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My Homemade (ultimate iMac) Desk

Amazing work. I'm really anxious to see the final product. I too find the products at the local store "cheap". Even if you want something of quality you end up with something weighing a ton. :(

If you aren't going to go with the magnetic and/or spring approach for the hidden drawer, I'd recommend you have a routed lip handle under the facer for the back drawer. That way you won't have a handle showing - I think it would make the desk look unbalanced.

Looking forward to updates!
 
digitalnicotine said:
^nice color, I was hoping you'd go for a darkish tone. :)
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That was the one thing that I found really funny about several woodworkers who I talked to during that process. They were all like "no, you can't do it that color! You won't be able to appreciate the 'grain' of the wood!"

I see their point, but you don't buy furniture based on how good you can see the grain of the wood. You buy it based on how well it will match things in your house, on how well it goes with your other accessories, and bottom line... whatever you think is beautiful.

To me, a rich dark table with the metal and glass finish of the iMac will look just plain stunning together. I think the dark finish will make the table seem much more valuable and expensive... and I really think it is for me.

It was just sort of a 'culture shock' when I got all of those criticisms... but I stuck by my guns, and we'll soon see how it looks! I will post photos tomorrow (if possible) of the staining! I am excited!
 
Your excited? We're all excited and can't wait for it to be done to see the final pictures. I'm relieved you stuck to our guns on the color.
 
OK! Well, prepare you're eyes... because the project is about to take a drastic change in appearance! I am using a "java" gel stain which is designed to not 'run' and to cause less botching than regular stain. It is about the consistency of chocolate pudding, or really any type of pudding I guess... it just looks more like chocolate pudding. ;)

Anway, here are the pics!


Here you can see the dramatic difference between the stained sections and non-stained sections so far. The stain really makes the wood come alive and gives it a lot more character!
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There are little things like this that jump out at you while staining... little inconsistencies in the wood, but I have a feeling these will quickly become my favorite part of the wood. It just make the piece more interesting and with more character. Cool stuff.
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Here is a photo of the beautiful top with the 'hidden drawer' in the foreground. The color in these photos is quite a bit more red and a bit lighter than it really is in person. The desk looks darker and more 'coffee colored' in real life, but when the light hits it hard (camera flash) it turns a really pretty red too. I like it... seems to have a lot of depth, almost like it has multiple colors in the mix.
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Here is a close up of the wood grain. Opening the hidden drawer!
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Ahhh... the ever mysterious 'hidden drawer' in all of its glory! I can't wait to get this thing filled up. I would say this photo gives you the closest look at what the 'actual color looks like'.
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Anyway, I am super excited at how the stain turned out. Some of you may have noticed that I also have started my 'clear coat' and that is why it is so shiny. I am doing this at home now, so I hope it turns out well! Wish me luck.
 
It's looking good! I wish I had such woodworking skills!

One thing about the "secret" drawer though - as it's around the back you surely won't be able to put this table up against a wall. Plus, doesn't it mean you have to walk around the table to collect your ipod etc?

Other than this, I hope you enjoy your new desk, your iMac deserves it!
 
Wow, the stain is gorgeous! Looks fabulous. Fascinating how all the latecomers to this thread keep reminding you that you won't be able to put this desk against a wall.

It would take a strange sort of person to be capable of building this desk and not realize that it wouldn't work to place it against a wall :rolleyes:

The secret drawer is actually looking a little small, but I trust you measured to ensure that everything will fit....
 
My only suggestion to you is when your applying your clear coat, which I'm sure you are planning on applying more than one, I can't stress enough how important it is for your table to be in a completely dust free enviorment. It's like painting a car. Don't do any type of woodwork where you are planning on sanding. I also suggest using a microgrit sandpaper or wet sanding. Keep up the good work, it looks amazing.
 
Uhh, hope im not asking of much, good you send one of those in L desk form?


haha


jk, looks great, make a 360º of it with the imac on it
 
First of all, thanks for the support everyone! You are all very kind!


wordmunger said:
Wow, the stain is gorgeous! Looks fabulous. Fascinating how all the latecomers to this thread keep reminding you that you won't be able to put this desk against a wall.

It would take a strange sort of person to be capable of building this desk and not realize that it wouldn't work to place it against a wall :rolleyes:
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Hahaha, yeah, I was wondering if someone else was noticing that!


wordmunger said:
The secret drawer is actually looking a little small, but I trust you measured to ensure that everything will fit....
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Well, yes and no... I did measure, and I do still think it is going to work perfectly but two things... First, the surge protector is about twice as deep as I thought it was. I don't know if I read wrong or what, but that was a bit of a surprise. The other thing is that There was only so much room. If you commit to making the hidden drawer the same width as the front/center drawer (24") as I did want to keep it symmetrical. So, the only way you can make it larger is by depth. I thought I found a pretty good happy/medium by making the front/center drawer 10" deep, and the back drawer 22" deep. This left about 2" in the middle of the two... and I didn't want to cut it any closer than that.

36" is actually quite deep for a desk, and I think really that I made the drawer about a perfect size. If I position everything correctly, I think it will fit just fine. The only thing that I underestimated was the length and amount of cords that each item has. It doesn't seem so long when its stretched across your desk and behind to an outlet, but when its wrapped up in a drawer, it looks way bigger. Look at my initial drawing and you'll see that I did not plan for this at all.

It will still work fine, just won't look quite as clean as before... no big deal though. The TOP of the desk is what I REALLY want to keep uncluttered!



bluedoggiant said:
Uhh, hope im not asking of much, good you send one of those in L desk form?

jk, looks great, make a 360º of it with the imac on it
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Ha! No problem man, send me your address and I'll send you a bill. ;) I'll try and get some good pics of it when its all setup and everything. The only thing that bites is that I don't have the den 100% complete either. Still needs some crown molding and some lighting improvements... but its getting there. You'll get the idea.
 
Really good job. I've found over the years, even tho i'm only in college, that i enjoy making myself a piece than going out and buying one. I also get to design it the exact way i want, with all the little false backs and random pockets to accommodate my power strips and various components. My house when i'm older will have a shop in it, no doubt about it.
 
Daveman Deluxe said:
fivepoint: How much did you spend on the materials? I'm thinking of building a desk soon myself and wanted to get a rough idea of how much I should expect to spend.
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Dave, I spent about $250... but If I would have used a cheaper wood, (cherry is about as expensive as regular hardwoods go) then it would have been more like $125-$175. This included the drawer slides which cost me about $85 of that $250. If you went with cheaper slides... which would really be PLENTY strong enough, then you could take another $40 off.

Basically, anywhere between $80 and $300 depending on materials used.
 
fivepoint said:
the surge protector is about twice as deep as I thought it was. I don't know if I read wrong or what, but that was a bit of a surprise.
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It might be worth it to search around to see if you can find a more compact model. Or maybe you could mount an actual surge protector somewhere else under the desk, then just get a basic outlet strip for inside the drawer.

fivepoint said:
Dave, I spent about $250... but If I would have used a cheaper wood, (cherry is about as expensive as regular hardwoods go) then it would have been more like $125-$175. This included the drawer slides which cost me about $85 of that $250. If you went with cheaper slides... which would really be PLENTY strong enough, then you could take another $40 off.

Basically, anywhere between $80 and $300 depending on materials used.
Click to expand...

So, $250 for materials, plus 40 hours of labor at $15 per hour, means it's about an $850 desk. Though I suppose if you went into business yourself making these, you could cut down on labor costs by "mass-producing" things like legs.

Anyone willing to spend that much for an awesome iMac desk? Plus about $150 to ship it?
 
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