Designing/Building the Perfect Computer Desk

[Xope_Poquar]

Alright I've been waiting to start this project for a while and now that the semester is almost out I can finally begin my work.

I've wanted a desk that fits my needs perfectly and I've been unable to find any desk online that is reasonably priced with even remotely proper dimensions. I want nothing fancy; no L shapes, I've never used drawers, don't need CD racks, etc. I gave up and decided to build my own.

First step was designing it. I've never done 3D Modeling in my life beyond making a UT3 map once (painstakingly). After quick research I found a program that would do more than enough for me called Rhinoceros 4. Borrowed a copy from my school, installed, and watched tutorials for what seemed about 60 hours straight.

A useful part about Rhino 4 is that it can be used for engineering precision and lets you set grid spacing to fit your needs. I'm sure this is common but it's all fascinating to a newcomer like me.



First up was the basic design. I fiddled through a few options. I started simplistic:





Added a bit to the other side for balance:





Tried a level desk with a backing and speaker stands:





Tried a hutch:





Then finally settled on a basic idea:






Slowly as I went on I designed more and more of the computer itself as I kind of like this whole modeling thing. All measurements are exact, maybe too exact, but what else would you expect from a young engineering major? For instance I measured the hardwood at Home Depot to all be 23/32 of an inch which I then used for my wood thickness. I had fun doing the BenQ 24" monitor, the Antec 900 needs work, the Thermaltake mouse pad turned out very lifelike in my opinion, and the Z5500s were fun but a learning experience to say the least. The only thing I didn't design was the keyboard, and I don't feel like doing the mouse.

I did a quick image search for some basic textures, added a light, etc.

Here is an overview of the up to date model. I suppose you could call it RC1:




Surround sound is really important to me. I may not be able to afford audiophile level speakers but I think the level of immersion from proper speaker placement is just as important, if not more.

I couldn't find info on the vertical angle of the Logitech Z-5500 satellites so I measured it myself. I placed one flat on the floor, measured the distance away from the wall, and using a laser pointing directly out of the speaker how high up the wall it pointed. A quick trigonometric calculation gave me the angle.

I researched proper placement of speakers and it seams Dolby, THX, and all major companies agree with this formula:


I set my speakers to be equidistant from my ears (as an added bonus I made them equidistant according to the ear they're pointing to), and at the correct angle. You can see in this picture:




With some more trigg calculations I could also get the heights correct save for the front left and right. I did a little calculus over spherical coordinates for proper angles and equidistant and sound vectors pointing directly into my ears but it required lowering my desk surface and bringing the speakers forward which didn't seem worth it. I think I'll live.

The front left and right only overshoot my ears by 3.5" which is insignificant as seen here:




Here is an overview of the project details:




The speakers aren't the only thing with exact measurements. First thing I did was set the chair so my knees bend at exactly a 90 degree angle and my back is straight but lax to normal gaming/browsing conditions. I measured my eye height and ear height. I set the monitor so my eye's vision vector is pointed directly at the center of the screen. The chair arms adjusted so my elbows bend at 90 degrees. The keyboard/mouse are set to be at the exact same height as my arms/wrists.

This desk is designed for me!


The only thing I'd be worried at all about would be the sub woofer. I'm pretty sure it would have plenty of ventilation but if anyone would like to comment I'd appreciate it:



I'm planning on adding rubber stoppers to prevent vibration.



As for the material I'm up in the air. I want to go with a hardwood ply. My first idea was birch as I thought it was cheap. A man at Home Depot recommended it as the price was only $23 a sheet. I later found out that was the price for pine and the birch is $52. Oak is only $57 so I'd choose it over the birch. I can't find anywhere locally that sells mahogany or rare woods. Another option is cherry but it is tremendously expensive at around $150 per sheet.

So I'm completely open to recommendations for the wood type. The only common response I got from various family members that have made furniture was to use plywood as it won't warp.

I also took measurements of the sheet sizes (of course they're not exactly 4' x 8') and did a rough cutout guide. I gave myself some room for error but as long as I don't screw up a piece I can fit it down to two sheets:








Comments, suggestions, advice; all is welcome!

[Movieman]

Use the birch vs the oak as birch is a closed grain and with oak to get a mirror smoothe surface you'll have to use a filler.
I built a guy an entertainment center years ago and he wanted hard maple but that was $90.00/sheet even back then.
if you take your time at HD and go thru the stacks of birch and grab the 'white" ones you can almost mimic maple.
Comes out nice and with a solid maple edging can't be told from the real thing.
Best of luck to you.

