Office desk and shelving... Kitchens, doors, rails, stud, tables, chairs, stair cases, garden furniture etc... Find answers and ask questions here!

[Hevydevy]

Hi everyone,

I am extremely wet behind the ears when it comes to this kind of thing, and I'd rather do it properly than bodge it you'll be pleased to hear...

Firstly, I dont have a small fortune to spend on beautful walnut or cherry woods...so grain aside I'm going to be choosing a cheap wood and then applying a dye and finish. So do I go for a hardwood when building my desk? I'd assume so...but what is relatively low on cost that would work well?

The room is 9ft wide, and I'm wanting the desk about 24" deep, 40mm thick and basically to run the length of the room like a kitchen worktop, but with a corner section at one end that curves round and goes part way along the adjacent wall...this is where I'll be sat...

So I won't be able to make it ouf one piece so I'm going to have join 2 pieces....how do I do this effectively lin the comforts of home without spending a fortune on tools?

As for the legs, these will be very basic and contemporary, and literally like empty, chunk picture frames...dowl joints for these?

Esentially what I need is some clever sod, that knows about wood and joinery to take me under their wing for athis project!

I have a rough 3d model made up of the room as I see it as a .jpeg if anyone would care to see it to clarify my rambling description. I can email it to whoever as I have nowhere to host the image sadly :(

Please help!...I can't afford a pricey chippie, or a bespoke design...I need to know about woods, glue. the best joints to use, finishing...the lot!...so dammit, I'm gonna take the plunge! Please Help!

All the Finest!

HD

[Oddbod]

Hi,

Well you are really asking to distill many years of experience into a single post! A challenging task way beyond me, so you are going to need to read around a bit. Most libraries have a a few decent woodwork books. You're not a professional, but with a bit of care you should be able to get a pretty good result

First, the choice of wood. The problem with hardwood is the preparation it requires rather than the cost of the wood itself. Hardwood is never going to be cheap, but the cost of American cherry is not that much more than some of the dire meranti (or “mahogany styleâ€

[Hevydevy]

Yes, VERY helpful....and I knew it would be you who answered, so I'm happier still....I will dive in and see what I can come up with...watch this space :)

Thankyou for your patience :)

HD

[Oddbod]

You're welcome!

I haven't actually covered stuff in a lot of detail yet. When you get to that right stage feel free to come back and ask any questions.

BTW, chrome plated pole dancing poles make excellent desk legs. Just have them delivered in a plain brown wrapper!