Wife is setting up a new office at home and I mentioned making a new top for her desk as a possible upgrade
The desk is a Costco special, its been fine but she was lookin for a larger worktop.
Pulled the existing glass top, weighed about 30lbs.
New Top: ~30"x96" 3/4" cabinet grade Walnut veneer with 3/4 x 1-1/4" solid wood full perimeter edge. Full 4x8 sheet ($190) and had the solid wood from a previous butcher block top I built earlier.
Construction: glue and pocket holes mostly, no visible fasteners, added 1x4 fir boards for bracing and attachment points to the existing desk. Rivnuts into the metal desk frame for anchoring.
Finish: Ive been experimenting with different finishes for the last few years. Previously I would have used Woca worktop finish, a euro hardening wax similar to Rubio or Osmo. And its a great product but I dont like that it picks up oils and dirt if not cleaned and refinished often.
So with this not really being a food grade top I opted for a euro floor finish- Pallmann Xpower ultra matte. Incredibly easy to apply and not screw up, my kind of finishing
Simply roll (or tbar) on heavy, overlapping strokes, ready to walk on in 2 hours!? Should be a bomber finish, we will see how it handles her daily activities.
And my favorite aspect of the project- Keeping the UP/DOWN capacitive button feature= I embedded some steel pins into the wood top that complete the circuit, flush with the top and just close enough to the buttons underneath. Real fun to operate and a bit trick
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I actually ruptured my achilles just before this project, ugh. I did this whole thing wearing a walking boot the week before surgery. I had plans for a bit higher fit and finish but I was pushing hard just to complete it before going under the knife.
Overall im pleased with it, and more importantly she LOVES it
Cheers,
Original
The desk is a Costco special, its been fine but she was lookin for a larger worktop.
Pulled the existing glass top, weighed about 30lbs.
New Top: ~30"x96" 3/4" cabinet grade Walnut veneer with 3/4 x 1-1/4" solid wood full perimeter edge. Full 4x8 sheet ($190) and had the solid wood from a previous butcher block top I built earlier.
Construction: glue and pocket holes mostly, no visible fasteners, added 1x4 fir boards for bracing and attachment points to the existing desk. Rivnuts into the metal desk frame for anchoring.
Finish: Ive been experimenting with different finishes for the last few years. Previously I would have used Woca worktop finish, a euro hardening wax similar to Rubio or Osmo. And its a great product but I dont like that it picks up oils and dirt if not cleaned and refinished often.
So with this not really being a food grade top I opted for a euro floor finish- Pallmann Xpower ultra matte. Incredibly easy to apply and not screw up, my kind of finishing
Simply roll (or tbar) on heavy, overlapping strokes, ready to walk on in 2 hours!? Should be a bomber finish, we will see how it handles her daily activities.And my favorite aspect of the project- Keeping the UP/DOWN capacitive button feature= I embedded some steel pins into the wood top that complete the circuit, flush with the top and just close enough to the buttons underneath. Real fun to operate and a bit trick
---------------------
I actually ruptured my achilles just before this project, ugh. I did this whole thing wearing a walking boot the week before surgery. I had plans for a bit higher fit and finish but I was pushing hard just to complete it before going under the knife.
Overall im pleased with it, and more importantly she LOVES it
Cheers,
Original
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