Sarah’s New Desk

So while I was testing the chair, my daughter Sarah needed a new desk for her home office. I just couldn’t let her go to Ikea for something like that! Instead, I proposed this:

Yes, it was heavily influenced by my recent work with curves! There will be a separate drawer unit that can go under or beside the desk as needed, and I’ll post about that when it’s done. But let’s start with the desk proper.

The most interesting and difficult part of this desk would be the legs. They had to be strong enough to support the structure, but removable — the final product has to be carried up a narrow staircase. And the most interesting part by far would be those curved front pieces.

One thing I learned in my study of chairs is that it’s not a good idea to cut a large weight-bearing piece out of a single length of wood. Inevitably at some point the grain will be cut short, and that creates a weak point that will break easily. So I first tried making them in two pieces, but my joinery didn’t work out. I scrapped the first pair and made another, this time using 3 segments and splines in the joints for strength. That worked out a lot better.

I cut six rectangles, 6″ x 16″, of straight-grained 5/4 maple. Then I mitered those and joined them with splines so that the grain basically followed the curve. Then I cut them out at the bandsaw and smoothed them out on the spindle sander. The result was exactly what I wanted.

Everything in the base parts is assembled with mortise and tenon joinery for strength. The dowel and corner piece have integral tenons; the arch pieces use loose tenons

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Now to get to work on the desktop. I bought a really nice marble laminate to cover the desk and shelf, and cut 3 inch wide maple strips from the 5/4 stock to wrap around it, mitering the front corners. The framing is attached to the desk with continuous 5/16″ splines that run the entire width and length of the plywood — that will give the trim strength while keeping everything in alignment. Then I drew out the final shape of those rails, which is interesting in the front because of the reverse curve.

I glued that up and treated it to a nice table-edge detail with my router, then cut some dadoes in the top to receive supports for the upper shelf. I also started the cutouts for the outlets I planned to build into the top at the back. More on that later.

Now it was really starting to take shape. I cut three supports, putting a curve on those too, and made the top shelf. I was going to leave that square, but with all the other parts being curved it just didn’t look right. So instead I curved the sides and front edge to be compatible with the desktop, and used a smaller version of the same router profile around the edges.

It’s looking almost done, but I have to finish adding the electrical outlets and wiring that up. Then there’s lots of sanding, and final finish that will make that maple look really nice. One more post on this, and then comes the drawer unit.

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