Scratch Build: The Ultimate Computer Desk

Discussion in 'Die-hard Overclocking & Case Modifications' started by ultimatedesk, Dec 29, 2010.

  1. Detection

    Detection Banned

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    Yea cute till they start sharpening their claws on your desk ;)
     
  2. ultimatedesk

    ultimatedesk Active Member

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    Second Staining Attempt

    lol, thanks for that reminder - I have thought about that, however, and I'm actually working on another project at the same time as this desk. THE ULTIMATE CAT TREE FUNHOUSE! lololol (Seriously though. It's not the ultimate though. Not like this desk at least ;)).


    Some of you may have wondered - "You stained 2 small pieces of wood in the past 2 weeks?! That's all you have to show for progress on THE ULTIMATE DESK?!"

    Well, not quite... Really - I did more, I swear.

    As you all know, the first staining attempt went really poorly, so I immediately went out and started on a second staining attempt. This time, I purchased some pre-stain wood conditioner, as well as a traditional oil-based stain. I also set out to do this the right way. If I'm going to spend a week staining small samples, I might as well have something to show for it. I cut 8 small blocks of wood, and sanded them all to 120 grit, just like before, and tacked them all off.

    [​IMG]

    I had a plan this time - I was going to see what kind of colour combinations I could get with just 2 stains, and 1 wood conditioner (The gel stain, for what it's worth, had been mixed several times, and had been kept upstairs for a few days). Here is the wood conditioner I used. You can see in the background that it tints the wood just slightly.

    [​IMG]

    Here is the oil-based stain I picked up. It's a Minwax product, Red Mahogany.

    [​IMG]

    And of course, the Varathane Gel Stain that you've already seen, also, Red Mahogany.

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    In this picture you can see a bit how the oil stain reacts to the wood conditioner. The wood conditioner seemed to have hardly any effect on the gel stain, most likely because gel stains don't really penetrate the wood the same as an oil stain.

    [​IMG]

    And in this picture you can see the whopping difference between the oil stain and gel stain, which are, strangely enough, supposed to be the same colour. The one on the left is the Minwax, and the one in the middle is the Varathane. Neither the first or second piece have wood conditioner on them. The piece on the right is wood conditioner + the Minwax oil stain.

    [​IMG]

    Here's the production line, the stain is still wet, I haven't wiped off the excess yet.

    [​IMG]

    And here is the result of 2 days of staining. (First day sanding, tacking, wood conditioner, first coat of stain, second day some of them got a second coat).

    From left to right, here is what I did to get the different results (Some of them obvious, some of them pretty darn subtle).

    1. Minwax Red Mahogany Oil Stain
    2. Varathane Red Mahogany Gel Stain
    3. Wood Conditioner + Minwax Red Mahogany Oil Stain
    4. Wood Conditioner + Varathane Red Mahogany Gel Stain
    5. Wood Conditioner + Minwax Red Mahogany Oil Stain + Varathane Red Mahogany Gel Stain
    6. Wood Conditioner + Varathane Red Mahogany Gel Stain + Minwax Red Mahogany Oil Stain
    7. Wood Conditioner + Minwax Red Mahogany Oil Stain x 2 Coats
    8. Wood Conditioner + Varathane Red Mahogany Gel Stain x 2 Coats

    Wow! It's pretty amazing the different shades you can get when using just 3 pretty simple substances.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    I then set about the next 4 or 5 days applying one coat of high gloss polyurethane each day (That was a long and boring process). Basically, get home from work, go downstairs for a whole 5 minutes, do a quick sanding, tacking, and another light coat of poly, done for the day, wait for the next day.

    Here's the final result of Staining Attempt Number Two. Please keep in mind, they are not in the same order that I mentioned above.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    There's no doubt that I will use this method again in the future. I also now have a great set of staining samples for maple plywood that I will surely fine handy in the future (They are all marked on the back what the process / stain used was).

    Guess what though. None of them really came out the way I wanted. I'm still in search for that rich, deep, red mahogany / cherry look, and these just won't cut it (Though I admit, I do like #5 and #6, but maybe only because of their really spectacular grain pattern).

    See you next time for Staining Attempt Number Three! *sigh*



    Oh - and here's another snap of the kittens - they are 20 days old when this picture was taken, and they had just opened their eyes only a couple days beforehand.

