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Office Desk, Built Ins and Vanity

5K views 18 replies 13 participants last post by  Kryptoroxx 
#1 · (Edited)
Birch desk with a custom brown stain




File Drawer


Printer Drawer






Keyboard Drawer










Pullout Hamper






The desk is made from Solid Birch for the doors, drawer fronts, face frames and front edge of the desktop. The other visible surfaces are 3/4" A1 Birch plywood. The drawers are made from 9 ply 5/8" Euro Maple. I didn't have some smaller pcs of Birch ply for the keyboard drawers so I used Maple. Got the same color, but the grain is muted. I have two types of drawer slides in the desk. The file drawers ride on Accuride heavy duty file slides and the regular drawers ride on Blum Blumotion slides. The drawers are made using a small rabbet and pocket screws.

The vanity is made from Soft Maple and painted with MLC Resistant (Ben Moore White Dove) and then clear coated with MLC Krystal. Both finishes are a conversion varnish. All the drawers ride on Blum Blumotion slides except for the center upper, it is a Accuride 8" slide. The drawers are made from the same 9 ply but these drawers are dovetailed.
 
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#11 ·
Good luck with that Jim. If you aren't proficient with spraying it will be tough to match that finish. Because you used Poplar it will make it more difficult to get a nice even stain.

I would suggest using a wash coat. (your finish thinned out to 5% solids) and then a gel stain. If I did it, it would probably take about 8 steps to get there.
 
#13 ·
LOVE the mirror trim and mid-counter cabinet. I have a very similar setup in my bathroom and I had thought of having a cabinet just like yours added. Your trim design around the mirrors is elegant and takes away that "cheap motel" look I currently have with the plain mirror slab glued to the wall. I've saved your photo. From an interior design standpoint, however, it appears the faucets are silver and the cabinet hardware is brass. This may be my computer so accept my apology in advance if I am mistaken. If the hardware is brass, it would really look terrific to swap it out to match the faucets. But, that's just me being a picky woman. LOL. I am trying to learn a little about woodworking so that I can add some decorative trim to my home. I'm new to this site and I'm sure I'll have lots of questions as I go. Thanks for the inspiration.
 
#17 ·
Absolutely stunning. Excellent workmanship and a very classic look too I might add. I do have one newbish question for you though. How do you do the design on the doors? I'm pretty new to woodworking beyond landscaping and a few simple rough products but I am researching a computer desk myself. I have a design put together but I have always wondered about that. I've ordered some books (base library didn't have much) and I'm waiting for them to come in the mail but here in Japan it takes a while. I don't need a step by step but the inlaid squares are very elegant. Also since you've already put the desk together how is the birch for strength. I've been having some trouble finding anything except walnut and walnut is pretty pricy. I have seen some birch but I would like your opinion on the wood itself. Thanks and great work again.
 
#18 ·
Birch is a strong, hard, brittle wood. By brittle I mean while milling it, it is chippy. You need sharp tooling and slow feeds with the board in the correct direction cutting with the grain.

The doors a re a typical raised panel. It is a 5 pc door, 2 rails (horiz), to stiles (vert) and 1 panel.


This is a picture of a door I constructed, but not a cabinet door. This door had a panel on both sides, but the concept is the same.

It is a cope and bead construction. The slot is where the panel goes. It has a 1/4" tongue that goes into the slot, it is not glued in there but floats. This lets the panel change size during the seasons without splitting. The panel is run on a shaper and done in one pass. You can make a panel with a router table or a table saw. But you won't do it in one pass.


 
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