Custom Shesk: Computer Shelf/Desk

Our church secretary asked if I could make some sort of computer shelf to help make space on her desk. The are where the computer needed to go is between the desk and a 30 degree corner in the wall. This is the solution I came up with.

At its greatest, the shesk measures 1 foot x 23 in. x 5-1/2 in.. The keyboard tray slides out on a simple mechanism which I'll explain in a bog entry. The strict space requirements gave me the most trouble. I didn’t want to make it too deep, nor too high. The keyboard try just fits inside the unit. I wanted the shesk to mimic the desk it lives next to and that dictated the finish I used (beige paint on the sides and golden oak stain on the rest.)

I wanted to build in a coolness factor and when the ‘client’ mentioned a liking of brass I somewhat despaired because the desk obviously has no brass on it. However I used brass hinges on the door, only visible when open, and put brass rails on the keyboard tray to hold the keyboard from sliding off. A small brass knob on the tray finishes it out. I also routed the edge of the keyboard tray to add some quasi victorian decoration.

The photos above were taken in my shop and on our desk at home to show the purpose of the shesk. I’ll be installing it on Saturday.

-- Beware the flying swarf!