Phil’s Desk

My wife and I have been married for just over a year now, and we recently moved in to a new rental property. With a lot more space than before the place looks a bit bare, but a few pieces of furniture should sort that out. My wife, Kata, had been complaining that she had nowhere to sit while using the computer, writing, drawing or whatever else she would use a desk for. As her birthday was coming up I suggested making a desk for her.

With some inspiration from Google, a few scribbles on a piece of paper, and finally a Sketchup model, I was ready to buy the timber. This was my first experience to a timber yard. A bit scary at first but I knew what I wanted and the guys down at McGregor & Sons in Belfast where pretty helpful. I wanted to use at least two contrasting woods, two drawers and legs that were a bit ‘out of the ordinary’. I think you can see from the pictures I kept to this through out.

The legs are made of two 1″ pieces glued together. I made one and then used the pattern bit on the router to make the others identical. Once glued, I tapered them on all four sides with my jack plane. The joints for the main structure are all mortise and tenon apart from the front top rail, it was dovetailed to the top of the legs.
The drawers are hand-cut half blind dovetails at the front. (Thanks Marc for the informative video! They are anything but perfect. Some practice needed I think.) The table top is made of MDF pre-veneered with oak,framed in walnut. I felt that making this from solid wood was just a little bit out of my skill set. I don’t think it’s too bad for my first attempt at something so substantial.