andreas Posted April 17, 2011 Report Share Posted April 17, 2011 My wife has asked me to build a maple arts and crafts desk for her. She gave me the overall dimensions and told me that she wants some open shelves on the left side and a small hutch at the back. I came up with this design but I'm really not happy with it. It just looks too utilitarian and boring. I want it to look like it was custom built instead of coming out of a box from from a department store. Any suggestions? I think it needs some curves.Desk.skp 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beechwood Chip Posted April 17, 2011 Report Share Posted April 17, 2011 I agree about the curves. Check out Marc's video on the trestle table, arts and craft desk and the low entertainment center. I'm thinking you could add a bevel curve to the front of the desktop and the top of the hutch, and add some curves to the bottoms of the top and bottom rails. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darnell Hagen Posted April 17, 2011 Report Share Posted April 17, 2011 I agree with Chip, make your bottom stretchers a little taller and arc the bottoms. I'd also put a rail across the top and the bottom of the open front shelving, and arc the bottom one. I'd make the hutch narrower from side to side, and it could use a back, and for kicks I'd extend it up past the top shelf and arc it as well. Were I you I'd put a rail across the top of the kneehole, front and back, to strengthen the right side, and I'd lose the radius front edge, it relates nowhere else on the piece and won't make a difference in comfort. If you want to get really Artsy Craftsy about it make through tenons and/or pin them with square capped dowels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andreas Posted April 17, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2011 Great suggestions, thanks guys! I'll rework the design this week and post some new photos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andreas Posted April 18, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 18, 2011 Wow, I'm not finished yet but that looks way better already! The curves make it much more interesting. You are right to be concerned about the strength of the right side; the extra rails in the knee hole are a good idea. I can't extend the hutch any higher because she wants to mount a wall cabinet over the desk, but I narrowed it a bit and added a gentle curve which looks pretty good. I haven't added the bevel yet but I think that would look nice on the top of the desk and the hutch. I'll also add a small overhang to the hutch to mirror the one on the desk top. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
usacomp2k3 Posted April 18, 2011 Report Share Posted April 18, 2011 Maybe it's just me, but would it be more balanced to include that lattice (the vertical strips on the right hand side) on one of the other flat surfaces? Just looks a little odd to my eye being the only use of that pattern. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beechwood Chip Posted April 18, 2011 Report Share Posted April 18, 2011 I'd add the curves on the bottom rails on the left (shelf) side - I think it looks unbalanced to have some straight rails and some curved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmac Posted April 18, 2011 Report Share Posted April 18, 2011 Can I be part of the design committee, too? First, I agree that the left side should look more like the right side. It needs curves to match the rails on the right side for sure, and if there was some way to mirror the lattice over there also, that would be great. Come to think about it, is there any reason the panels on either side of the shelves have to be solid? Could you have the vertical slats there, too, instead of the solid panels? The other thing that's been bothering me is that you have the legs, the rails, and the vertical slats all flush on the outside of the desk. I think you should inset the rails a little bit from the legs, and then inset the slats even further from the rails. The attached picture shows what I mean. At the same time, I think you should make the legs square in cross section rather than rectangular like you have them. The legs as you have them how look sort of like 2x4s to me, and I think that's one reason the whole thing doesn't look quite as arts-and-craftsy as you'd like. Ain't Sketchup great? -- Russ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darnell Hagen Posted April 18, 2011 Report Share Posted April 18, 2011 Lookin' good there, Andreas! I'd try to keep the horizontal members the same width, they're a little wider on the gables. You want that line to wrap around the piece. I'd arc the bottom stretchers on the sides, too. I don't mind the spindles only on the one side, it's an asymetrical piece and the shelving explains the solid panel. However, I do agree that the rails should be offset an 1/8" to the legs, the reveal will create an interesting shadow line. It's easier to make, too, as you don't need to make sure your joint is perfectly flush and you can break edges before assembly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beechwood Chip Posted April 18, 2011 Report Share Posted April 18, 2011 I might use bead-board or ship-lap for the side panel, to create some vertical shadow lines to complement the vertical spindles on the other side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andreas Posted April 20, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2011 That looks so much better. I think I'm going to go with ship-lap on the left side. Thanks very much for all the help guys! I'll throw up some photos when I actually build the thing.Desk2.skp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmac Posted April 