    [​IMG]

    I won't be posting another update until next week, as I've decided to take a trip to the East Coast to celebrate St.Patricks day! I'll be in Halifax if anyone wants to go for a few pints! Have a great weekend everyone!
     
  3. ARieger54

    ARieger54 Member Guru

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    How are you applying the stain? Are you using a stain brush, a sponge brush, or what? I've found the best way to get a good consistent stain is to just use a wiping cloth (cut up t-shirt). It's much easier to keep the stain uniform across the whole piece. As you found out gel stains don't work too well with maple because of the pore size. I actually just refinished a maple coffee table using the red mahogany oil stain with the wood conditioner and a semi-gloss finish and it produced best result out of the several different methods and stains I tried. I'm not sure if you sanded before staining but I went over mine with a 60 grit pad followed by a 220 grit pad to get a nice smooth fresh layer of wood. Hope this info was helpful. The desk looks great so far though, can't wait to see the finished product
     
  4. Youve got a regular ouse of horrors there my freind with all the blades and saws and what ever else you have lerking around there. Got some talent to, its cool to see people using there brains and hands and doing things from scratch. Everything these days is so uniform and mechanical, its cool to see the human touch. cant wait for the finished products.
     

  5. scoter man1

    scoter man1 Ancient Guru

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    I'm liking the stain color!
     
  6. Alec**

    Alec** Maha Guru

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    Love projects like this .. phenomenal quality throughout and really creative. Keep up the good work mate! I look forward to seeing the end product :)
     
  7. ultimatedesk

    ultimatedesk Active Member

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    Third Staining Attempt

    Hmm, thanks for the comments, ARieger54. I did sand beforehand to 120, as I was informed that 220 would close the pores even further, preventing stain absorption. As much as I do love the grain highlighting of an oil stain, you'll see below that I ultimately went with another gel stain with superb colour. As far as applying, I have been applying the gel stain with a foam brush, and wiping with a cloth afterwards. The poly has been going on with a fine bristle brush.

    lmao, yeah, the basement is pretty freaky eh? ;) Thanks for the comments - it is an interesting observation. When working with wood, with your own hands, at first you look for the type of perfection found in mass produced items, but then you realize that the non-perfect parts of the project are what give it its best traits - character!

    Thanks - you'll see below that I ultimately have decided to go with a way different colour, however!

    Thank you very much Alec** - I seriously, cannot wait, to have it finished too lol!

    For those of you interested in seeing how the kittens are doing, I've been keeping a bit of a video log on them - ie. I have been taking quick video clips of them every few days, since day 0. You can check them out here:
    http://www.youtube.com/user/MrAderome#p/u

    Also, here is a bit of a sneak peak, as far as actual computer hardware is concerned - I've been slowly acquiring bits and pieces, since I'm still not entirely sure what will end up in this Ultimate Computer Desk.

    Kingston has decided to sponsor me, and has sent me this really fantastic SSD drive. I am PSYCHED!

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    As you are all aware, my first 2 staining attempts were successful in the sense that I learned a lot, however, I was still not achieving the result I originally wanted.

    I decided to try something other than the tried-and-true local Home Depot, and I hit up a custom furniture store - Randalls. Let me tell you - it was a truly great experience, and I will be returning there many more times in the future due to the incredible service I received there.

    I walked in with my backpack full of my 2nd attempt samples, and immediately a salesperson started talking with me about what I was there for. I explained to her the stains I tried, along with the techniques, and she asked to see my samples.

    I pointed out the ones I liked, and why, and why I didn't like them, and she came back in a few minutes with a couple stains that might interest me. She then asked if she could do some sample stains on the back of the pieces I brought in. She took the pieces behind the counter, sanded them down, stained them, and came back in a few minutes with actual, real - this is what they're going to look like - samples.

    How cool is that? I could have just gone there in the first place and spent the whole extra 2 dollars, but would have walked out with 1 product - the right one - the first time. Amazing - I'm really happy I discovered that place.

    I can't imagine Home Depot opening up any of their products for a test piece.. I've never asked though, so who knows. Randall's is my goto place for stains now, however!

