Computer-holder-upper-thinger

The last few weeks have been full of activity here on Arington Tree Farm. September 20 was the move in date for the new office space. I had a few responsibilities leading into that date, one of which was to build a desk for Holly. My hope was to use some of the live edged Bur oak. However, it is still being kiln dried and therefore unavailable. My only other option was using the lumber from my sawmill test drive.

For the desk frame I used 1"x3" rectangular steel tubing. My hope was that the desk design would allow for access from either side. The rectangular steel tubing added a dimensional depth to the legs over the square tubing that I have used in previous projects.

The photo below shows the for legs cut to length. Also shown in the photo are levelers on the bottom of the legs. These allow the desk to be adjusted for an uneven floor.

I wanted to weld the desk legs on a cross pattern. My next photo shows the four legs mocked up to give me a feel for the angles. I did draw up some plans to try and nail down the approximate angle of the cuts I would need to make. In the future I feel as if taking time to build jigs would be worth the extra work. Jigs would help maintain consistency in creating an identical set of legs.

And here is the finished product!

I should qualify a few things about the use of the word "finished." First, the lumber that I used for the desk was white oak that was salvaged from storm damage. It was only milled a few months ago. This wood is not dried to the approximate 6-8% moisture content which is important for indoor wood products. As a result I only temporarily affixed the desk top to the legs. I also left the surface natural. Once the appropriate moisture content is reached a permanent attachment to the legs will be done and a protective finish will be applied. 

More furniture posts to come as we continue to outfit the new office space!