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Thread: Need help choosing desktop material...

  1. #1
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    Need help choosing desktop material...

    So I've finally gotten the two bottom pieces built for the computer desk. But now comes the top. I wanted to use solid wood (edge glued) to make a piece that's 6' long by about 25" deep. She's afraid it's going to turn out "bumby" across the seams and suggests I use a plywood top w/solid wood trim to profile. I have a 6" jointer and a 12" planer.

    So my question is, if I opted for her route, how about a nice veneer. If so, where would I get it?

    I've seen alot of ya'll put up pics with nice FLAT tops of edge glued pieces. I want to try that, but I don't know if I can sell her on it. And I've also seen some nice veneered tops too.

    Need some ideas please. If I can figure out how to show her there won't be any bumps in the road, I should be good to go. If it would be easier for the veneer, then I'll bite and go there too.

    Thanks for the inputs

  2. #2
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    Honestly, the solid wood glue up would be easier and folks have been doing it for a long, long time. You could practice with some cheaper wood (poplar is a good choice) just to sell her on doing it.

    Some folks like to use any number of tricks to aid in aligning: splines, biscuits, dowels, dominos, or pocket screws. However, any of them could aid in MISalignment just as easily if you are not careful.

    Veneering gets into a whole other faction of woodworking but can work equally as well. You'd probably want to use an MDF substrate and large cauls or vacuum press to properly press the veneer and then it would be onto hardwood edging.

    Frankly, I'd go with the sold wood panel glue up BUT it all depends on what wood you want. There are some fantastic veneers out there that would make you drool that you simply cannot get in sold hardwood. http://www.veneersupplies.com/ is one great place to look at veneers and to learn about veneering.
    Wood: a fickle medium....

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  3. #3
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    My advice for a top that size would be a veneered mdf panel, in a solid wood frame. You can make some very attractive tops with different types of veneer. Either way is do-able, going with a veneer top you should have a vacuum bag system. If you go with a solid top of that size, you may want to go with breadboard ends to keep the top from warping. I prefer veneer tops, but mainly for aesthetic reasons. Here is a mahogany top and a burl oak top, that I have done for desks.
    kims top.jpgdesktop.jpg

  4. #4
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    Define BUMBY?!?!

    Quote Originally Posted by Troy Turner View Post
    ...I wanted to use solid wood (edge glued) to make a piece that's 6' long by about 25" deep. She's afraid it's going to turn out "bumby" across the seams and suggests I use a plywood top w/solid wood trim to profile. I have a 6" jointer and a 12" planer.

    So my question is, if I opted for her route, how about a nice veneer. If so, where would I get it?

    Thanks for the inputs
    Sorry, never heard that one before! Bumby! ;-)

    I will defer the veneering to others. Using seasoned, straight stock, there is no reason you cannot glue up a 25" x 72" slab of solid wood for your desk top. The flatter/straighter the stock is, going into the clamps, the flatter it will come out when the glue dries. If your planer can produce smooth surfaces with no tear out, the slab will be ready for final sanding if it has been clamped together accurately.

    But, often times planers leave snipe or knife marks not quite ready for final sanding. Mismatched glue joints need to be sanded perfectly flat. If you know of a friend or cabinet shop who would run your slab through a wide drum or belt sander, your wife will be very pleased at the outcome. Finally,Breadboard ends can hide the end grain of the slab and add visually to the top.

    Good Luck!

    ~Chip~
    [/SIGPIC]Necessisity is the Mother of Invention, But If it Ain't Broke don't Fix It !!

  5. #5
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    Jeff - No more suggestions from you. She liked your desk and the shelf you built a while back, so that's what's been keeping me out there all these weeks. Once I finally got done, it looks good, but man what a pain...Wish I would've taken your suggestion earlier about the full size pattern. This was a skill tester!

    And that's what's got me where I am. I measured and cut out the BB ply, but it doesn't look right with the cabinets. If I'm going to put that much blood, sweat and tears in the base, there's no way I'm thowing the piece of ply up there. Don't get me wrong, one side has "flame" lookin grains on it, but it's also got alot of knots that have come out. The other side, well, not quite as good.

    Chris - I'll probably end up going the solid wood route and if I can get lucky enough with Chip's suggestion about a local cabinet shop flattening it for so it's not "bumpy" I should be in the money. Add the breadboard and call it good.

    I liked the use of veneer's though, just have to get a vacuum press. I could certainly see that in future projects.

    I appreciate the inputs and will reluctantly post pics when I'm done.

