Daughter's Desk

This is what i would call my first Major project. I made a desktop and shelves for one daughter (Jess), shelves for a second(Nicole), and my workbench. Then my other daughter (Kristy) said, “I need a desk too!” and I thought I would try to tackle making the cabinets, drawers and the whole shebang. She didn’t like the light stain,(pic 2& 3) so i re-stained it darker (pic 1 & 6) and then used gloss spar varnish in an attempt to make the top harder and less prone to pencil/pen gouges, etc. The cabinets and top are made of furniture grade 3/4” birch plywood, and the face frame, top banding and drawer fronts are all red oak. By this time I had bought my Ridgid R4511 granite topped table saw, which really helped! The carcase and face frame are put together with pocket screws, and so is the top banding. The drawer fronts and faced frame edges were routed using a Roman Ogee bit, smaller on the face frame so the pocket screws wouldn’t poke out (I had that trouble on my second set of shelves). the drawers are rabetted on the corners, and I used 1/4” luan plywood for the bottoms. I brought hanging folders home to put in the drawers before assembly, and grooved the drawer tops, and it looked OK but forgot to add height for the clearance of the little tabs that go on top of the hanging folders! Oops! She is tickled with it, and I have to say that i am too! Even though I know where the warts are, they are not readily apparent when you look at it. I was so happy with how much better it looked with each step of the finishing. The thing is built in 3 pieces so you can carry and move it easily, the center drawer hangs from the top, which just sits on the cabinets, with some guide pieces on the underside on the top.

I made a shelving unit for on top of this desk with the leftover plywood. which i’ll post soon. I’d appreciate any input/ advice. Thanks! My wife certainly doesn;t have to worry about me being under her feet, I’m out in the garage eery chance i get. This may be more addictive (and expensive) than golf!!

-- Tim, Myrtle Beach, DrTim@ONeillChiro.com- Just one more tool, that's all I need! :)