machine
• screw driver
• Lamello machine
• Festool Domino or trimming machine with router mortising jig
• table circular saw
• 3.5 mm drill bit
• 35 millimeter drill bit
• brush or iron (not steaming)
• manual end trimmer or utility knife
• double edge trimmer or chisel
• hammer
• rubber mallet
• clamps
• cabinet box clamp (Carcass clamp)
• ruler
• right angle
• adjustable protractor
• pencil

The desk, designed on paper, evokes the shape of Japanese Torii gates. I tried to make this shape out of melamine particle board. At first glance, it doesn't seem stable. Looks can be deceiving. The back of the table (modesty panel) is made of 18 millimetre (¾ inch) particle board. This part carries the load and leads it to the floor on the angled side panels (legs). To be absolutely sure of the stability, I made a test piece. Particleboard furniture looks better by combining two colors. I chose Wood Line Cream and Wood Line Mocca 18 millimetre (2/3 inch).

Switch to ortographic view!

With the Tinkerkedes plans, I defined the visuals and the proportions. I corrected the dimensions during production. Based on these, the following size parts are needed:

Wood Line Cream

• 1518×598 millimetre 1 piece top
• 664×530 millimetre 2 piece console legs (Rough-cut it longer.)
• 664×549 millimetre 2 piece legs (Rough-cut it longer.)
• 412×530 millimetre 2 piece drawer case top (Rough-cut it longer.)
• 412×530 millimetre 2 piece   drawer case bottom (Rough-cut it longer.)
• 1658×248 millimetre 1 piece   shelf

Wood Line Mocca

• 1464×662 millimetre 1 piece   modesty panel
• 540×450 millimetre 2 piece   drawer false fronts (Rough-cut it bigger. Slice it later.)
• 66×180 millimetre 2 piece   shelf legs

White

• 500×115 millimetre 16 piece drawer sides
• 334×115 millimetre 8 piece   drawer fronts
• 334×100 millimetre 8 piece   drawer back

Hardboard 3 millimetre (1/8 inch)

• 490×354 millimetre 8 piece   drawer bottom

With an online cutting optimization program, I prepared the cutting diagram. In the given dimensions, the first number is the grain direction.

I know that not everyone is as lucky as I am. I use a sliding table saw with a scoring unit. This is how I cut the boards. If you don't have such a machine at your disposal, you can certainly find a DIY store that will do this task. A long, long time ago, I did the same. But you still need a table saw to cut sharp edges. I glued the 0.8 millimetre (1/32 inch) thick ABS edging. There are many edge bands to choose from. Ironable, melamine, paper, ABS, etc. But note that the thickness of the edging must be deducted from the finished size of the part. I made mortises on one-one of the short edges of the console legs, legs, drawer case top, and drawer case bottom parts with a Festool Donino. You can use it trimming machine with router mortising jig. I cut these edges to 42°. Order is important. First, we make the stud mouths, then we cut the parts at an angle. I cut the other short sides of the parts to 84˚ (6˚) and glued the edge banding. After cutting, the top distance of the console legs and legs became 664 millimetre, and the top distance of the drawer case top and drawer case bottom became 412 millimetre.

This solution is not my merit. I saw it on a video sharing site. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find it since. I cut a 25 millimetre thick (1 inch) plywood sheet to a width of 75 millimetre. (This is not true because I cut it smaller and had trouble milling it.) I set the table saw blade to 42˚. I adjusted the length of the plywood on the cross-cut fence, then set it to a 25-millimeter edge and cut it. I turned it 180˚ around its longitudinal axis and repeated the cut. I set the circular saw blade and the splitter to a height of 38 millimetre. I aligned the parallel fence to the circular saw blade, read the measurement and added 11 millimetre (7/16 inch). Thus, the thickness of the L-shaped tenon will be 8 millimetre (1/3 inch). (This is the theory. In practice, I made several test pieces to make sure it was the right size. If it is too tight, it will bump up the edges of the parts.) When cutting the L shape, the end of the parallel fence must be set to the front of the circular saw blade. If there is no way to do this, attach a victim stop of a suitable length to the fence so that the tenon can fall out from under the circular saw blade. If you don't do this, the L-shaped tenon will get caught between the circular saw blade and the fence and you'll have a nasty accident. When cutting, I used a sacrificial tree next to the parallel fence so that there were no chips on the plywood. I cut 1.5 millimetre (1/16 inch) grooves in the center of the outer side of the L shape so that excess glue could flow out. After that, I made a 3 millimetre (1/8 inch) radius on the edges with a round over bit in a router. I measured the depth of the mortise and cut the L-shaped tenon to the appropriate length.

