i need help building a workstation desk? :( PLEASE HELP ME T_T

A

andrewkim9711

New member
I'm planning to make a desk for my home recording studio, and I'm going to make a shelve(?) for the midi keyboard which is going to be inside the shelve and on top of it will be my monitor.
and on the side of the midi shelve i'm going to make two more shelves for the speakers on top of it and inside the two shelves i'm going to put the audio interface and some controllers in it.

the desk I'm going to buy is this one:
20140203_145330.png
and i'm going to build it like this :

20140203_144212.png20140203_144621.png20140203_144637.png20140203_144725.png

I'll buy wood panels and planks for the MIDI keyboard and the speakers, and i'm going to get a panel for the keyboard and mouse also on the bottom of the desk as shown above.

here are my questions:

1 : 1 x 2 x 8 Primed Finger Joint Board-347154 at The Home Depot

this was the type of wood I was going to get. is this a good choice?

2 : if I want to get a board that is about 40 inches wide and 12 inches deep, and 1 inches thick for the MIDI keyboard, would the home depot workers cut the board as I want? which is 40"x12"x1" ?

3 : is there any changes you guys would make?

4 : other than home depot, is there any other good hardware stores that would fit my needs?
 
Looks good. The only thing I can see is the position on the monitors. Can you get them up high enough so they are at ear level and do they go back far enough to form the magic triangle placement formula?
 
Are you planning on recording right there at the desk? If so is the tower/fan on your PC/MAC going to be isolated more? The Op is correct if the desk is working height from a chair the monitors look a little low......once you get set test by raising them up and you will notice the triangle concept......good luck and happy studio!!!
 
Hey andrew, Great idea! I think of myself a master diy'er, so this is right up my alley. While I'm no professional carpenter I spend most of my spare money at home depot to build stuff. The boards you posted would not be in the list of boards to use. It's only 1.5 inches wide. You'd do better to just buy wide boards to use as the shelfs and legs. The guys at home depot to my knowledge do not cut boards like that. They will cut down a 4' x 8' panel of plywood on their big cutter machine, but they don't do boards. They expect you to have a saw and cut it yourself.

It would be worth your while to ask someone though. Try to go during the week in the morning, not too early, all the contractors will be there. It should be mostly empty and they will be much more likely to help you do a bunch of cuts. I've gotten lucky and one time a guy spent 35 minutes making a whole ton of cuts to tiles I brought in. So it's worth asking. Give them a puppy dog look, like "I've never seen a tool in my life strong man... can you help me." haha.

Here's what I would use something like these - 1 x 12 x 8 #2 Whitewood Pine Board S4S-458538 at The Home Depot
1 x 12 x 6 #2 Whitewood Pine Board S4S-458511 at The Home Depot
1 x 6 x 8 #2 & Better Kiln Dried Whitewood Board S4S-914770 at The Home Depot
1 x 8 x 8 #2 & Better Kiln Dried Whitewood Board S4S-914835 at The Home Depot

They have all these type boards in one section in the lumber part, but next to the tools, not the end with the roofing. If cost is your limiting factor some are cheaper than others, but you get what you pay for (for the most part). Cheaper wood will be more likely to be warped a little, and my not be as pretty. Anything 1" nominal should be strong enough. Anything thicker will start to get mighty heavy. The boards look different, if you are not going to paint it get something you like looking at. If you are gonna cover it with some stain or paint, get the cheapest that looks strait. Lay them on the ground to see how level/ strait they are.

I would use brackets for all the corners to make them square (and help them stay that way). Something like this: Everbilt 1-1/2 in. Zinc Plated Corner Braces (4-Pack)-15304 at The Home Depot

So my parts list would be: 6 packs (4 ea) of the brackets. Screws to use with the brackets (make sure they are shorter than the board is thick). I would also get some 1.5" wood screws to put in the butt of each corner. Wood glue would be good too (if you like buying things) to put in all the joints. And enough board to do everything.

Tools list would be a circular saw, drill, screwdriver, ruler, level, vice or clamp, 90 degree angle.

