Pro Woodworking Tips.com-Custom Desk

Custom Desk - page two

To assit in helping with the glue up, we used pinch dogs, (see pinch dogs in the general woodworking topics page), which helped pull the miter joints tightly together. we were careful to place them in areas that would be removed later. (in this case, the corners would be radiused, so that was the perfect location for them

After having glued up the frame work and shaping the top and bottom edges with a large radius bit in the router, we routed a rabit on the inside edge to allow the plywood for the granite to sit on. This was cut to permit the 3/4" plywood to be flush with the bottom of the main frame. The plywood was glued and screwed into the frame.

The next step was to come up with the desired setback for the apron. After deciding on a measurement, marking the set back was done on 3/4" plywood. This was also cut on the bandsaw and sanded smooth. The front piece was cut from a 12" wide piece of plywood, and once it was right, it was used as a pattern for a duplicate piece.The sides were cut in the same fashion, using narrower pieces of plywood. Again, they were duplicated. (picture one). Notice the round M.D.F. disc's which represent the diamater of the top of the legs. This ensured we would have room for them, and have a consistant space around them. The corners, which are a sharp curve, and are actually about a half circle, were cut last. We cut a number of these pieces, as they would be stacked five high for the desired height was established. (picture two)

Once the framework was cut and sanded, the vertical pieces were cut from wood, as they would hold the screws better than plywood. This is the same method used for framing a curved wall in construction work. In picture three you can see large holes drilled through them. These allow us to screw the completed assembly to the top.