Can I get some input on this second desk that's next on the project list?


MisterDrow

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Along the same lines as the rectangular desk, my friend wants this one to be solid walnut on top (he's already purchased it) and painted poplar for the legs/aprons. He wants the area where he sits to not have an apron, if possible. This is a rough idea of what I came up with for leg/apron placement, some of the aprons as a bracing underneath to help keep things from racking... keep in mind the desk I am CURRENTLY building is already a completely new thing for me so something like this is slightly beyond my level of knowledge.

I am also thinking about possibly making the top into two pieces because the idea of a glue-up that large and odd-shaped feels like a bad idea... but maybe I'm wrong there.

Any thoughts or advice you can give is greatly appreciated... even if that means scrapping this altogether and starting the design over from scratch. I'd rather have that now than after we've already started it.

mXg0ljW.jpg?2

I'm also exploring the idea of doing trestle-style legs on this one instead of the legs/aprons in the drawing... seems like it might be a better idea overall.

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Obviously they'd be much more shallow than the aprons themselves to (hopefully) avoid that... maybe I need to rethink the whole design. I'm speaking from a place of incredible naivete here so if the initial notion of this is all wrong, I'll gladly start over. No wood has been cut at this point so no harm, no foul.

Would I be better off changing the design to have legs more like this?

trestle.jpg

Of course, that just trades one problem for another... then overall leg space is lost, as well. 

and... again... this is not a paid project. I'm learning as I go here and helping a friend get a (hopefully) nice piece of furniture in the process.

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The geometry of the 5 aprons that you show (aprons or side panels) are enough to prevent racking without the "black lines" if the top could be fastened securely to all 5 aprons.   This could work with a walnut veneer top. However, if you have a solid wood top that will move, you won't be able to do that.

Given that shape of the desk, I think that the desk may look kinda wierd with no apron in the front. Sort of like mixing 2 styles together.  I don't now how critical the dimensions are but I would consider moving the upper center leg to be in line with the lower right leg and the left center leg to be in line with the right center leg to greatly simplify your hidden aprons.     Just a thought.  You have a challenging geometry either way.

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I used to have a desk setup like that at work.  It was 3 different pieces, the curved/triangular middle and then two squares on the sides.  There was no front apron (this was heavy duty commercial furniture), and it was plenty sturdy.  I'm sure it was some flavor of particle board covered by the thick grey laminate.  It had a solid oak front edge, which I'm sure some designer thought would make us all love the desks.

I frequently hit my knees on the supports under the pieces.  If your friend is having you make this at an ergonomic height for him - be sure to measure the height of his legs when he's seated in the chair he's going to use.

Having my old desk be three pieces meant I had two gaps that I regularly dealt with.  I tended to work in the corner and towards the left side.  It would have been better if there wasn't a gap there.  The gap on the right side didn't phase me - I used that part of the desk for different tasks, so it was a shift for me, I didn't move back and forth from the middle to the right.

If you decide to split the top - I'd suggest doing a similar split - keep the middle and one of the sides as one piece.  Your friend's work habits could help decide which side could be the separable one.

Make sure you can remove the top from the base.  Several times coworkers and I had to move some desks around (in and out of offices with normal doors).  Those things were heavy and didn't come apart.  So it was always the "no, you pivot it around the door to YOUR left and lower it while I raise it and we should clear the doorknob and the desk center support" game.

For the supports, you might look at cantilevered designs, with the posts in the back.

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I think the bracing indicated by the black lines is unnecessary. I you leave out the apron on the user side, perhaps it should be wider on tge back side. I don't undestand the comment about trestle legs. By design, a trestle needs legs that oppose each other, which doesn't feasible / possible under the top you show.

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This seems like a great solution.  If you use a stable subtop that won't move and can be secured firmly to the legs and aprons, you should be able to build the desk without the black cross aprons and have it prevent racking, etc. 

Then attach the solid walnut top to the subtop allowing for movement of the solid walnut top through elongated screw holes or what have you.  Depending on which way the grain runs, I'd fix it along either the 39" or 33" back edge, allowing for the wood to move in and out towards the user, rather than causing the top to push in and out against the wall.  (If the desk is going to be placed in the middle of a room, that's less important, but someday it might be against a wall, and so I think it would still be a good idea.)

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Thanks for the input, everyone. I think, honestly, the solution will be to run an apron all the way around (including the part where he is sitting) and maybe just do a cutout to add a tiny bit more leg room. So many desks I have looked at online have aprons there (and often drawers, as well). The ones that don't are plywood or particle board and are securely fastened to the legs/aprons. He wants solid wood and so we'll roll with it.

The part under the curve in the middle (which I think will need to be a straight angle instead of a curve to accommodate the apron)... there won't be a leg there so do I just edge-join the apron to the other side?

On 9/27/2016 at 5:59 PM, sjk said:

For the supports, you might look at cantilevered designs, with the posts in the back.

I like this idea, a lot. I've often wondered how hard cantilever legs are to build (and have them be sturdy). I'll have to do some research here.

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@wtnhighlander it looks like he wants to go w/ the cantilever legs... which I think is a good idea. The original plan was to use poplar for the legs/aprons on his desk because he wanted to paint them. I see that MW used oak here which is a stronger/harder wood. Do you foresee any issues with using the poplar that has been purchased and another wood species should be chosen or do you think the poplar will hold up just fine?

My thinking is that it should be fine (we're going to glue up some legs that are 3" thick along the back and then tapering down at the feet/supports) but I don't want to assume without taking the time now to find out.

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