Other thoughts, if you are going to ask them to cut everything BRING A LIST of the cuts you need. They are NOT going to stand there while you figure out the lengths you need. "Uh.... let's see.... I guess another foot long one".... no. Bring a succinct list - 54" x 1, 26" x 2, etc. Don't give them guy the list either, he's there to 'assist' you, not do your work for you. It's a partnership.

And now that I think about it, they are not going to cut the short lengths you will need for the 'legs' of the shelfs. Those are going to be what, 4" each. You'll have to do those. If you can't fit 8" board in your car, they will most likely cut it down a bit for you, just make sure they don't cut it too short for you to then use.

I feel as though I'm rambling now. Let me (us) know if you have any questions. I love supporting people doing things themselves. It's a beautiful thing to look at something you've build and be proud.

Good luck my friend.

Oh, and I've found Lowes to be more friendly workers and cleaners stores.. However I still love Home Depot with all my heart, yeah it's funny but true.
 
jigfresh said:
Hey andrew, Great idea! I think of myself a master diy'er, so this is right up my alley. While I'm no professional carpenter I spend most of my spare money at home depot to build stuff. The boards you posted would not be in the list of boards to use. It's only 1.5 inches wide. You'd do better to just buy wide boards to use as the shelfs and legs. The guys at home depot to my knowledge do not cut boards like that. They will cut down a 4' x 8' panel of plywood on their big cutter machine, but they don't do boards. They expect you to have a saw and cut it yourself.

It would be worth your while to ask someone though. Try to go during the week in the morning, not too early, all the contractors will be there. It should be mostly empty and they will be much more likely to help you do a bunch of cuts. I've gotten lucky and one time a guy spent 35 minutes making a whole ton of cuts to tiles I brought in. So it's worth asking. Give them a puppy dog look, like "I've never seen a tool in my life strong man... can you help me." haha.

Here's what I would use something like these - 1 x 12 x 8 #2 Whitewood Pine Board S4S-458538 at The Home Depot
1 x 12 x 6 #2 Whitewood Pine Board S4S-458511 at The Home Depot
1 x 6 x 8 #2 & Better Kiln Dried Whitewood Board S4S-914770 at The Home Depot
1 x 8 x 8 #2 & Better Kiln Dried Whitewood Board S4S-914835 at The Home Depot

They have all these type boards in one section in the lumber part, but next to the tools, not the end with the roofing. If cost is your limiting factor some are cheaper than others, but you get what you pay for (for the most part). Cheaper wood will be more likely to be warped a little, and my not be as pretty. Anything 1" nominal should be strong enough. Anything thicker will start to get mighty heavy. The boards look different, if you are not going to paint it get something you like looking at. If you are gonna cover it with some stain or paint, get the cheapest that looks strait. Lay them on the ground to see how level/ strait they are.

I would use brackets for all the corners to make them square (and help them stay that way). Something like this: Everbilt 1-1/2 in. Zinc Plated Corner Braces (4-Pack)-15304 at The Home Depot

So my parts list would be: 6 packs (4 ea) of the brackets. Screws to use with the brackets (make sure they are shorter than the board is thick). I would also get some 1.5" wood screws to put in the butt of each corner. Wood glue would be good too (if you like buying things) to put in all the joints. And enough board to do everything.

Tools list would be a circular saw, drill, screwdriver, ruler, level, vice or clamp, 90 degree angle.

Other thoughts, if you are going to ask them to cut everything BRING A LIST of the cuts you need. They are NOT going to stand there while you figure out the lengths you need. "Uh.... let's see.... I guess another foot long one".... no. Bring a succinct list - 54" x 1, 26" x 2, etc. Don't give them guy the list either, he's there to 'assist' you, not do your work for you. It's a partnership.

And now that I think about it, they are not going to cut the short lengths you will need for the 'legs' of the shelfs. Those are going to be what, 4" each. You'll have to do those. If you can't fit 8" board in your car, they will most likely cut it down a bit for you, just make sure they don't cut it too short for you to then use.