    [​IMG]

    Once again, I decided to see what variety of colours I could get with what I had on hand, so I setup 8 samples once more:

    1. Old Masters
    2. Wood Conditioner + Old Masters
    3. Wood Conditioner + Minwax + Old Masters
    4. Wood Conditioner + Old Masters + Minwax
    5. Wood Conditioner + Old Masters x 2 Coats
    6. Old Masters x 2 Coats
    7. Wood Conditioner + Varathane + Old Masters
    8. Wood Conditioner + Old Masters + Varathane

    [​IMG]

    I worked on the samples for about a week (1 coat per day, did 5 or 6 coats of poly on top, light sanding between poly coats)

    [​IMG]

    Here are a couple close up shots while staining was in progress

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    And a comparison with the previous samples, once everything was nicely glossed up

    [​IMG]

    Look at the difference in colour! Now that's more what I was looking for. There's no question that the gel stain has "muted" the grain a little bit, however, the colour is unquestionably closer to what I was looking for originally.

    Here is a shot of my previously favorite samples from the 2nd round, against the new samples

    [​IMG]

    And a closeup of the 2 samples I think I like the best. The differences between this batch are quite subtle, as the Old Masters gel stain has a very strong dye which mutes out the effects of conditioner, or any other stain applied before or after.

    [​IMG]

    Now that's what I call progress! I think I can call it quits for testing stain now. Time to move on to the dreaded motherboard tray / I/O Slot stuff...

    Until next time!
     
  8. CronoGraal

    CronoGraal Ancient Guru

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    damn, i should have never started reading this thread. now you've kept me in suspense!

    note to self- read build threads after the build is complete >_<!
     
  9. ARieger54

    ARieger54 Member Guru

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    Whatever you find works best for you. I'm just waiting to see the finished product :)
     
  10. scoter man1

    scoter man1 Ancient Guru

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    Thats an even nicer color. Still cant wait to see the product.
     

  11. ultimatedesk

    ultimatedesk Active Member

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    Some New Hardware

    Hehe, I feel grampa building up suspense in some old story that ultimately, is not particularly epic lol. I know what you mean though - now you're hooked! You've just got to keep coming back! ;)

    Thanks ARieger54, and scoterman1, I seriously cannot wait for the final product either. I can't believe I've been working on this thing for so long!


    Sorry about the lack of updates everyone, it's not that I haven't been working on the desk much, but it's more that I've been using the camera a lot (You know.. kittens) and I haven't had time to sit down and sort through all the photos, re-size, crop, etc for some real proper updates.

    I've had this update sitting on the back burner for a little while now and I've been meaning to squeeze in it somewhere. I had been talking with some folks at Danger Den because I was looking at their motherboard trays and I/O panels, and they've decided to sponsor me!

    Big thanks go out to Danger Den, as these are critical components required for a professional end result - you've all seen the mangled results of the cases I tore up earlier in the project.

    [​IMG]
    http://www.dangerden.com

    [​IMG]

    Everything came very nicely packed - not much loose play, and plenty of foam to absorb any shipping issues.

    [​IMG]

    I had these PSU support brackets custom made:

    [​IMG]

    I sent them a higher resolution image of this, that I threw together in Sketchup:

    [​IMG]

    Also included in this little shipment were some momentary switches for power and reset. (These are really popular these days, aren't they?)

    [​IMG]

    And some real nifty motherboard trays:

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    All the acrylic is 1/2" clear - I will leave them wrapped up until the project is close to completion. With these parts -finally- settled, I can cut some holes in the cabinets and actually put them together -for real- !!

    Stay tuned, I'll sit down this weekend and sort through the next round of updates ;)
     
  12. PurpleFish

    PurpleFish Guest

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    Rock on man!!!!!!!!!!!!! AMAZING
     
  13. Kyle_

    Kyle_ Guest

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    I'm absolutely floored by your dedication. Thank you for showing me why I should never attempt such a project. I have absolutely no patience compared to you.
     
  14. ultimatedesk

    ultimatedesk Active Member

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    IO Slot Cutting

    Thanks PurpleFish!

    lmao, that is a hilarious way of complimenting the project, Kyle_! You never know though, you might just have THE idea one day!!


    So - it's been sometime since I've posted an update - apologies, things have been very busy lately.

    With the parts from Danger Den having arrived, I could now move on to some more specific details with both of the cabinets that will contain the computers.