  6. #6
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    personally I can't stand breadboard ends. they are flush basically twice a year then as the top expands and contracts with the seasons they are either short or long. not much but not flush. I have done a lot of solid tops and never had any problems with them warping without breadboard ends. The latest 1 piece top was solid maple 48x96x 1-1/2" thick. I had a friend run it through his wide belt sander for me then I finish sanded it. I also just delivered a table that was all solid maple 55x75x1" thick. It had 5 leaves to extend to 13'-5". the grain ran across the table in order for the leaves to match. As for veneer, you can get really nice plywood already made if you shop where the cabinet shops do.
    Steve Jenkins, McKinney, TX. 469 742-9694
    Always use the word "impossible" with extreme caution

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Steve Jenkins View Post
    personally I can't stand breadboard ends. they are flush basically twice a year then as the top expands and contracts with the seasons they are either short or long. not much but not flush. I have done a lot of solid tops and never had any problems with them warping without breadboard ends. The latest 1 piece top was solid maple 48x96x 1-1/2" thick. I had a friend run it through his wide belt sander for me then I finish sanded it. I also just delivered a table that was all solid maple 55x75x1" thick. It had 5 leaves to extend to 13'-5". the grain ran across the table in order for the leaves to match. As for veneer, you can get really nice plywood already made if you shop where the cabinet shops do.
    I agree with Steve. A solid top can be made that stays flat without breadboard ends. I made two night stands and two dressers with mitered breadboard type ends and they continue to move seasonally about 1/8" and match up only about twice each year, although all the movement is to the back. I also make it a point to finish both sides of table and dresser tops. I also alternate the growth rings where I can and still get a good appearance.
    Last edited by Lee Schierer; 05-10-2011 at 12:32 PM.
    Lee Schierer
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  8. #8
    A solid top can be made plenty smooth just by careful sanding with a plane/planer/belt sander/ROS. Although for large, visible panels, my prefered method for flattening is to take it to a mill that will put it thru a drum sander on both sides a few times for $50. This saves a lot of sweat, wear on yr blades, time. Further, there's no chance of tearout if you weren't persnickety about the grain direction. Well worth it IMVHO.

    The apron of the desk will also do a lot to keep the panel flat.

    The thinner the strips in the glue-up, the better chance at retaining flatness.

    Last, make sure you finish both sides of the panel. You don't to prep the bottom so much as the top, but you do have to top coat top and bottom similarly.

  9. #9
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    I've made a lot of solid wood tops. And they're all still flat, in some cases for many years. No breadboard ends either. All are atached to their bases with Z clips or some variant of that to allow them to expand and contract with the seasons.

    Every time I make a solid wood panel/table top, they are invariably simply edge glued. No splines, no dowels, no pocket screws, no nothin'. Just good 'ol yellow glue. With some Bessy K bodies and carefull alignment during glue up, they're pretty good. What they are not at that point is perfectly flat. When the glue up is dry I take them to my lumber supplier who also offers some machining services which include a wide belt thickness sander. My glue ups are so close to being flat it generally takes less than 3 or 4 minutes of time in the sander to clean up both sides. Of course you *will* remember to leave a bit of extra thickness for that sanding, won't you?

    Cost to sand a table top for me would be well under $10.

    Good luck with convincing your wife. Mine was like that in the beginning, but now she'll insist on solid wood for almost everything. In the beginning, she was a little anxious about whether or not something would turn out well, after lots of projects with excellent results that's no longer a problem. Nothing convinces better than success.
    Last edited by John Piwaron; 05-10-2011 at 11:59 AM.

  10. #10
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    Is this a work of art or a functional desk? My suggestion -- solid surface material (like Corian). It looks good and stays flat. Check with counter top makers to see if you can get some scrap glued up to your size.

  11. #11
    I have made solid table tops with no bumps but my 3x6 foot computer bench is from a sheet of 3/4" maple plywood with 1/4" solid edging. This was a 'quick and dirty I need it now' project that I'm still happy with.
    If I was to do it again I might opt for a different edge material. The maple edge's color doesn't match the plywood 100% so I might be inclined to use a quite different contrasting wood like cherry or walnut or something interesting. Just for the helluvit as a decor accent.
    Have you considered some of the hardwood faced plywoods?

  12. #12
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    Paul - Funny you should mention that. As I was down at a lumber yard I looked at their selection of plys. Maple, Alder, Ash, Oak and Birch. The Ash is a lumber core...all of it looked looked real tempting and made me go back to the drawing board now.

  13. #13
    If you are going to write on this desk, then consider oak and ash are opengrained and will make for a bumpy surface unless filled and leveled.

  14. #14
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    Something else to think about: the species of wood you choose may or may not depend on if you want a very smooth surface to write on. For example, say you choose oak. That tends to be bumpy (late and early grain) and could make directly writing on it unpleasant. Of course, you could fill it to make it glass smooth but that is a ton of work. Maple, on the other hand, is very smooth (small pores). Or maybe you don't care or will use a pad or glass top to protect it.
    Wood: a fickle medium....

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  15. #15
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    When I get arund to making my desk, I am going to put a piece of glass over the top for easier writing.

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