[celemine1Gig]

I wouldn't place the computer itself on the desk top, but under the desk. You'll hear every single noise coming from the computer much louder when it is placed nearer to your head, i.e. to your ears. I know what I'm talking about, as I first had my computer on the desk, at the very beginning. But never would I go back again. It does make a huge difference. And to be honest, at the time I had my PC on the desk, I didn't care about silence at all. Today I couldn't stand it, knowing that it'll be much better when it's placed right next to my feet instead.

Just my

[Xope_Poquar]

Use the birch vs the oak as birch is a closed grain and with oak to get a mirror smoothe surface you'll have to use a filler.
I built a guy an entertainment center years ago and he wanted hard maple but that was $90.00/sheet even back then.
if you take your time at HD and go thru the stacks of birch and grab the 'white" ones you can almost mimic maple.
Comes out nice and with a solid maple edging can't be told from the real thing.
Best of luck to you.

Oh I hadn't thought of that. I'll bring some gloves and look through all the birch sheets. I also love my birch drum set so it'll match! I was originally planning on painting the desk but after seeing the stained look for so long I've become attached. Only thing is birch looks rather boring compared to some of the other woods and I don't think you're supposed to pick the pieces with the most knots. Thanks for the advice.

I wouldn't place the computer itself on the desk top, but under the desk. You'll hear every single noise coming from the computer much louder when it is placed nearer to your head, i.e. to your ears. I know what I'm talking about, as I first had my computer on the desk, at the very beginning. But never would I go back again. It does make a huge difference. And to be honest, at the time I had my PC on the desk, I didn't care about silence at all. Today I couldn't stand it, knowing that it'll be much better when it's placed right next to my feet instead.

Just my

Interesting, I hadn't considered this. I'll take this into account and experiment by setting at ear level on my current desk. I want to be able to see in the panel but I could see the noise becoming a nuisance. Thanks for the insight.

[celemine1Gig]

Concerning the visibility of your window, how about putting a window in the desk, too? Using for example a solid glass plate instead of wood or metal, next to the sidepanel of your PC would make it visible, but the noise wouldn't be a problem. OK, it's not as visible as having it right on top of the desk, but you could still show it off. And IMHO, it would even have more style that way, as it wouldn't be as agressive in terms of style. Maybe you could even use some special foil for the glass that only makes it translucent when UV light is used. That could be really cool. You'd have understatement and show effect, both available to you at any time.

[Easybeat]

A few of points of personal preference.

I would get the sub-woofer on the floor and not on a shelf, chances are it will make the desk vibrate.

I never like sliding keyboard trays, I prefer a fixed desktop as it is more solid, if you do go sliding make sure it is robust.

Finally, I think some sort of cable ducting will be beneficial to hide everything.

[celemine1Gig]

Good points. Especially the one about the Subwoofer. And don't forget to design the sliding mechanism for the keyboard (if you choose to include it) high enough. I've seen some of these trays mounted way too low, thus it was very inconvenient to use the keyboard that way.

[Bobsama]

I concur with the suggestion of moving the sub to the floor. The other thing I think you have to consider is the purpose. Computer speaker systems are crude really for music. The cheapest way to get good sound though is to buy good headphones. Otherwise, using full-range speakers is much better than using the satellites plus subwoofer. The third thing I say you should consider (if audio is at all a priority) is to use a second sound source and open-back headphones. That will give you the five traditional channels plus two more, perhaps for VoIP or something. If you have a thought to do this, I'd say include a headphone stand in the setup. They're quite simple to setup and will make keeping full-sized headphones a lot easier.

Are you going to bring with you a (wireless?) router? If you do, it may be worth considering the mounting on your router of choice. I find that having a wireless router at college is a very good thing, especially when network checks are in place. Most of it is based off of MAC address, and many routers have the ability to "clone" a PC's MAC address and use it as its own identifier. Toss in that few network checks are cross-platform.

Last thing I have to say to consider is power strip or UPS. The power strip at least can be mounted just like a router, which again cleans up the setup. You may want to include cable holders, so you can neatly have cables to power and PC running.

