How to Make a Wooden Desk !

Sitting in front of an uncomfortable desk is somehow annoying, it affects your productivity in your field which makes you more tired to complete your work, so it's time to make an upgrade. Once you start planning to have a new desk, you may think to have an IKEA desk or something ready which is not a bad choice, but building your own desk is much better than that. After I designed my Wooden Desk, I decided to reflect my creativity so that whenever I sit in front it makes me more motivated to work and I think that was a great investment that I made. I loved to share with you so follow me step by step.

• Wood: I used two kinds of wood in this instructable, I used a plank of regular pallet wood and dark Oakwood.
• Saw.
• Drill.
• Screws and nails.
• White Glue.
• 100% gloss varnish (I used retina varnish).
• Wood painting brush.
• Hammer.
• Sander.
• Sandpapers " size 60 80 120 220".
• Meter.
• Gloves.
• Face Mask.

To watch the full video click here.

It looks like a puzzle! right?

The idea of my desk is to have wooden blocks intersect with each other on both sides of the desk and in the middle an X-shape with horizontal pieces.

The first part I decided to begin with is the bracket, this part will play a significant role in keeping all the parts together until it becomes dried and you will not need to use clamps (I will show you that in the next steps). I started taking measurements of length 120cm and width 60cm using my meter, but notice that the size of the desk depends on your needs so you can make it bigger than that.

Once I finished measuring, now you start to saw the needed parts, then drill at the end of each part so that we can fix the screws later.

Now it is ready to assemble, fix all the four screws in the drilled holes, then using a hammer fix two nails on both sides of each screw so that it becomes more strength.

The general shape of the desk will be of two parts, and each part has a different kind of wood. So I decided to separate them using a 4cm x 2cm wooden pieces and that will clarify the different shapes in this desk.

First, you need to take the right angle(60 degrees) and measurements so they become similar, then you have to sand the end of each piece until it becomes smooth using P80 sandpaper. The general shape of this is like an X but separated with a horizontal piece in the middle.

The Center will be composed of 6 horizontal pieces, every 3 pieces form a flat trapezoid. I saw each piece according to the measurements taken.

Measurements:

• First trapezoid ( big base: 55cm and the small base: 40cm)
• Second trapezoid( big base: 40cm and the small base: 25cm)
• Third trapezoid( big base: 25cm and the small base: 15cm)

Or you can measure the angles instead.

After cutting all the needed parts, now it's ready to assemble the center. So start by fixing the biggest piece at the bottom using nails, then add the other parts over to fix them to the X-shape that we added before using nails and white glue.

This step is very accurate so be careful to take the correct measurements. Both sides of the desk will be composed of two different colors of oak wood, the first one is Golden Oak (bright)and the other one is Antique Cherry Oak (dark).

Now you should put the center part in the bracket so that you can take the right measurements of the other parts. Here I cut each piece according to the different angles formed between the parts.

At this level, you should be sure that each part complements the other, so I tried to set it up all together to if it is all right. One thing I discover while checking was small gaps between the parts on the two sides of the desk, I will show you how to fix it in the next steps.

This part is pretty easy. First, glue the center of the desk together and make sure that the bracket has enough strength to hold out the entire part. Then glue each piece separately until it becomes a single block. Try stirring it with a stick to mix all the glue particles (don't just shake it) then spread over.

While I was assembling the desk together, I found that there are gaps between some parts. Fortunately, the solution is to use a mixture of white glue and wood dust. Filling these gaps with the mixture will make the sanding much easier in the next step.

After 24 hours the desk dried completely, now we can disassemble the bracket using a screwdriver, unscrew all the screws and remove it slowly so you will not break anything.

Sanding is one of the finishing touches needed before painting wooden furniture. It is done to prepare the wood for primer and painting. Sandpapers may come in different grits or grades. The number of grit indicates how coarse or fine it is. The higher the grade, the finer it is. The lower the grade, the coarser it is.

It is very important that sanding is undertaken with the correct grade of paper. The filler or paint applied after a sanding operation must fill-up the sanding scratches in such a way that they will be invisible after further application of paint and remain so thereafter. Filling up the scratches will not only depend on the number of coats that will be applied but also on their filling capacity.

For my desk I used different types of sandpapers:

• P60
• P80
• P100
• P120
• P220
• Grinder

This is the hardest step in the whole process because it needs a lot of energy. I started sanding using P60 and P80 sandpapers which are considered rough to remove the upper layer of wood so that I can start with the smoother one. Then I work with P100 and P120, and the final one was P220.

One important step to do before the wood coating is to clean it from any wood dust. After a lot of work with sanding and sanding, I cleaned the whole desk using water and a towel.

Generally, the height of any wooden desk must be from 65cm to 80cm as a maximum. I prefer to make the legs not straight with a 30 ْangle. I cut four pieces of length 70cm and then make a 30 ْangle, after that, I cut the half of the end to be able to attach it to the inner corner of the desk, and I cut four V-shaped pieces to fix the legs more strength.

Use the bracket that you removed from the previous step the cut-off 10cm from each side of the wooden pieces so that it will be of length 100cm and width 40cm. Then using nails attach it to the lower side of the table, then you can add the legs to it as I described previously.

Coating transforms the appearance of the wood, making it look rich and elegant by highlighting its color and figure. Finishes also protect the wood surface from dirt and, in particular, moisture.

In my instructable, I used PS3251 Varnish Clear 100% Gloss. Note: Finishes contain chemicals that can be dangerous if used without proper safety precautions. Always wear lightweight surgical gloves to protect the skin and protective glasses to guard the eyes. Some finishes emit hazardous fumes, so work outdoors or in a well-ventilated area with a fan for circulation. Wear a charcoal respirator when working with oil-based finishes. Never work near a gas furnace, wood-burning stove or other flames(Wood Finishes101).

Be sure that everything is clean, then apply as many more coats as you need, generally 2 to 3 coats, but additional coats can be applied for greater depth of finish, gently sanding in between each coat. Don’t sand your last-but-one or final coat, and go with the grain for the final coat for a perfect-smooth finish.

It needs about 24 hours to completely dry, then it will be ready!