20, 2011 Report Share Posted April 20, 2011 If it's not too much trouble, could you (in Sketchup) make the top, the shelf, and all the components of the hutch a little thicker? Say 1" or maybe even 1-1/8"? I think that would go a long way towards making it look even less store-bought. If you haven't already, I'd also see what it looks like without the bevels on the top and the top of the hutch. -- Russ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andreas Posted May 23, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 23, 2011 I'm just about ready to start building this thing. I've attached some images of the latest incarnation. I thickened the hutch to 1", I removed the taper from the desk top and I shrunk the bottom rails slightly. I still haven't decided whether or not to include the taper on the desk top and hutch. I'll build it without the taper and I can always add it with my router if I choose to. I'm pretty comfortable with the construction techniques but there are two areas I'm still not sure about. The first question is how to attach the middle shelf. I was planning on making a dado in the legs and sliding the shelf into it, but that wouldn't leave much material on the leg. I came up with an idea for a 'stepped dado' (see attached image), but I think I'm making this way more complicated than it needs to be. The other thing I'm not sure about is how to attach the desk top. I plan on using solid wood so I'll need to allow for movement. I'm considering using a figure eight fastener like Marc used on his video for the arts and crafts table but I'm open to other suggestions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan S Posted May 23, 2011 Report Share Posted May 23, 2011 I'd suggest a small chamfer or round over on the legs and slats. Nothing substantial, just enough to give it a little something extra visually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darnell Hagen Posted May 23, 2011 Report Share Posted May 23, 2011 Looks good to me! Your legs are beefy enough to take shelf pins, if you want shelf adjustablility at all you could just drill for them. Otherwise you can notch your leg on the table saw using a sled to hold it on edge. The shelf corners then need to be clipped at 45°. The top can be attached with 8's, or z-clips, or shopmade buttons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bois Posted May 24, 2011 Report Share Posted May 24, 2011 Maybe I'm just a geek, but I think this thread is an fantastic example of the real power of the community in woodworking. I think it's so cool how the wisdom of the crowd took this from a basic set of requirements and a design framework to a very unique, interesting, and well balanced design. The improvement from the first to last iteration is tremendous. I'm very eager to see the finished product, and hope more folks get involved in this type of collaborative design in the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andreas Posted May 24, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 24, 2011 I'm certainly pleased too! I can't thank everyone enough for all the help. I'll definitely post pictures when I'm done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andreas Posted June 24, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 24, 2011 I thought you guys might like to see my progress. I just have the desktop and the hutch left. I'll get some better pictures once it's all finished. So far the construction has been pretty straight forward except the shelves. I got stuck on the joinery and grain direction but Marc managed to get me sorted out. I'm quite pleased with it so far. My wife loves it too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andreas Posted June 24, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 24, 2011 By the way, the shelves are set into notches in the legs but they are only glued at the front. The grain runs in the short direction so that expansion will occur from front to back. There is a bit of a gap at the back to allow for movement but you can't see it when it's all assembled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andreas Posted July 3, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 3, 2011 I'm finished! I'm quite proud of this piece. I learned a lot while making it, and I had a wonderful experience hashing out the design with you guys. My wife is very pleased with it. I added the sketchup file to the library in case anyone else would like to use it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmac Posted July 3, 2011 Report Share Posted July 3, 2011 Great job! I think you nailed it. -- Russ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhl.verona Posted July 3, 2011 Report Share Posted July 3, 2011 I agree with Russ, but I can't see the nails. Looks great - what finish did you use? Water borne poly? John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andreas Posted July 3, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 3, 2011 I used oil-based poly (Varathane semi-gloss), which is my usual finish. I find it easy to work with and I like the durability. The only disadvantage is the smell, so I never use it for enclosed pieces like boxes or drawers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beechwood Chip Posted July 4, 2011 Report Share Posted July 4, 2011 It looks great! Thank you for letting us weigh in on the design. It was a fun "group project", but you get full credit for the final design and the execution. Congratulations! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darnell Hagen Posted July 9, 2011 Report Share Posted July 9, 2011 That turned out real nice. Well done! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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