Desk Project

[MultimediaMan]

As my wife forces me out of the spare bedroom (that really is no longer spare) I am forced to tidy things up for the inevitable move out to the garage. However, this does not mean I cannot have some fun doing it.

My old computer desk is steadily collapsing from the sheer mass of all the crap piled on it plus my thrashing away with a joystick is not helping matters any either. Such was the excuse when I decided to build a new desk.

This will be my gaming rig's new home...



I still have yet to install the modesty panel, make the drawers and doors for this thing, but suffice it to say I am building it like the proverbial brick shithouse. Formica and Oak will be used for the outer finish material.

Storage for DVDs, CD, and yes, even the odd floppy will be provided.

[Dr Mordrid]

Not too bad!!

Now all you need is a fork lift to get it into the house

Dr. Mordrid

[xortam]

How are you going to place three monitors in there?

[MultimediaMan]

Actually, I don't yet have the wheels installed either. The Hutch weighs nearly 200 Lbs. (3/4" MDF).

Nope, this is strictly a single monitor setup unless I want to put a dropleaf on one side or the other of the desk.

For my Duallie, something else is planned...but you're not cleared for that yet....soon though.

Sooner will be the new subwoofer enclosure for my "Floor Sub".

[roadie]

is there a pull out keyboard and mouse shelf???

i find those really useful

[Novdid]

If you look closely you can see the tray rails for the keyboard and mouse board.

Nice work BTW!!!

[RichL]

Shouldn't you have cut a hole in the back of the thing for the monitor cable to pass through?

I built my own PC desk using a pair of cheap kitchen cabinets, some laminated chipboard and a lot of sticky-back plastic.
Cost me about £90 all in, almost a third of which was the sticky back plastic finishing

[Ant]

Did you get that off Blue Peter?

Originally posted by RichL
I built my own PC desk using a pair of cheap kitchen cabinets, some laminated chipboard and a lot of sticky-back plastic.
Cost me about £90 all in, almost a third of which was the sticky back plastic finishing

[Steve_Cooper]

Originally posted by Ant
Did you get that off Blue Peter?

Nah - he did ask them, but all they told him was "here's one I made earlier" and wouldn't help.

[MultimediaMan]

Several cutouts are missing. As a matter of fact, the only thing holding the hutch in place right now is gravity. It will get dowels to hold it in place after the Formica is applied to the desktop.

The Keyboard shelf is not yet installed, nor are the casters. I have 4 drawers, one door and one shelf yet to make. The Keyboard shelf will allow for a joystick foot so secure fragging can occur. The mouse and keyboard will be semi-captive in cutouts.

The small cubbyhole to the left of the keyboard shelf will have A/V Jacks, 1/4" Headphone and Mic connections and a small USB 1.1 Hub recessed into it.

The lower left side of the hutch will store the joystick and a pair of headphones. The Tower will reside in the right leg of the base of the desk.

[SteveC]

Where do the speakers go? And what's it cost so far?

[MultimediaMan]

The picture I took is with the left-side hutch shelf unsecured. It was being held in place by friction. The speakers will be in the uppermost part of the hutch legs (KEF Q15s) the lower middle shelf will hold the center channel (Energy XL-C).

The receiver (Onkyo TX-SV454) and the decoder (Onkyo ED301) will be in the uppermost right and left shelves on the hutch, respectively.

Cost so far:

4 sheets of 4' x 8' MDF: $65.00
4' x 8' countertop grade Formica: $35.00
4' x 8' veneer grade Formica: $20.00
3 x Drawer slides: $18.00
8 x 2" Carpet Casters: $20.00
1 box of 1 5/8" Deck Screws: $5.00

I still need to get the USB Hub and a few other little nicknacks, figure about $50.00.

[MultimediaMan]

Small progress report:

I'm getting ready to lay down the sealer, but couldn't resist putting some of it together...



And a Closeup of the hutch...



Wiring will be ever-so-tidy.

Note-to-self: ALWAYS allow at LEAST 1/4" per side when trying to enclose items. I allowed 1/8" of an inch and believe you me, there IS a difference.

[xortam]

Be careful about venting your equipment. Some more air flow around the units would have been desirable. Equipment cabinets typically have large openings in the back, not only to route cables/cords, but also to allow venting.

[MultimediaMan]

Way ahead of you Xortam. I was very concerned about cooling and thought a good deal about it. I had a hard limit on how wide,deep and tall thing could be, and a list of things I needed in it. So after beating my head up against a wall, I decided active cooling wouldn't be too bad to integrate.

See those little cubby holes to the left and the right of the center channel? There will be a Vantec Model SF9225L 92mm Fan in each behind a slotted panel directing cool air through vents to the bottom of the AV Gear...the top of the hutch is slotted to allow for cooling.