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typo fixes to pallet writeup
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len0rd
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As I finished up my sophomore year at university, I realized that I needed my own desk. At that point I had lived in three different apartments. All 3 of them had desks provided, and all of those desks were mediocre at best, downright broken at worst. What's worse is at the time I worked from home, which meant I *needed* a reliable desk. With the summer about to hit, and plans to work full-time from home, I knew I needed something fast. Here's the end result:
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[IMG OF FINISHED DESK](/img/writeup/palletDesk/)
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Before we get into this build, I will note that I'm writing this guide > 2 years later. This means I have forgotten some details of the build process, but have also have the gift of hindsight thanks to this desk being my main piece of furniture for the last 2.5 years. Like seriously, I eat, study and work at this thing everyday.
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@ -10,27 +10,27 @@ Before we get into this build, I will note that I'm writing this guide > 2 years
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### Requirements
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Before I started building I had to think through what I wanted in a desk. I came up with some basic ideas:
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Before I started building I had to think through what I wanted. I came up with some basic ideas:
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- I didn't need storage. Drawers would be difficult and expensive to integrate, and I don't think they look that good anyways.
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- It needed to be cheap. I had a job as a software engineer at the time, but it did not pay much at all. The desk couldn't eat too much of my budget.
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- Durability. I wanted a desk that could last me a long time. Like 5+ years. At this point, I'm unsure if I'll actually use if for that long, but I will definitely hold together for at least that long.
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- Durability. I wanted a desk that could last me a long time. Like 5+ years. I'm unsure if I'll actually use it for that long, but I'm confident it could last.
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- Portability. During the planning stages I had already moved twice and was about to move a third time. I needed a desk that wouldn't be a hassle to move. I designed the desk so that it could be easily torn down by one person, and fit inside my Toyota Camry. Of course, I haven't moved since I finished building the desk, but I have still had occasion to tear it down and move it, which is surprisingly convenient.
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- Portability. During the planning stages I had already moved twice and was about to move a third time. I needed a desk that wouldn't be a hassle to move. I designed the desk so that it could be easily torn down by one person, and fit inside my Toyota Camry. Ironically, I haven't moved since I finished building the desk, but I have still had occasion to tear it down and move it, which is surprisingly convenient.
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- Sitting/Standing desk. I'm a decently tall person. Measuring in at around ~6'5" (2m), I'm not a huge fan of short things. I like sitting in high chairs at restaurant where my legs can dangle. I wanted something similar in a desk that would allow me to stand or sit in work depending on what I was feeling.
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- Sitting/Standing. I'm a decently tall person. Measuring in at around ~6'5" (2m), I'm not a huge fan of short things. I like sitting in high chairs where my legs can dangle. I wanted something similar in a desk that would allow me to stand or sit depending on what I was feeling.
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### Design
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With the requirements thought out, I started planning how I was going to build everything. Between planning/designing I probably spent a month or two just *thinking* abou this desk I was going to build. I spent a lot of time online looking at what other people have done. Seeing other peoples designs is the one reason I currently have a Pinterest account.
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With the requirements thought out, I started planning how I was going to build everything. Between planning/designing I probably spent a month or two just *thinking* about how I would build the desk. I spent a lot of time online looking at what other people have done. Seeing other peoples designs is the one reason I currently have a Pinterest account.
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There were some really cool designs online, but I needed something simple. This was my first real woodworking project, and I knew I *would* (hehe) be making a lot of mistakes. All of these thought basically culminated in a single whiteboard sketch:
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There were some really cool designs online, but I needed something simple. This was my first woodworking project, and I knew I *would* (hehe) be making a lot of mistakes. All of these thoughts culminated into a single whiteboard sketch:
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[Whiteboard sketch of ititial design](/img/writeup/palletDesk/)
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Yep. That's it. It was all a lot clearer in my head. Essentially the red 'rectangles' are 2x4 cross beams that would support the desktop and create a structure to build onto. The measurements were mainly based on what would fit in my Camry (note: this only fits in the car when I put the back seats down so the desk can go through the trunk and into the back of the car. pics further down) and what I thought was an appropriate depth for monitors and a keyboard.
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Yep. That's it. It was all a lot clearer in my head. Essentially the red 'rectangles' are 2x4 cross beams that would support the desktop and create a structure to build onto. The measurements were mainly based on what would fit in my Camry. Note: this only fits in the car when I put the back seats down so the desk can go through the trunk and into the back of the car. pics further down. I also measured a few desks nearby to see what an appropriate depth for a monitor + keyboard would be.
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## Build
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@ -54,11 +54,11 @@ Because of this expense of learning, Perhaps only 50% of the 3 pallets I had tur
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Finally, with all the pallets torn down, I had wood I could start working with. I started out by building the basic frame of the desktop, cutting pallet base 2x4's to size and joining them at 45deg on the corners. This was stupid. Getting perfect 45deg angles to come together and hold well is not easy, especially if you don't know what you're doing. It looks okay in the end product, but if I were todo it again, I would have done simpler, more reliable corners.
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[Main frame rectangle](/img/writeup/palletDesk/)
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As I was starting, a friendly neighbor came over to see what I was working on and lent me these corner clamps. Regardless of the join you're doing, I think these could be pretty helpful
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[Closeup of corner clamps](/img/writeup/palletDesk/)
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Fortunately, the crappy corners are mitigated by the cross beams that run the width of the desktop. For these I decided to go with new 2x4's. I realize this is against the spirit of the whole project, but at this point I was *not* about to teardown another pallet for 2x4s. Additionally, the rest of the entire desktop would be secured into these, so they needed to be non-horrible.
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@ -66,15 +66,15 @@ Basically every piece of this project is secured by a combination of wood glue a
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Also, for this entire project, wood was cut to size using my friends chop saw. Not sure what I would've done without it. (I mean everything *could* be done with a hand saw... but).
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[Desktop frame with crossbeams](/img/writeup/palletDesk/)
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[Closeup of desktop frame with crossbeams](/img/writeup/palletDesk/)
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With the basic frame in place, it was time to start building the visible part of the desktop. I started by bordering the exterior with pallet plants to make something like a picture frame for the middle. The chop saw came in handy, helping make angles that match.
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[Desktop border mostly in place](/img/writeup/palletDesk/)
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[Closeup of desktop border slightly missaligned](/img/writeup/palletDesk/)
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From this angle it looks like the border is slightly, missaligned, but I dont ever notice this and it seems to be fine. Notice that there is a ~1" lip off the edge of the frame. The main reason for this was to keep some of the frame exposed so the middle of the destop could be secured to it. But also because it looks cool.
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@ -82,7 +82,7 @@ With the border completed, I could move on to filling in the middle of the deskt
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Once the crate paper was secured I started cutting and fitting pallet planks. I would cut one at a time to test the fit and make sure it was tight. Then I would line the edges and bottom with glue, push it into its general location and use a mallet to nudge it as far to the right as possible. Below is the partially completed top (note the exposed crate paper on the left side):
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[Partially finished desktop](/img/writeup/palletDesk/)
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Once a single board was pushed to the far right side, It would be secured on the 3 2x4 frame pieces with screws.
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