Making a corner desk - first major project.

[Lucas Purpleheart]

I am planning on making this corner desk to have against my computer desk. All I have to build it are a handsaw, miter saw and that's really it. I plan to just cut things down to size. Do these plans seem sound? I am unsure about the screw/nail/glue situation. Also, for the top shelves, can I get by with 2x4 and 2x2 for the corner to allow for more shelf room?

 

REVISION 2: https://imgur.com/a/VMv16Ot

 

 

 

REVISED:

 

 

[Mick S]

Maybe it's your style preference, but what appear to be 4 x 4 vertical supports are certainly not necessary for rigidity - serious overkill. Reliance on strong joinery is much more important to good design.

Suggested reading - Fine Woodworking  Garrett Hack #248–July/Aug 2015 Issue Build Lighter, Stronger Furniture.

[wtnhighlander]

So, you plan to cut all the parts to length with your saw. I see a few dado joints that might require some chisel work. I'd suggest figure-8 fasteners for attaching the desk top to the legs. And 2x4 stock for the upper shelf supports should be fine. 

Assuming you can source material that is flat and straight, this design should work, although it isn't the strongest joinery.

[Tpt life]

I see racking as an issue. Many desks with backs still twist a bit. With no back the action could be exaggerated. 

[curlyoak]

Also 4x4 will take up a lot of extra space. It might not matter if the room and wall it is on is very big.

[Lucas Purpleheart]

4 hours ago, Mick S said:

Maybe it's your style preference, but what appear to be 4 x 4 vertical supports are certainly not necessary for rigidity - serious overkill. Reliance on strong joinery is much more important to good design.

Suggested reading - Fine Woodworking  Garrett Hack #248–July/Aug 2015 Issue Build Lighter, Stronger Furniture.

What joints would work best for this? What size should I make the vertical supports? 3x3? 2x2?

 

3 hours ago, Tpt life said:

I see racking as an issue. Many desks with backs still twist a bit. With no back the action could be exaggerated. 

That is why I add a horizontal cross-bar along the back, will this not be enough?

 

[Tpt life]

14 minutes ago, Lucas Purpleheart said:

 

That is why I add a horizontal cross-bar along the back, will this not be enough?

 

The vertical height of that member is what controls the leverage advantage of the forces. It is also quite independent of the front elements. I can see the project being a twisty mess without care. 

[Lucas Purpleheart]

12 minutes ago, Tpt life said:

The vertical height of that member is what controls the leverage advantage of the forces. It is also quite independent of the front elements. I can see the project being a twisty mess without care. 

Should I add more bars perpendicular to that post for more stability? Or what exactly should be done?

[wdwerker]

Also store bought 4x4 construction lumber isn't square sometimes. Plus it might be wet in the center too.

[wtnhighlander]

Those horizontal member you have across the top of the "knee hole" would be called aprons. Making them wider adds more rigidity, and adding them to the side shelves will help, too. On the back of the desk, you can use very wide aprons, or even a full back to make it very rigid.

Inside the knee-hole, consider adding apron-like structures to the sides of the shelves, also. Yet more rigidity.

The need for this all depends on the intended use. Unless otherwise specified, folks here are likely to advise building techniques to meet worst-case situations.

[Chip Sawdust]

7 hours ago, Lucas Purpleheart said:

Should I add more bars perpendicular to that post for more stability? Or what exactly should be done?

Just use a piece of 1/4" ply or hardboard and it will have what's called shear resistance/strength. That will take out any racking that may happen. 

And - bonus- things you put on the shelves won't fall off the back of the shelf or hit the wall. You'll like it  

[Lucas Purpleheart]

So cover up most of the back with a 1/4" board - got it. What should I replace the 4x4 legs with?

[wtnhighlander]

If you like the heavy appearance of the legs, use them. Just beware that home center 4x4 lumber is probably not dried well, and probably contains the center of the log, which virtually guaratees that it will crack. One approach is to glue up layers of thinner stock to get the desired thickness, another is to use thinner stock to form a square tube that looks like 4x4.

The limiting factor is your available tool set. What you listed above provides no easy way of making smooth cuts along the length of a board. You CAN do it with a handsaw, with patience. You'll need a hand plane, or maybe sandpaper glued to a flat long-ish block, to smooth the edge for glueing it up. Without a solid hand tool workbench, the sanding block might work better. 

What sort of work surface and work holding (clamps / vises) are at your disposal? There is always a way, some need more creativity than others!

[Lucas Purpleheart]

On 1/19/2019 at 12:05 PM, wtnhighlander said:

If you like the heavy appearance of the legs, use them. Just beware that home center 4x4 lumber is probably not dried well, and probably contains the center of the log, which virtually guaratees that it will crack. One approach is to glue up layers of thinner stock to get the desired thickness, another is to use thinner stock to form a square tube that looks like 4x4.

The limiting factor is your available tool set. What you listed above provides no easy way of making smooth cuts along the length of a board. You CAN do it with a handsaw, with patience. You'll need a hand plane, or maybe sandpaper glued to a flat long-ish block, to smooth the edge for glueing it up. Without a solid hand tool workbench, the sanding block might work better. 

What sort of work surface and work holding (clamps / vises) are at your disposal? There is always a way, some need more creativity than others!

I do like the apperance of 4x4 but it seems like its going to be a hassle. I dont have any way to cut the length of the board so I am trying to do only crosscuts with my miter saw. I want to make this out of logs/posts and planks. I still am unsure of where I will be able to screw.

[wtnhighlander]

I'm going to suggest that you make a stop at your local hardware store or home center, and investigate the Kreg pocket screw system. 

