HOW TO BUILD A CUSTOM CRAFT DESK

This is a Crafting Desk My husband I built for $112.00 in materials and hardware. It is a great sturdy desk with ample storage for all your crafting items. I bought the Closet maid cubicles, 2, 9 cubby ones and 1, 6 cubby one These can be found on sale alot of the time. We saved alot of money by going to a bargain center for the materials. We got the Sheets of MDF for $9.98 each. At Lowes or Home Depot they were $35 each. The Molding we put up at the top edge we got for $2.98 each. Then a tube of Liquid nails, a tube of Kwik Seal Caulk to fill in the finishing nail holes and some screws and nails. Depending on the size you want to build will be the difference in price. My desk is a quite big. The great thing about this is you can make it the size that would work for you.

THE DESKS SIZE THAT I MADE WAS:

MAIN DESK--75"LONG X 38"WIDE X 36-3/4 TALL
SIDE DESK--50"LONG X 26"WIDE X 36-3/4 TALL


MATERIALS NEEDED
2-4'x8' X 3/4inch Thick sheets of MDF with Melamine top (Melamine is like a Formica)
3-12 Foot 1"x4" Trim like Pine or your own personal choice of wood.
12-Bolts & nuts to secure 1"x4" boards to cubicles
2-12 foot pieces of Trim of your choice for the top edge
3inch screws for the pieces of frame
1-Quart of Killz primer in white
1-Quart of white paint ( I used cabinet and trim paint its high gloss)
1-Tube of liquid nails
1-Tube of Kwik Seal Caulk or hole filler
Handful of small finishing nails with no head on them


TOOLS NEEDED
Drill & Drill bits to pre-drill holes in cubicles for bolts
Philips head for drill
Tape measure
Caulk Gun
A Square
Hammer
Table saw to cut sheets of MDF and trim and frame

STEP 1.
PLACE YOUR CUBLICES WHERE YOU WOULD LIKE THEM ACCORDING TO HOW BIG YOU WANT YOUR CRAFT DESK.

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STEP 2. MAIN DESK
DRILL 2 HOLES ON EACH SIDE OF THE 9 CUBBY CUBICLES ABOUT 3 INCHES APART. MAKE SURE THAT YOU DRILL YOUR HOLES A LITTLE BIGGER THEN THE BOLTS YOU WILL BE USING TO CONNECT THE 1X4 BOARDS TO IT. THEN MEASURE AND CUT YOUR BOARDS SO THAT THEY WILL BE FLUSH AGAINST THE CUBICLES AT ALL END. ON THE 1X4 BOARD TOWARDS THE FRONT OF THE MAIN DESK YOU WILL CUT IT 1" SHORTER SO THAT THE OTHER SIDE OF THE DESK FRAME WILL BE FLUSH WHEN YOU FRAME THAT SIDE. FOR THE CENTER YOU WILL CUT MORE 1X4 BOARDS FOR EXTRA STABILIZING AND TO PREVENT SAGGING OF THE MDF IN THE FUTURE.




STEP 3 SIDE DESK:
DRILL 2 HOLES ON EACH SIDE OF 6 CUBBY CUBICLE IN THE SAME FASHION AS THE FIRST SET. ATTACH BOTH BOARDS TO OPPOSITE END WITH 3-INCH WOOD SCREWS. THEN PLACE 1X4 BOARDS IN CENTER ONE IN THE MIDDLE AND ONE ABOUT 1 INCH FROM THE END.



STEP 4:

TAKE MEASUREMENTS ONCE EVERYTHING IS FRAMED UP. CUT YOUR SHEETS OF MDF TO FIT EXACT ON THE TOP OF THE FRAME YOU BUILT WITH NO OVERHANG. THE TOP SHOULD BE FLUSH WITH FRAME. THIS WILL BE DONE IN 2 SEPARATE PIECES. TEST THE TOP OUT TO MAKE SURE IT WAS CUT RIGHT THEN REMOVE IT. TAKE YOUR LIQUID NAILS AND CAULK GUN AND APPLY IT TO ALL RAW WOOD ON THE FRAME ON THE MAIN DESK PORTION. YOU DO NOT NEED TO APPLY IT TO THE CUBICLES BUT YOU CAN ITS YOUR CHOICE. DO THE SAME FOR THE SIDE DESK EXCEPT ADD SOME LIQUID NAILS TO THE END PIECE THAT WILL BUTT UP AGAINST THE MAIN DESK TO ADHERE BOTH PIECES TOGETHER.







STEP 5:
NOW IF YOU USED PINE OR SIMILAR WOOD FOR THE FRAME YOU MAY HAVE SOME IMPERFECTIONS OR AROUND THE AREA YOU CUT IT MAY BE ROUGH. TAKE A PIECE OF SAND PAPER AND GO OVER THE WOOD TO GET IT SMOOTH WITH NO SPLINTERS. AFTER THIS IS DONE YOU MAY ADD TRIM TO WITH FINISHING NAILS (THE KIND WITHOUT A HEAD) TO THE EDGE OF THE DESK THAT WILL BE FLUSH WITH THE TOP. I USED A 1 INCH TRIM FOR THE TOP.



STEP 6:

TAKE SOME REGULAR "DAP KWIK SEAL CAULK"(LIKE YOU USE TO CAULK AROUND BATHTUBS AND SINKS) TO FILL IN THE LITTLE FINISHING NAIL HOLES. NOW TAKE YOUR WHITE PRIMER AND PUT 2 COATS ON THE FRAME AND TRIM. I WAITED 30 MINUTES IN BETWEEN EACH COAT. THEN APPLY YOUR PAINT (YOUR CHOICE) AGAIN I USED A CABINET AND TRIM IN WHITE BECAUSE ITS HIGH GLOSS AND EASY TO CLEAN. I APPLIED 2 COATS.



I ADDED THIS BOOKSHELF THAT I HAD ALREADY TO THE UNDERNEATH ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE DESK FOR A LITTLE EXTRA. ITS NOT ATTACHED TO ANYTHING. IF YOU ARE WANTING TO DO THIS ITS RECOMMENDED THAT IT BE PLACE IN THERE BEFORE THE TOP IS IN PLACE SINCE THE STABALIZING PART OF THE FRAME IS IN THE MIDDLE.





CLOSETMAID ALSO HAS THE COLLAPSIBLE FABRIC DRAWERS THAT FIT PERFECT IN THE CUBBYS. I WAS REAL LUCKY TO FIND 14 OF THE SAME COLOR MY COLOR SCHEME IN MY CRAFT ROOM IS ON CLEARANCE FOR $2.39/EACH. THEY ARE NORMALLY ABOUT $7.99/EACH. YOU CAN USE ANYTHING THAT YOU WANT THAT WILL FIT LIKE WOVEN BASKETS WOULD BE CUTE TOO OR NOTHING AT ALL.



I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS PROJECT AND FOR THE MONEY ITS A GREAT WAY TO GO. THIS DESK HAS EVERYTHING I COULD EVER WANT IN A CRAFT DESK. IT IS TALL BUT ITS GREAT FOR PROJECTS THAT ARE EASIER TO DO STANDING AND THE TOP HAS SO MUCH WORK SPACE WITH LOTS OF ROOM. IF YOU MAKE ONE PLEASE SHARE SOME PHOTO'S WITH ME I WOULD LOVE TO SEE THEM!!!