[Xope_Poquar]

Concerning the visibility of your window, how about putting a window in the desk, too? Using for example a solid glass plate instead of wood or metal, next to the sidepanel of your PC would make it visible, but the noise wouldn't be a problem. OK, it's not as visible as having it right on top of the desk, but you could still show it off. And IMHO, it would even have more style that way, as it wouldn't be as agressive in terms of style. Maybe you could even use some special foil for the glass that only makes it translucent when UV light is used. That could be really cool. You'd have understatement and show effect, both available to you at any time.

Well I've been using my computer at ear level for the past day and I agree it was annoying. I took out my Ultra Kazes (as they're always on minimum anyways), and turned my remaining fans on minimum power. It is practically dead silent and well within tolerance. I will be keeping it on the desk.

A few of points of personal preference.

I would get the sub-woofer on the floor and not on a shelf, chances are it will make the desk vibrate.

I never like sliding keyboard trays, I prefer a fixed desktop as it is more solid, if you do go sliding make sure it is robust.

Finally, I think some sort of cable ducting will be beneficial to hide everything.

The point of getting the sub woofer off the floor is to get vibrations more through the air and less through the floor to my neighbors. I live in an apartment and I've noticed the bass is louder in other rooms than in my own. When picked up off the ground this dramatically changed. I have many, many ideas for eliminating desk vibration beyond rubber stoppers.

I like being able to slide the keyboard away. I recently bought some sliders that were rated for 150lbs. They don't lock but it's really easy to use a stopper if sliding becomes a problem. However I haven't faced that problem with my current sliding keyboard tray.

Good points. Especially the one about the Subwoofer. And don't forget to design the sliding mechanism for the keyboard (if you choose to include it) high enough. I've seen some of these trays mounted way too low, thus it was very inconvenient to use the keyboard that way.

If my calculations are correct the height of the keyboard tray will be perfect to 4 significant figures.

I concur with the suggestion of moving the sub to the floor. The other thing I think you have to consider is the purpose. Computer speaker systems are crude really for music. The cheapest way to get good sound though is to buy good headphones. Otherwise, using full-range speakers is much better than using the satellites plus subwoofer. The third thing I say you should consider (if audio is at all a priority) is to use a second sound source and open-back headphones. That will give you the five traditional channels plus two more, perhaps for VoIP or something. If you have a thought to do this, I'd say include a headphone stand in the setup. They're quite simple to setup and will make keeping full-sized headphones a lot easier.

Are you going to bring with you a (wireless?) router? If you do, it may be worth considering the mounting on your router of choice. I find that having a wireless router at college is a very good thing, especially when network checks are in place. Most of it is based off of MAC address, and many routers have the ability to "clone" a PC's MAC address and use it as its own identifier. Toss in that few network checks are cross-platform.

Last thing I have to say to consider is power strip or UPS. The power strip at least can be mounted just like a router, which again cleans up the setup. You may want to include cable holders, so you can neatly have cables to power and PC running.

I've used headphones the entire time I lived at home and grew tired of it. The sound was great but I feel more surrounded with a 5.1 setup. 5.1 surround head phones feel less precise in games than satellites. After a while the only time I used headphones was at night when everyone was sleeping. When I got the Z-5500s I liked the fact that the sub woofer could be turned off completely.

Luckily I don't live in a dorm so we have our own standard ISP. The router isn't in my room so I'm wired by a 50 foot Cat6 cable. The cable is well hidden throughout the house and with as much of a wire management Nazi I am I see no reason to go have to go wireless.

With that said I have plans for desk wire management. I am going to use my power strip and have some holes in the desk planned to be placed.



I really appreciate everyone's input. I remember why I like this community so much!

[Xope_Poquar]

Alright just bought the wood. I broke down and bought two 3/4" 4x8' slabs of grade AA Cherry for $107 each. Not bad compared to what I was seeing online. It's a beautiful red and really heavy.

I'm going with a dark mahogany stain which will get it a little darker than what I have pictured. Bought a 220grit sanding block and a gloss clear coat. I also bought some red birch tape edging to go around the edges to hide the ply's. It's iron-on and every furniture maker I've talked to swears by them.

Tonight I'm going to draw out all the measurements and hopefully tomorrow I can begin cutting.


Funny note to add was I went to a few furniture stores to check out the various woods and when I told them I was just looking at the finishes and grains as I was building my own desk, without hesitating they all told me it would cost way more to do that than to buy from them. All of them told me that. Every desk I found that was similar to my plans was around $700 or $800 for oak or cherry. So far my total bill is about $265 after tax.