I feel as though I'm rambling now. Let me (us) know if you have any questions. I love supporting people doing things themselves. It's a beautiful thing to look at something you've build and be proud.

Good luck my friend.

Oh, and I've found Lowes to be more friendly workers and cleaners stores.. However I still love Home Depot with all my heart, yeah it's funny but true.
Click to expand...

oh my goodness, thank you for giving me so much useful information! You helped me a lot and now I know where to start.

and since the desk I'm getting is white/natural color, I want the boards for the shelf to be white also. I just need to paint them with white paint, right?
 
andrewkim9711 said:
oh my goodness, thank you for giving me so much useful information! You helped me a lot and now I know where to start.

and since the desk I'm getting is white/natural color, I want the boards for the shelf to be white also. I just need to paint them with white paint, right?
Click to expand...

Yeah, just get some white paint. A pint should do, I'd do white interior with an eggshell finish... gives a little sheen over flat.

Glidden Premium 1-Qt. Eggshell Interior Paint-GLN6000-04 at The Home Depot

The finish will look better if you sand the wood a bit. I'd get this

3M 9 in. x 11 in. Surface Leveling Sandpaper (3-Pack)-25120NA-CC at The Home Depot

Sand with the grain of the wood.

If I were you, I'd message Bob G from above as well. He might have some great ideas for you, and two heads (or three heads) are better than 1 (or 2) lol.

Good luck. I'm proud of you for doing your own thing. :)
 
jigfresh said:
Yeah, just get some white paint. A pint should do, I'd do white interior with an eggshell finish... gives a little sheen over flat.

Glidden Premium 1-Qt. Eggshell Interior Paint-GLN6000-04 at The Home Depot

The finish will look better if you sand the wood a bit. I'd get this

3M 9 in. x 11 in. Surface Leveling Sandpaper (3-Pack)-25120NA-CC at The Home Depot

Sand with the grain of the wood.

If I were you, I'd message Bob G from above as well. He might have some great ideas for you, and two heads (or three heads) are better than 1 (or 2) lol.

Good luck. I'm proud of you for doing your own thing. :)
Click to expand...

thanks :)

and yeah im planning to haha

so my whole progression is like this (or is this the right way?) :

1. get the desk (Altra Benjamin Desk in my case), and get the materials needed for the shelves(sandpaper, wood, paint, etc)
2. cut the wood into the size I want for my shelves.
3. use the sandpaper to make the wood more soft.(?)
4. paint the wood boards and let them dry.
5. screw the boards for the speakers and the MIDI keyboard into the desk itself.
6. get a ball bearing drawer slide to make the keyboard and mouse slider on the bottom of the desk and assemble.
 
It might be cheaper and quicker to buy an off the shelf (no pun intended) keyboard/mouse under mount shelf.

One suggestion: on the 40" long midi shelf, I would suggest a stringer across the back. This will stiffen the shelf and reduce the sag that WILL set in.

Also, even if you choose to go with brackets inside the shelf, spend just a bit more and buy some wood glue, and glue all joints, as well as adding the brackets.
 
mdainsd said:
It might be cheaper and quicker to buy an off the shelf (no pun intended) keyboard/mouse under mount shelf.

One suggestion: on the 40" long midi shelf, I would suggest a stringer across the back. This will stiffen the shelf and reduce the sag that WILL set in.

Also, even if you choose to go with brackets inside the shelf, spend just a bit more and buy some wood glue, and glue all joints, as well as adding the brackets.
Click to expand...



thanks for the suggestion! i didn't think about the sagging and all that stuff. I thought it would just sit still forever :P

although I have a few questions to ask - what is a stringer?
If I don't want there to be a sag, should I add in another "Leg" to the midi shelf in the back to be able to support the weight of the monitors? so the shelf would be blocked and supported by three sides, left right and back.
 
A stringer is almost what you are talking about. It would run across the back, attach to the two side and to the bottom of the shelf. It would not extend down to the desk level so you would still have room for wire and cable to exit. But you could just as well make it come down to the desk (stronger) and just put some small notches on the bottom edge for the cable routing.
 
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