Production Desk

Here is my build still in progress. The inset on the front will house a sliding shelf for a midi controller. I will also have some interchangeable inserts that fit there. One that is flush with the top for doing paperwork and biz, and one that will be a music book stand for practice. Audio monitors will be on stands that pass thru the desk toward the ends. Computer ket board will be on a swing arm shelf, and computer monitors will be on swing arms. ( Going to build these items out of walnut and poplar to match the rest. Hoping to have it complete and in place by the weekend.
I like both of the desks you guys posted. Nice work.
 
Jonesey9 - two pull out trays..epic. I think I will work my way up to that...slowly.

Sheppardb. - nice looking desk thus far; I especially like the crossmember piece as it gives a nice trestle table feel. I would love to see pics of the finished product.

As I mentioned earlier, I am using poplar, a little maple (drawer fronts) and maple plywood. I wish I could have used walnut for all the solid wood pieces but the budget did not allow. I will try and get some pictures up this week showing my attempt at faking walnut using poplar.
 
Walnut seems reasonably priced around here, though I am new to woodworking, and have nothing to compare with. The walnut for the feet was 8 x 6 x 8/4 and was $72. Are prices comparable in your area? Yours is nice and clean. Pro job on that.
 
Where does the other keyboard go? The typing one? I've added a pull out typing keyboard tray on my own system, because I found under the working surface nicer than over - could yours poke out under the piano keyboard, that would be great for ergonomics?
 
It will be on a swing arm shelf. I will be able to swing it out when I need it, and swing it in under the desk when I don't. I will design it in a way that it will be multi-positional. I will use this desk for a lot more than recording, and it will sit in my living room, so the idea is to keep it looking somewhat like a typical desk when I want it to. I am still mulling over exactly how I will build this part, and how it mounts. I will have it figured out, and built by days end though.
 
An 8/4 board of walnut is around $11.50/board foot in my area. Vs poplar which is $3.50. Since this was my first project I figured I would just go with the cheaper stuff and buy more to account for all the mistakes. The extra finishing steps to make it look like walnut brought the cost up and confirmed that its best to just use the correct material to start with. I should have known from all the years of buying cheap recording equipment...
I finally finished mine and got it set up last night. I will try and get some updated pictures up later today.

Did you end up finishing your desk? Some pictures of it all setup would be great!
 
I have not finished yet. I have been real busy with work this week, and haven't had the extra time to work on it. I did manage to get the first coat of clear on the top today , though. I drew up some great ideas last night that will help with the multi-functionality of the desk. I have documented this project with pics, so when it is complete I will post everything. I don't think I'm going to be done as soon as I had hoped, but sometime in the next 2 weeks for sure. The ideas I came up with last night are going to be tedious to build, but I think it will be worth the extra effort to have things exactly as I want them.
 
Finally got the desk all set up and the chance to take a few pictures. The lighting isn't great down in the basement but the photo's a fairly accurate. The only thing I think I will add is two drawers for the open slots in the monitors stand. They would be the right size to store headphones. The rack rails are also missing as I have yet to cut them down to size.
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It may not look exactly like walnut but I think it looks much better than the bare poplar I started with. The last picture showing the grain is most accurate colour wize. The lights add the orange tinge.
It's been a fun process building it but I am looking forward to actually making some music. I have noticed one thing already, I still look at others pictures for ideas. I guess there is some GAS in all of us that will never be truly satisfied!
 
That turned out real nice. I have spent more time looking at, and buying tools/wood lately than I have music gear. Last week a friend sent me a pic of a guitar he was thinking of buying, and the first thing I noticed in the pic was the table that the guitar was posed on. Lol. Both hobbies can be a trip down the rabbit hole, but the returns can be pretty nice on the woodworking. It is nice to be able to build something when you need it ,rather than have to buy it and hope the quality is decent.
 
Here is my desk, mostly finished. The shelf holding the keyboard is temporary. I decided it would be best to bring it home and start using it, before I committed to something permanent. Still can't make up my mind about how exactly I want to address that part of it. Oh well, it will come to me eventually, and it is way better than what I did have, as is.
 

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That came out looking great! Looks like a nice big work space.
I presume the two openings up top are also 19" for future rack gear? I also see the opportunity to mount the power bar on the underside in the back corner to help with more cable management. Nice Design.
 
Great work. What is the width of the desk? I ask because I have dual monitors and don't think they would fit on the monitor shelf with the speakers.
 
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