apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

After removing all the clamps we were able to see the results of the gluing. Gorilla glue is one of the expanding types so there were a lot of drips on the floor and as you can see from the below pic, a beautiful landscape was revealed reminiscent of a certain little mermaid poster from a few years back.

After sanding the excess glue from the wood, we clamped a board to the surface to help us square off the ends with a router. A router is basically a fast moving drill that uses the sides of the "drill bit" to cut rather than the plunging action you might normally associate with using a drill. By setting up a temporary wall, we can guide the side of the router along the wood edge to cut a smooth and straight finish... this could be done with a number of different tools.

Flat surface + IKEA legs = desk.

So now the whole thing was cut to dimensions that we were happy with... about 19" by 66" or so which in the science of numerology combine to create the most divinest number of all... 85ish. We now needed to smooth all the corners and then add some support to keep the plane straight. Actually, the wood is stiff enough to support itself, but the real purpose of having this hidden beam is to have a place to hide wires and switches and lasers.

We used dowels to "pin" it to the board in addition to the glue. See above and below. Then we clamped it right the heck up and waited like crazy. See way below.

The Vika Inge Legs (also appropriated for speaker duty recently) come with mounting brackets (seen below) which are super easy to screw in. The screws were too long for our 5/8" table thickness so we had to dip into the Unplggd parts bin to find some shorter ones. The legs can be mounted facing any direction for your desired effect. By the way, the kitchen in the below picture is currently being remodeled. Look for a story to show up in the next couple weeks- perhaps on a sister site.

Then we sanded...

At this point, the basic table was done and all that needed to be taken care of was staining and waxing. We used Watco Danish Oil in cherry. Delish. There were a few imperfections in the wood that we just left there because it is honest to do so and Flat surface + IKEA legs = desk. You weren't expecting that sentence to end that way, were you? It is nonetheless, so true.

That is it. Look for updates as we add new stuff and things to it to make it faster and smarter... and remember, you dont even have to build the tabletop to make a desk because Flat surface + IKEA legs = desk...

Related Links:

• DIY: Multimedia Desk, Built From “Scratch” Part 1
• DIY: How to Make VERY Simple Speakers, Part 1
• Hardcore Playstation 3 DIY Cabinet
• Super Sized NES Controller Coffee Table