Project designed by April Wilkerson Copyright WilkerDos.com 2018
Project plan Desk Page 2 of 16
Page 3 of 16
File cabinet Page 4 of 16
Metal base Page 5 of 16
Glue up Get started by gluing up boards for the top. Pick your nicest boards, joint the edges, and glue up a slab that s larger than the finished desk top. You ll cut it to final size later. Biscuits in each glue joint aren t required, but they ll help keep the boards aligned so you do less flattening later. Welding While the glue is drying on your top, make the metal base. Cut the tubing to size, prep the ends, and weld the base sides. Grind the welds smooth. Weld the horizontals to the ends, making sure the ends are square to the horizontals. Clean up your welds and paint the base. Page 6 of 16
Make the desk sandwich Sand the top to clean up the glue seams, and cut the top to size. Make the desk dividers and back. Drill pocket holes in the top edge of the back, and in the back end of the two middle dividers. Pocket holes won t work on the end pieces, so predrill and drive 1-1/2 screws through the back to secure these parts. Assemble all five pieces. It s a GREAT idea to install the drawer slides now. The drawer compartments are small, so getting inside them later to install slides will be nearly impossible. This is also the time to cut slots for the table top fasteners, which can easily be done with a biscuit joiner. Do test cuts on scrap to make sure your biscuit joiner fence is correctly located for the fasteners. Put two slots in each divider. Place the desk top upside down on your work bench (be sure to use a pad or carpet scrap to protect the face) and position the dividers/back assembly upside down on the bottom of the top. With the edges correctly aligned, clamp them together. Use the pocket holes and table top fasteners to complete the assembly. Don t use glue! Glue would prevent the top from expanding and contracting independently of the dividers and back. Page 7 of 16
Screw the bottom to the dividers and back using eighteen 1-1/2 screws. Three screws per divider. When you do your final assembly, you can glue these components together but for now, just screw them. This allows you to take the bottom off so you can apply finish to the inside surfaces. Build the drawers Carefully measure the openings in your desk and make your drawer parts. Be sure to allow for the drawer slides. Glue and nail the sides to the bottom using 1 nails. Glue and nail the front and back to the sides and bottom. Attach the drawer box component of the slide to the drawer sides. Be sure it s going on straight, or the drawer won t work right. Page 8 of 16
Make the drawer fronts, allowing 1/8 gap per side. Be sure to cut your drawer fronts to fit your case. Since these are plywood and will be painted, be sure to seal the edges. Aquacoat Grain Filler works great for this. Build the file cabinet Assemble the case. You could use biscuits on the case corners, or drill and drive dowels from the top and bottom faces, flush cutting them after they re glued in. Use glue and 1-1/2 brads to hold the center divider in place. Install the back after your finishing work is complete. Page 9 of 16
Measure carefully and cut your drawer box parts to size. Be sure to allow for the drawer slides. Cut the rabbet in the top edge of the sides so you can use hanging folders in the drawers. Assemble the drawer boxes using glue and brads. Install the slides in the case and on the drawer boxes. Page 10 of 16
Measure your cabinet and cut the drawer fronts to fit, allowing 1/8 gap per side. Like the other drawer fronts, seal the edges prior to painting. Finishing On my desk I decided to stain some components, and paint others. I used Aquacoat s Provincial stain, and Antique White paint. This gives the desk a very attractive contrast. Do your finishing and painting with all the parts as separate components. Page 11 of 16
Assembly Once the finish is dry, permanently fasten the desk bottom to the back and dividers. You can then fasten the desk to the base. I used 1-1/2 x 1-1/2 angle iron to create a bracket between the metal base and the wooden components. You could also drill through the X horizontals and drive screws through the horizontals into the desk bottom. With the drawer boxes installed, attach the drawer fronts. A neat trick for this is to use a small dab of CA (cyanoacrylate) glue between the back of the drawer front and the front of the drawer box as you re positioning the drawer front. Hold the front in place for a few seconds, till the glue grabs. A piece of masking tape stuck to the inside of the drawer box and draped over the drawer front will give you something to pull so you can open the drawer and screw the box and front together. Install the pulls. Follow the same procedure to install the drawers in the file cabinet. Install the casters on the file cabinet. Be sure you protect the top when you flip the cabinet over. Your desk is ready to go to work! Page 12 of 16
Cut Lists, Sheet Lay Out and Sources The desk top requires approximately 16 board feet of solid wood, or four 1 x 6 x 6 boards. Cut List: ¾ Plywood-project requires one sheet Part # Quant Part Dimensions Material Notes 1 1 Desk Bottom ¾ x 20 x 72 Ply 2 4 Desk dividers ¾ x 3-5/8 x 19-1/4 Ply 3 1 Desk back ¾ x 3-5/8 x 72 Ply 4 2 Side drawer fronts ¾ x 3-1/2 x 21-1/16 Ply Seal edges prior to painting 5 1 Mid drawer front ¾ x 3-1/2 x 26-1/8 Ply Seal edges prior to painting. 6 2 File cab sides ¾ x 18 x 21-1/2 Ply 7 2 File cab top and ¾ x 18 x 15-1/2 Ply bottom 8 2 File cab drawer fronts ¾ x 10-1/4 x 13-3/4 Ply Seal edges prior to painting 9 1 File cab rail ¾ x ¾ x 14 Ply 1 Desk top ¾ x 20 x 72 Solid Glue slab up oversized. Cut to finished size after creating desk base. Note: Dimensions for ¾ plywood parts 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 9 are based on using iron-on edge banding. If solid banding is used, adjust the dimensions accordingly. Page 13 of 16
Cut List: ½ Plywood-project requires one sheet 1 6 Desk drawer sides 2 4 Side drawer front and back 3 2 Mid drawer front and back 4 2 Side drawer bottoms 5 1 Mid drawer bottom 6 4 File cab drawer sides 7 4 File cab drawer front and back 8 2 File cab drawer bottoms ½ x 3-1/4 x 17-1/2 ½ x 3-1/4 x 20-1/4 ½ x 3-1/4 x 25-5/16 ½ x 17-1/2 x 19-1/4 ½ x 17-1/2 x 24-5/16 ½ x 9-3/8 x 15-3/4 ½ x 3-3/8 x 13 ½ x 12 x 15-3/4 Ply Ply Ply Ply Ply Ply Ply Ply Check these dimensions against your desk Check the length against your desk Cut rabbet for hanging files in top edge Check the length against your file cabinet Page 14 of 16
Cut List: Steel Quantity Part Dimensions Notes 4 End horizontals 2 x 2 x 15-1/4 Long point to long point 4 End X shorts 2 x 2 x 16-1/16 Long point to long point 2 Enc X longs 2 x 2 x 32-1/8 Long point to short point 2 Horizontals 1 x 2 x 68 Supplies Three pair 18" slides Two pair 16" slides Five Drawer pulls Four Casters Iron On Edge Banding Aquacoat Grain Filler Aquacoat Top Coat Zinsser Seal Coat Thank you for purchasing this set of plans. Visit my website to look for other great projects that ll improve your shop and home. Cheers April Page 15 of 16
Project notes Page 16 of 16