    Once again, I started with a test fitting, this time, it was a very accurate fitting, requiring quite a bit of sanding and fiddling around to get as close to the final product as possible.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

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    I then placed some test parts for fitting, and traced some outlines on the wood. The motherboard tray was placed on some thin strips of packing foam that I cut up, to help isolate any vibration from the CPU Heatsink.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Installed some new blades on the jigsaw, put my biggest drill bit in the drill, and went to town!

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Part 2 coming up!
     
  15. ultimatedesk

    ultimatedesk Active Member

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    IO Slot Cutting Part 2

    After doing the rough cut with the jigsaw, I took out the router and free-handed with a straight bit to smooth out the edges.

    [​IMG]

    The semi-finished air intake for the left-hand cabinet:

    [​IMG]

    The power supply rough cut:

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    I decided that the PSU bolts will need a little more clearance around the screw holes.

    [​IMG]

    The I/O Shield cut out was a bit tricky to measure, but I think I did a pretty decent job:

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    And a final shot from above and below:

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Next update, I'll have pics of actual assembly of the left hand cabinet, and then more cutting, and biscuit joining on the right-hand cabinet.
     

  16. PurpleFish

    PurpleFish Guest

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    Nice to see your update! Just thought of something I would do and gotta give you a heads-up! That gonna fit up the stairs to get it outa the basement when your done? Just somethin i wouldn't think of till it was too late:)


    Keep up the amazing work man!
     
  17. Logic Zero

    Logic Zero Guest

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    Zooooomg this is incredible!! :banana: Love it...can't wait for the next update!
     
  18. ultimatedesk

    ultimatedesk Active Member

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    Left Cabinet Assembly

    lol thanks, yes, I've thought of it ;) The whole desk comes apart into 4 separate components (Desk Surface, Desk Shelf, Left Cabinet, Right Cabinet)

    Thanks Logic Zero!

    It's been a while, but I can assure you, progress is still moving forward with the Ultimate Computer Desk!

    I finally got around to assembling the left-hand cabinet - here it is, all glued and clamped together. It's a really solid unit - the dado cuts lined up really well, and the structure is rock solid.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Here I am doing a mock-up of the right-hand cabinet. This one was a little trickier to put together. There is a pretty specific order of assembly, otherwise, you're left with a piece that just doesn't want to fit properly.

    [​IMG]

    Some outlines for the motherboard I/O and power supply

    [​IMG]

    I remember mentioning that I free-handed the holes with the router for the left-hand cabinet. I decided to play a safer route for the right-hand cabinet.

    I took a piece of wood, lined it up with my straight edge, and ran my router on top of the wood with a straight bit - this game me a perfect "stencil". What I can do then, is take the stencil, line up the edge with a line that I've drawn on the target piece, place a straight edge behind the stencil, clamp down the straight edge, remove the stencil, and run my router across the straight edge for a straight, accurate line.

    Wow, that was a mouthful.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    And the end product:

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    And then I made a pretty huge mistake...

    Here is the suspect:

    [​IMG]

    Bam. Can you guess why this was a bad idea?

    [​IMG]
     
  19. ultimatedesk

    ultimatedesk Active Member

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    Right Hand Cabinet

    Holy moly, I'm really sorry for the lack of updates folks - I've been sick for quite a while and the weather has been miserable so I haven't had much time to work on the desk. Apparently I had cedar poisoning! Wonderful!

    Anyways - back on track!

    Those of you who guessed it right - yes, I shouldn't have made the hole in the first place. I don't know what I was thinking. This is the right-hand cabinet.

    [​IMG]

    Whoops!

    [​IMG]

    Here's the biscuit joiner I was using. It worked pretty well for what it is. The tricky part was determining the order of which pieces/faces/sides to glue first and how to keep it all from falling apart before completion.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Here's the left-hand cabinet all dried and ready for some trim

    [​IMG]

    And voila, my erm.. elegant clamping solution (I need to grab some cauls!)

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Hope you enjoy! Rest assured, this project WILL BE FINISHED! Just.. mm, I don't really know when. I'm moving in a month and a half, so all the staining/sanding will have to be done, at a minimum.

    Take care!
     
  20. Corbus

    Corbus Ancient Guru

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    Wood is not a good material for housing PC components...you will need to make it very well ventilated even if you will use water to cool it. Other than that very good handywork, good job.
     

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