Project: The Ultimate Computer Desk

linnemeyerhere said:

To say this project is coming out awesome is such an understatement! Thanks for the great pictures, it makes us all feel apart of this project and it's various stages. When it's all done you should consider a coffee table book a guide to building your own via Shutterfly or the like, I did one with Artwork (see my profile albums) and it came out "off the hook" cool even if each copy is pricey it could be something you could offer to those of interest. Keep up the fantastic work we're all in awe!

Thanks for the positive comments linnemeyerhere, I really appreciate it. The community is one of those things that inspires me to keep my patience and do a good job! Cool idea putting it in a coffee table book sort of thing, I'll have to check that out when the whole project is finished!!

With the trim all glued up and dry, and the weather nice and warm, I decided to take the cabinets outside to have the trim sanded flush. I start with 80 grit to get all the bits nice and close, and then move to 120 grit with the random orbit sander in preparation for staining.



Everything looking pretty good on the right-hand cabinet





And now for the left-hand cabinet





I'm under the impression that I mistakenly sanded this edge too much prior to installation, because I thought that I was going to have to squeeze this end into the dado cut at the back of the drawer. Woops! Hopefully that won't show up too much after staining.



And, a bit of glue squeeze-out that I missed previously is easily taken care of by the sander



I'll be staining over the weekend, so some fresh and shiny cabinets await for next weeks early update!

Have a good weekend folks!

Maxwell said:

This is looking awesome!! I can't wait to see it when it is done!

Thanks Maxwell! Slowly getting there!

Well, got some time to start the staining of the cabinets this weekend, and overall, everything went pretty well. Started off with a bit of detailed sanding by hand, and then a good dusting with a tack cloth / cloth with paint thinner.





And then went to work applying the stain with a clean cotton rag





They both turned out pretty well - these pictures were taken after only the first coat (A second one will go on). I find that this stain really shines once a coat of poly is put over it.

Let me tell you - getting the inside of the cabinets was quite time consuming and I really did a number on staining my arms...



Eww! It looks like a heart!

Looking great! This has been fun following this project, Thanks for letting us look over your shoulder all this time. :)

derekimo said:

Looking great! This has been fun following this project, Thanks for letting us look over your shoulder all this time. :)

Thanks derekimo, my pleasure! It's been really great for me to have you all as company as well!

I kind of forgot to take some pictures of the cabinets after I applied a pair of coats of polyurethane, but here's the status of the project so far



Both cabinets have been poly'd, and there are only 3 more pieces to stain + poly (The two caps for the end spaces on the top shelf, and the door for the right-hand cabinet). Otherwise, I am pretty much ready to assemble.

Before assembly, however, I wanted to try a technique I had been reading about - rubbing out a finish.

You start with some baby oil and a product called rottenstone (It's a very finely ground stone)



Apply some baby oil liberally (This slows down the cutting process. If you use water, it will speed up the cutting process)



Sprinkle on your rottenstone (Once again, fairly liberally. I didn't find the cutting action very aggressive at all, especially with all the baby oil)



Take a block of wood with a soft material wrapped around it, in this case, I used a piece of cut up fleece from an old blanket, but I think a felt block is the most recommended for this.



Go with the grain in long strokes, and rub the slurry into the wood. Its very fine cutting action should almost eliminate all dust marks, brush marks, and any small scratches.

This took quite a long time, and it was very, very messy. Baby oil rottenstone slurry everywhere. I then went through a ton of rags soaked in paint thinner cleaning it all off the desk surface in preparation for some good 'ol waxing.



Applied with a lint free rag, I swirled it onto the table a little bit too liberally



I then let it dry for a few moments and "attempted" to buff it all off by hand with a clean rag. Much to my dismay, after spending 10 minutes trying to buff only but a small corner, I realized that I would never get the shine I was looking for...



So I made a trip to my storage unit (My mom's garage) where I remembered I had an old electric car buffer in a bin...



Booya. It was late when I got back home, so I left it and went to sleep. Have a good weekend everyone - Canada Day tomorrow here in Canada, so I'm going to enjoy the long weekend. I'm moving this weekend too, so hopefully the desk survives the trip!!

So, I finally moved this weekend, and I'm glad to say everything went pretty well. A few small parts of the desk got scuffed up, but nothing major. Here are some shots from just before being transported.

The car buffer partially worked. I ended up actually taking some more paint thinner and totally removing the wax. For some reason it didn't stick well - I think it's because I didn't remove the baby oil enough before adding the wax. Either way, it's shiny as glass and looks great.



Then I took some 3/4" weather stripping and put it on both cabinets to prevent the desk surface from slipping and sliding:







And, here's a sneak peak. Right before the move was pretty much the moment of triumph - assembling the 4 stained and poly'd pieces, and actually sitting at it. The monitors come in at perfect eye height, and the desk height is perfect as well, providing lots of forearm and elbow support.

Ahhhhhhhhh.... 8 months.

Now for the details

linnemeyerhere said:

Great news about the safe move. Like you say now comes the fun part of sliding everything in and doing the trial and error with and the cable routing and then the moment you give the rig it's first power up! Can't wait for the next series of pictures and statements. Go slow take your time, be methodical but get it done, ha ha !

Thanks linnemeyerhere, hopefully I'll have time to work on the desk this weekend and post some updates early next week.

We'll also have to see what kind of hardware my wallet agrees to!!!