Hi, this is Wayne again with a topic “DIY Mid Century Modern CNC Flat Pack Desk”.
Today, we’re going to talk about how i went from seeing this picture on the internet to having this custom desk in my office now be sure to stick around to the end, because i’d like to hear your opinion on some things before i make the decision on Whether or not to share the files for this desk to the public, i took a long look at the other desk decided what i liked and then hopped into fusion 360 and just started sketching. I knew the basic height that i needed and depth that i needed, but aside from that, it was all just visual. None of these angles were measured to be intentionally perfect and there it is. There’S the sides it’s two pieces intentionally i’ll get to that later. Here i am creating the desktop piece and the shelf. Then there are some cross braces as well.
I don’t show the joinery i used here for cnc joinery. You should really check out the book that we just released on cnc joinery through make books there’s the final thing after it was time to go out and cut it. I had to use screws strategically placed to keep the maple plywood from moving around. It took a lot of screws, but it’s worth it, you don’t want your stuff shifting, then i’m off to the races.
First, i cleaned out my pocket holes where everything was going to fit together and then i cut the shapes. Nothing went wrong, which is pretty amazing for how clueless i am sometimes. I was very eager to try out this fit, so i plopped a piece out cleaned up the very end of it: real, quick and shoved it in place.
At this point i was so excited. I could sing, then it was time to do all of it. I had to cut through the tabs and of course i started out super super uncoordinated and then i plopped them all out, and there was a lot of finishing to do.
I had left just a tiny bit which had to be cut flush and then also there were the tabs, which i ground off with a jigsaw. That’S not really the optimal way, but i found i was able to get it done very neatly with that jigsaw, and then it was time to test fit the whole desk and see if it would hold together, and here it is. I was so excited. Look at this that is gorgeous and it fit together. I love it.
Of course. At this point i noticed that i had forgotten to cut the pockets for the top shelf of the desk. I also noticed something else that bothered me. I didn’t, like this 90 degree angle on the front of the desk top, so i’m capturing the angle of the sides here to mimic it on the top of the desk.
It was about 15 to 17 degrees, and so here i am setting the table saw and i’m just going to rip a quick cut across that desktop piece to mimic that angle. It made a huge, huge difference. You’Ll see it later. I love the way that turned out.
I designed this in two pieces so that if i were to use hardwood later, i could join two pieces and the grain would go down the legs correctly. Since this is just plywood, i could have just done it in one piece. Then it was time to glue up the whole desk at this point. It was freezing outside, so i had to do it inside so that my glue wouldn’t be ruined in the freezing cold. Here, i’m adjusting for this uh top shelf that i forgot to cut pocket holes for i’m just gon na glue in a quick shelf and then hop over to the table saw and take off the tabs that were supposed to fit inside the pockets just carefully inching. It over until i get those gone i’ll spare you all the footage of me sanding everything, but there was a lot of sanding involved to get everything the way i wanted it. I couldn’t keep the cats away either. I used boiled linseed oil for this one.
I like the way it looks it’s just kind of a very soft finish, not super extreme, and then a few coats of poly acrylic gave me this beautiful finish man. I love this thing. I could just sit and stare at it for hours. I can’t keep rey off of it, but hopefully she’ll get bored with it soon.
Man, that’s so beautiful. I love it. So here’s my dilemma. The original desk was designed by helmut mag in the early 50s. Mine is a copy of that. It’S very obviously a copy of that now i didn’t actually trace his design and mimic his angles exactly.
I looked at his put it away, opened autodesk, fusion and designed my own, but i very obviously designed the same shape that he created, so would it be morally? Okay for me to share the files openly for other people to design this desk. I really don’t know the answer to that. This is my design. After all, i did do the work to create this, but it is a copy. At the same time, i don’t know the answer. I know that i’m fine having a copy that is basically the same shape as his in my office, but i don’t know how i feel about sharing those files to the public. So share your opinion. Let me know what you think, or, if there’s actually a legal precedence here on how something like this might work, is this different enough that it would be considered derivative um? I don’t know i’d love to hear your thoughts, be sure to put them down in the comments below and like and subscribe for more cool stuff on this channel. You .