Monday, December 1, 2008

Furniture Update: Studio Desk

Here's an update on the Foray into Furniture:

The first photo is an overall shot, including the CPU, Digi 003 rack interface, monitors and wall-mounted display. All the wood is cherry; the top is 3/4" plywood with veneer banding on the edges. The sides and back are 1/4" plywood. The CPU shelf is 1/4" solid cherry. The rest is solid cherry 1×2s. I used a tongue & groove router bit to make the simple rail, stile & panel construction. The slot cut for the panel also serves as a mortise for the rails. Some dowel joints were also used for the frame under the CPU and to attach the top. The finish is Tried & True oil finish, which is a polymerized linseed oil and beeswax product.

The drawer is made with birch plywood prefab drawer sides from Rockler (they come precut to width, with a routed groove for the bottom panel). I used an inexpensive Wolfcraft dovetail jig to make the drawer box. Side mount drawer glides attach to the upper rails. The only screws used are on the drawer glides and to attach the drawer front to the box.

A rectangular hole was required for the cables to pass through the top. The DVI connector for the video monitor is the longest and the IEC power connector was the widest. I dressed the opening with a custom rectangular grommet (somewhat visible in the photo) made from a scrap of cherry.

Mostly, everything works as planned, except that our low-noise CPU enclosure has a front door to cover the CD/DVD drives. The CPU tower has to be pushed forward so that the hinge of this door doesn't interfere with the leg of the desk.

This last photo is unrelated to the studio desk. This was a mini-project from the summer. I bought the clock movement with the intent of making some kind of desk clock. An ECC832 triode I ordered for an amplifier project arrived DOA and the dealer didn't ask for the defective one's return. I fashioned the clock loosely after a vintage radio and epoxied in the triode as a decoration.