[celemine1Gig]

I think they a) wanted to sell you something and besides that they b) might have thought that you would have it done according to your plans and didn't realise that you would actually do it on your own. And c) would probably be that none of the poeple you talked to really knows how to manufacture a real desk by hand.
It's most likely like in the majority of computer stores: The salespersons know a bit about computers, but nothing in depth.

[grasskicker509]

any updates??? looks promising by the way

[moiraesfate]

Wow, that looks great. Incidentally, why don't you turn all that space below the tower into drawers/filing cabinet?

[i found nemo]

for the woofer u should make ur own box out of that lil " enclosement " that u have for it in the pic. get it sealed with calk, and if it's a 8 inch speaker, go 1.5 inch port, or if it's 6 try 3/4 or if it's 10 try 2 and 3/4 or if 12 try 3 and 1/2 diameter port. make a tube that is atleast 5-6 inches deep. pcv pipe will work fine ... or is it pvc? lol i forget.

btw how deep is the front to back of the enclosement? also may i recommend 2 subs? in wich case, make holes .75 times bigger than above reccomendations :p. bass does not matter on placement as u could not tell anyways since bass is omnidirectional, and u can't tell left or right.

[Xope_Poquar]

any updates??? looks promising by the way

Yes! I had a hangup but I've already began cutting into the cherry. Hopefully I'll get some pictures up today. Thanks I didn't know anyone was following!

Wow, that looks great. Incidentally, why don't you turn all that space below the tower into drawers/filing cabinet?

Thank you sir. I can't explain it but I don't like drawers at all. I might do a shelf or two eventually but I'm going for minimalism right now.

for the woofer u should make ur own box out of that lil " enclosement " that u have for it in the pic. get it sealed with calk, and if it's a 8 inch speaker, go 1.5 inch port, or if it's 6 try 3/4 or if it's 10 try 2 and 3/4 or if 12 try 3 and 1/2 diameter port. make a tube that is atleast 5-6 inches deep. pcv pipe will work fine ... or is it pvc? lol i forget.

btw how deep is the front to back of the enclosement? also may i recommend 2 subs? in wich case, make holes .75 times bigger than above reccomendations :p. bass does not matter on placement as u could not tell anyways since bass is omnidirectional, and u can't tell left or right.

I'm not sure if I follow; turn that part of the desk into the woofer box? Sounds a little intense. The enclosure is 21.25" deep so two 8" speakers might fit but I have a 10". I will admit that the bass is the weakest part of the Z-5500s in that it is a little muddy and can be overpowering so I don't think I'd need 2.

This sounds interesting but I'll I think I'll hold off on shelving/building speakers into it until after the desk is up and running.


Hopefully I'll finish cutting out the pieces today. I'm still getting used to working with skill saws, table saws, and planers. I'll probably need help using the biscuit joiner.

[Mescalamba]

Make that keyb/mouse part not movable.. trust me, its not what you want.. Well, in case you are gamer. But otherwise, nice design..

[i found nemo]

Yes! I had a hangup but I've already began cutting into the cherry. Hopefully I'll get some pictures up today. Thanks I didn't know anyone was following!





Thank you sir. I can't explain it but I don't like drawers at all. I might do a shelf or two eventually but I'm going for minimalism right now.





I'm not sure if I follow; turn that part of the desk into the woofer box? Sounds a little intense. The enclosure is 21.25" deep so two 8" speakers might fit but I have a 10". I will admit that the bass is the weakest part of the Z-5500s in that it is a little muddy and can be overpowering so I don't think I'd need 2.

This sounds interesting but I'll I think I'll hold off on shelving/building speakers into it until after the desk is up and running.


Hopefully I'll finish cutting out the pieces today. I'm still getting used to working with skill saws, table saws, and planers. I'll probably need help using the biscuit joiner.

well check it out, go by the golden rule or w/e for speakers. observe

w = 1.0.
d = 0.6 times width
h = 1.6 times width

as in ratio wise. do the math on each of these and u'll see what requirements, demension wise.

and for tube size i'd go for 1/4 of the speaker size or speakers. and have it just under half the size of total depth. and buy pillows. gut the pillows and put the stuffing or w/e from the pillows into the box. not feathered pillows lol. and don't forget to add the width of ur blade so u cut the right size, and count in the thickness of wood. so u get the box volume correct. and maybe put a positive negative terminal on the out side of the box, say opposite side ur leg on the left hand side. also if u don't want to incorporate such a design, check this out. i've always noticed bass sounds better when it's kind of far away, front or back of me dn't matter cuz bass is not able to be destinguished with such things. so if u put ur speaker(s) in their nice little boxes in corner(s) farthest away from u, that will help. even 2 speakers on the same wall left or right would be okay. idk i love bass :p. u should check out the speakers section on here.