A less expensive option is to use a forstner bit, brad-point bit, or even a paddle bit, about twice the diameter of the screw heads (or bigger). These bits leave a somewhat flat bottomed hole, the forstner being the cleanest.

Drill about half way through the thickness of the shelves, from the bottom, upward, keeping about 3/8" off the edge where the shelf meets the upright.

Next, use a drill bit appropriate for the screw shank, and make a pilot hole, horizontal (mostly) from the "pocket" hole to the edge of the shelf. Drive your screw through that pilot hole and into the upright.

If you can clamp the shelf in place, and continue the pilot hole into the upright, it will reduce the chance of splitting.

Beware, this will NOT be the strongest joinery method you could use, but it is fairly strong, very low cost, and simple to do. The pocket holes won't be visible under the main desk shelves, but might on the upper shelves. If your miter saw has any sort of depth stop, you can make dadoes (see below) in your uprights to house the shelves, which will be stronger, and look much better.

 

[Coop]

Ross, fantastic video. I’ve never seen an instructional dado video and yours and Cody’s was well presented. Thanks to both of you guys. And thanks Cody for directing me to your dad’s channel. Looking forward to subscribing. Coop

[wtnhighlander]

56 minutes ago, K Cooper said:

Ross, fantastic video. I’ve never seen an instructional dado video and yours and Cody’s was well presented. Thanks to both of you guys. And thanks Cody for directing me to your dad’s channel. Looking forward to subscribing. Coop

As you can see from the view count, very few others have seen such a video, as well! 

Glad you enjoyed it. Cody and I have fun shooting them.

[Coop]

Ross, is it mr.mccormickmakes.com ? I keep getting directed to another site. Coop

[I B]

5 hours ago, K Cooper said:

Ross, is it mr.mccormickmakes.com ? I keep getting directed to another site. Coop

 

Close. No punctuation.   http://www.mrmccormickmakes.com/

[RichardA]

Morning Ice.

[wtnhighlander]

Thanks, Ice.

Ken, if you open the forum from a desktop browser, the link is in my signature. The mobile site strips away those extras.

[Lucas Purpleheart]

On 1/23/2019 at 7:03 AM, wtnhighlander said:

I'm going to suggest that you make a stop at your local hardware store or home center, and investigate the Kreg pocket screw system. 

A less expensive option is to use a forstner bit, brad-point bit, or even a paddle bit, about twice the diameter of the screw heads (or bigger). These bits leave a somewhat flat bottomed hole, the forstner being the cleanest.

Drill about half way through the thickness of the shelves, from the bottom, upward, keeping about 3/8" off the edge where the shelf meets the upright.

Next, use a drill bit appropriate for the screw shank, and make a pilot hole, horizontal (mostly) from the "pocket" hole to the edge of the shelf. Drive your screw through that pilot hole and into the upright.

If you can clamp the shelf in place, and continue the pilot hole into the upright, it will reduce the chance of splitting.

Beware, this will NOT be the strongest joinery method you could use, but it is fairly strong, very low cost, and simple to do. The pocket holes won't be visible under the main desk shelves, but might on the upper shelves. If your miter saw has any sort of depth stop, you can make dadoes (see below) in your uprights to house the shelves, which will be stronger, and look much better.

 

This sounds simple enough, I'd probably get a forstner bit; however, glue won't be enough to hold the shelves in place? How much weight would that support?

As for the depth stop, I am unsure about my model if it is wise: https://www.harborfreight.com/12-in-dual-bevel-sliding-compound-miter-saw-with-laser-guide-system-61969.html

 

I would love make rabbets for sliding lids on my boxes but I am unsure if my miter saw can handle it.

 

Also, how would you go about the leg situation? 4x4s as intended or make them 2x4?

[drzaius]

25 minutes ago, Lucas Purpleheart said:

I would love make rabbets for sliding lids on my boxes but I am unsure if my miter saw can handle it.

Miter saw is not the right tool for that job. Use a table saw with a dado cutter, or a router, or a rabbit plane.

[wtnhighlander]

@drzaius is right, a miter saw is a poor (unsafe) choice for making grooves in small box parts.

That saw does appear to have an adjustable depth stop. The use I suggested is for cutting across the width of the vertical parts to form dadoes for the shelves. Set the stop so that the blade cuts about 1/4" deep, then nibble away the material, 1 kerf at a time, to make the dado.

Just butting the shelves up to the legs, glue has almost zero strength. Add pocket screws, and it is stonger, but not strong enough for durability. Housing the shelf in a dado, plus glue, plus screws, makes it tremendously stronger. Short of a shaped joint that uses wedging action to prevent the pieces from pulling apart, that's about as strong as you can get.

Regarding your last question: in your place, relying primarily on the miter saw, I would probably make the entire thing from S4S (surfaced 4 sides) stock, buying 1x4 material and gluing layers together for 4" thickness. Glue sections edge to edge to form the top and shelf panels. The layer forming the side of each leg that needs a dado can have sections cut out before glueing, spaced to form a dado as deep as the material is thick.

I assume you have a drill & screwdriver for assembly. The handsaw can help if you need to make a notch around any corners.

Got clamps? If not, get a few extra 2x4s to place across the panel, perpendicular to the edge-glued joints. Then use a rope (550 paracord is good) to tie around the 2x4s and around the panel. Twist a stick through one of the loops of rope to wind it tight. Check youtube for examples. Japanese craftsmen have used stick and rope clamps for ages.

 

[drzaius]

3 hours ago, wtnhighlander said:

That saw does appear to have an adjustable depth stop.

Many sliding miter saws do have a depth stop, but any I have tried have a lot of up/down flex against the stop. One could use it to cut dados or rabbits in theory, but they's certainly need to be tuned with a router plane to get consistent depth of cut.