At times like these, I’m really glad I hold onto various lumber scraps in my cart.
I’ll grab a few pieces of 3/4 plywood and start by cutting a slot on one piece and make
a tongue on the other, and then see what angle they sit at.
I’ll use my layout tools from Princess auto to mark out a slot that’s one inch wide.
Why one inch?
Honestly, it’s just a guess based on some pictures I’ve seen, but it seems like a
good place to start.
I’ll first use a 1-inch Forstner bit to drill out each end.
I’ll then use a jigsaw to remove the waste in the middle.
If you’re like me and can’t cut straight with a jigsaw to save your life, I like to
use a speed square as a fence to guide the jigsaw.
Once you’ve got the distance figured out, just clamp it down and you’re good to go.
Jigsaw’s don’t really cut clean lines so I stayed inside the lines at this point
and I’ll finish removing the waste with a router.
To do this I’ll install temporary fences right on the lines that I drew earlier so
I can use a straight bit with a bearing that’ll ride along the fence.
Since this is just a test piece I can use a nailer to secure them but later I’ll use
some double sided tape.
[LIVE]
[ROUTER]
I want everything to be just like it will be for the final product, so I’ll use a
roundover bit to smooth all of the inside edges.
As for the mating piece I’m just eyeballing a very rudimentary tongue that will fit into
the groove that I’ll cut out on my bandsaw, or you could use a jigsaw too.
[LIVE]
With the prototyping out of the way it’s time to get started on the actual build.
I’ll first rough cut each of the parts so they’re easier to work with and then start
shaping them one by one.
There are 4 parts to this standing desk: a base, a vertical back piece and 2 adjustable
shelves.
The base will have a trapezoid shape and I’ll add a curve at the bottom which is more for
aesthetics than anything else.
The vertical piece will also have a trapezoid shape but will be outfitted with 13, no 14
slots - all one 1 inch wide and spaced 1 inch apart.
To trace the slots I made
a template using the exact same method as I
showed before.
Now I can just position it on the layout lines and, after making sure it’s perfectly straight,
simply trace it out.
Then move onto the next one and repeat.
Every once in a while I checked that the lines were perpendicular to the edges, and with
everything looking good, I carried on my merry little way.
The bottom slot will be for the base and needs to be a little wider.
I can still use the same template, but just be a little more creative with its application.
I’ll use my track saw to cut the trapezoid back and base.
As for the curve on the bottom, I’ll use my bandsaw.
Now I’ve said this before: my bandsaw cutting skills aren’t great.
So trying to cut 2 identical curves is wishful thinking at this point.
Instead, I’ll use some scrap ply to cut out a template.
If I mess it up, I’ll make another one until I’m happy with the curve.
I can then use that template to transfer the curve over to my workpieces and have them
both be identical in the end.
I’ll use some double sided tape to stick down the template.
I’m going to use a straight bit with a bearing.
Now, the bearing is on the bottom, so I’ll make sure that the template is on the bottom
too.
Ok, here you’ll see that I made a mistake.
I tried to shave off all the material in one pass which caused some burning.
Instead I’ll keep the router moving using shallow passes and keep going until the bearing
bottom outs, which will give much cleaner results and ultimately make the bit last longer.
Ok, so I’ll put the base and the back aside for now and work on the 2 adjustable shelves.
These parts are easy, really.
Just need to cut out a tongue that’ll I’ll do using both my bandsaw
and a jig saw.
[LIVE]
[Drill press]
I
was using a 3/4 inch Forstner bit at first but it was leaving too much waste so here
I’m switching to a 7/8ths bit instead.
Unlike before I want to make sure I’m staying inside my layout lines and finish cutting
the shape using my template and a router.
This’ll be the best way to make sure each slot is 100% accurate.
Now people always ask me how I can work with my drill press up against a wall like this,
but the solution is quite simple.
I can just turn my workpiece and get the clearance I need.
Once all the holes are drilled, just like before I’ll use my jigsaw to remove all
the waste, making sure to stay inside the lines.
I can now use some double sided tape to secure the template to the workpiece and make sure
it lines up perfectly with the markings.
I could use a handheld router like before but since I have 14 slots to make I’m going
to use my router table.
Going round and round, moving the piece in a counter-clockwise direction, taking shallow
passes until the slot is fully shaped.
Again, you don’t want to press hard here and try to do it all in one pass.
You’ll get burn marks and may even knock off the template.
Trust me, I’ve made that mistake.
Last but not least, I'll round all the corners using the same bit with this radius jig.
I’ll leave a link to this tool below - or, you could simply use a sander instead.
Ok we’re getting close.
All the parts are cut but as you can see they’re looking a little rough.
So, I’ll use a roundover bit on all the edges to give it a smoother feel and more
polished look overall.
After all these years I still have to remind myself to go counter-clockwise around outside
edges but go clockwise on inner edges like these slots.
[LIVE]
The
notch definitely gives me a reference point where to sit the base, so I’m liking it
already.
Here I’m adding a V-notch to the tongue of one of the adjustable shelves.
I like that the shelves just kind of click into place now.
But, I want them to sit close to horizontal and we’re not quite there yet, so I’ll
make another pass to deepen the groove.
Okay that’s about as deep as I can make the grooves but it’s still not level.
So I think at this point I have no choice but to prop up the back so it won’t lean
back so much.
[sounds]
Getting this angle just right is going to be tricky so I’ll take a bit of a shortcut
and add some leveling feet.
That way I can just dial in the angle as needed.
This is probably the first time I develop a prototype of a build.
I usually design every little detail before I start on a project, so this process was
uncharted territory for me.
It’s not perfect, but in the end I made it work, which is a really great feeling.
I’ll do my best to leave as many details about the measurements and the build details
on my website, so be sure to find that link in the description down below.
I’ll also include links to all the tools I used in case you saw something you liked.
Hey, I hope you enjoyed the video!
Until next time, thanks for watching.
See you soon!