[Wookie Man]

I read that you are going for minimalism, but will you be styling the desk in anyway? Rounded edges, molding, etc...

[Xope_Poquar]

4x8' Grade AA Cherry Ply

That's my friend's old car in the back.


Great day for cutting:




Fresh cut into this sheet:




My friend cutting the notch out of the back board with the Miter Saw:




Back done:




Me pushing some wood through the table saw to make speaker stands:




Stands done:




The table saw has a really nice blade and the saw dust it makes is a really fine powder. My friend has some nice footprints:




As of right now all the pieces are cut to shape.

I read that you are going for minimalism, but will you be styling the desk in anyway? Rounded edges, molding, etc...

I'll probably be using iron-on birch edging as it was the closest in color to the cherry. I have a dark mahogany stain. I don't think I'll be doing any molding or anything fancy.



I'm not really sure what the next step is. I have to wait until next week before I can begin joining as I don't know how to use the biscuit joiner and don't have any experience in this field. I'm not sure if I should do any finishing yet. The videos I've seen online on desk building the people finished the wood before putting it together.

Any opinions?

[brandinb]

This is really looking great! If you want a true minimalistic design I feel there are some upgrades you could make to the desk design. If i was going all out like this I would build into the desk a small platform 3-5 inches high with an angle on the front to point the speakers upwards towards your head. Basically a large speaker box for the center and left/right channels built into the desk. You would make internal stoppers to seperate the speaker chambers and your monitor can sit ontop of the box. You could adjust the speakers for optimal angle this way and I would also build the rear satalites into the stands. It would give the system a very integrated and high end look.

Also im curious what you settled on for fasteners on the project?

I have built my own desk but not with the same finish quality you are going for. I just used wood glue and 2.5 inch decking screws counter sunk and filled. Desk was built in mdf and painted.

[TSXmike]

i wanna check more of this out when i get home (since i cant view the pictures at work). im in the process of refinishing a antique desk that im gonna use for a computer desk.

[Xope_Poquar]

This is really looking great! If you want a true minimalistic design I feel there are some upgrades you could make to the desk design. If i was going all out like this I would build into the desk a small platform 3-5 inches high with an angle on the front to point the speakers upwards towards your head. Basically a large speaker box for the center and left/right channels built into the desk. You would make internal stoppers to seperate the speaker chambers and your monitor can sit ontop of the box. You could adjust the speakers for optimal angle this way and I would also build the rear satalites into the stands. It would give the system a very integrated and high end look.

Also im curious what you settled on for fasteners on the project?

I have built my own desk but not with the same finish quality you are going for. I just used wood glue and 2.5 inch decking screws counter sunk and filled. Desk was built in mdf and painted.

Well the vertical angle of the speakers is already set exactly pointed at my ears as each satellite is already mounted at an angle. The only speaker that annoys me is the center. I've had it balanced on top of my monitor and the sound was always "above" me. I now have it on the under the monitor and it sounds better. The only problem is it's a little closer than the other speakers so I either have to push the monitor back (which is less preferable) or just turn it down slightly.

For the joints I will be using a biscuit joiner.

i wanna check more of this out when i get home (since i cant view the pictures at work). im in the process of refinishing a antique desk that im gonna use for a computer desk.

Good! Hope you can learn something and maybe improve on my method.


Tomorrow I will work on it some more.

[Sliced Cheese]

Looking very good so far. I'm thinking of doing something similar to your rear speaker stands with my z5300e's. Also, is that the dewalt 12" sliding mitre? Wish I could afford one of those....

[Xope_Poquar]

Looking very good so far. I'm thinking of doing something similar to your rear speaker stands with my z5300e's. Also, is that the dewalt 12" sliding mitre? Wish I could afford one of those....

Thanks. I wish I could afford one too!




Small update:


Busted out the biscuit joiner:













Going 3D!





Now that I'm pretty confident with the tool I'll be able skim along pretty quickly.

[SNiiPE_DoGG]

looks really great man, thanks for making a worklog I have to make a custom desk for my room in the fraternity house next year and this will be a great reference when I go to build!