I assembled the four L-shapes from the parts cut into angles. These are mirror images of each other (right, left). I turned them in pairs. Now I can determine the exact height of the table. I marked the position of the drawercase top on the side of the console leg. I marked the position of the drawercase bottom on the leg side. I also made biscuit mortises at the edges of the top and bottom parts of the drawercase. I cut a spacer of the right size (in my case 100×550 millimetre), which I fixed with clamps to the markings of the legs and console legs. I set the Biscuit carpenter's adjustable angle fence to 84˚. Between the component and the fence, I placed a 3-millimeter fiberboard so that the base plate of the Biscuit joiner is at the same height as the underside of the component. (As shown in the picture.)

Gluing 84˚ components is not an easy task. I made cauls for them. Unfortunately, they cannot be used. That's when I pulled out some old clamps. I don't know the English name (Clamp MAXIFIX). We called it Carcass clamp. I don't like them because they are too big and clumsy. But they are the most suitable for this task. The drawer case are ready.

Now I can determine the dimensions of the drawer false fronts and the modesty panel. I glued masking tape to the lower edge of the modesty panel. I marked the centerline of the panel on this and marked half of the seat width on both sides. I fitted the drawer cases to the lower edge of the modesty panel and to the points of the seating width. I measured the largest distance of the drawer cases on the modesty panel and cut the short side at an angle of 84˚. I measured the height of the modesty panel between the outer surface of the case bottom and the upper edge of the console leg and cut it.

I measured the distance between the inner edges of the case bottom and case top. I cut the height of the drawer cover fronts to this size. From the inner width of the case botton, I subtracted twice the thickness of the edge banding and the size of the function slots. I cut the width of the drawer cover fronts to this size, at an angle of 84˚ (6˚).

I glued the edge bands. For gluing, I used contact adhesive and a paint brush with short bristles. First I applied the glue to the board edge and then to the edge band. I put another layer of glue on the board edge. There are several ways to remove excess edge band. I usually use a sharp chisel or planing knife. I sanded the edges of the edge band with 180-grit paper. I designed four accounts per page. Therefore, I subtracted eight times the thickness of the edge banding and five times the operating slots from the height of the drawer cover fronts. I divided this result into four parts and cut them to size accordingly. I glued the edge band to the cut edge.

I marked the drawer case, modesty panel and table top parts and created the location of the lamello biscuits. The placement of the biscuits must be consistent. It requires a lot of patience and attention. I chose the lamella because the biscuits have a hard time finding their place during assembly and they get tense, but they don't damage the parts. I placed the biscuits on the edge of the parts and not in their faces.

I couldn't find a handle that matches the style of the drawers. I decided on the Push Latches solution. Therefore, overriding the Tinkercad plans, I had to relocate the ball bearing drawer. This is how I made room for the Push Latches.

I made the drawer bottom and the ball bearing drawer grooves on the drawer sides. I glued the drawers together.

I put a 3 millimetre (1/8 inch) thick hardboard in the bottom of the drawer case. I placed a drawer on it and marked the location of the drawer rail on the drawer case sides. I used this as a starting point and marked the location of additional drawer rails on the sides. I made nailing strips for fixing the drawer rails at right angles. Their size is adjusted to the drawer rail, and the longitudinal side is cut at an angle of 84˚ (6˚). It must be set back 20 millimetre from the front of the drawer case (according to the thickness of the drawer front, plus 2 millimetre (1/16 inch).

I screwed the ball bearing drawer slide, the nailing strips and the push latches. To glue the legs and the modesty panel together, I used the pieces that fell off the modesty panel when cutting.

I made two countersunk pilot holes on the front of the drawers, from the inside to the outside. I fixed the drawer cover fronts through these. I screwed the screws in from the inside out, so that the tip protrudes 1.5 millimetre (1/16 inch) from the drawer body. I used hardboard strips of 1.5 and 3 millimetre (1/32 and 1/16 inch) thick to make the lines between the sides and the drawers even. After positioning, I pressed the drawer false fronts to the tips of the screws. I made pilot holes at the points formed in this way and screwed the drawer false fronts.

I adjusted the height of the monitor stand at home with my child. I cut the shelf legs 63 millimetre (2 ½ inches) high by 84˚ (6˚) on both long edges. I attached it to the shelf and the table top with Lamello biscuits. In the second picture of step nine, you can see a support leg. I also installed this to be safe. Its size is important, it must reach the side of the drawer case to take the load of the desk. In the third picture, I have removed the legs, to prove that it is stable even when it is half finished.