20
votes
How can I drill a grommet hole in my Ikea desktop?
Of course you can, and it's very easy to do.
All you need is an appropriate hole saw.
Drill from the top down. If you can, hold or clamp a piece of scrap wood under where you are cutting. That ...
- 5,639
16
votes
Accepted
Wobble in the Desk I am building
How do I rectify this? This is my first project.
That's an easy, inexpensive and useful first project.
Even if the work is square and accurately cut, it's easy to be off by a couple millimeters. And ...
- 1,310
7
votes
Are desk legs with one screw strong enough for a desk?
You're not suppose to attach a table's legs with the table on its side.
The legs are never designed for that kind of stress. You're talking about a leg that is at least a meter long.
The proper way to ...
- 1,643
7
votes
How can I vertically mount a surge protector with keyhole slots under my desk?
Drive four screws, appropriately placed, tight enough for the slots to just barely slip around. Friction may then be enough to hold the box in place. If that isn't good enough for you, drive one more ...
- 27.6k
6
votes
Need help painting a desk top made out of MDF
MDF is essentially a sponge when it comes to painting it. So the first thing you need to do is prime it properly so that it doesn't absorb the paint. To prime it properly, use a non-water-based primer....
- 24.2k
6
votes
Accepted
Can a large hole be reliably drilled in a table _by hand_?
Drill type saws that use a center pilot bit and an outer toothed ring attachment is called a hole saw. They come in a variety of types and qualities, the best being those with three parts - cup-like ...
- 33.6k
5
votes
What is the ideal method of supporting a 27" deep floating desk across 10 feet of wall?
I built a floating desk with brackets like these.
It is critical to fasten the brackets in solid structure (studs).
I used fasteners like these.
- 13.5k
5
votes
Accepted
Are desk legs with one screw strong enough for a desk?
"Strong enough" is a hard question to answer.
There's two kinds of "strong" here. One is the strength against pushing straight down on the desk, and the other is pushing to the ...
- 5,532
4
votes
Accepted
Should I fasten brackets to the wall or desktop first?
As you're just asking about which order to attach the pieces, and not different methods, there is very little difference.
Mounting the brackets to the wall first may make it easier to ensure you hit ...
- 8,803
4
votes
Steel tube deflection over span
Given the length and aspect ratio that you've proposed, it will be very difficult to meaningfully support the desk the long way. 16' is just way too long to get any support across. Certainly a 2x4 ...
- 14k
4
votes
Attaching a heavy plastic object - of which I can't access the inside - to the side of an office table
Why not create a shelf-like support using two or three angle brackets to support the weight of the docking station?
The vertical leg of the bracket could be screwed into the side of the desk, and ...
- 33.6k
4
votes
How thick should plywood be when building a desk?
Close to what you need, here's a shelf sag calculator. if you imagine each end is supported, a 4' shelf of 0.6" thick ply will hold 30 lbs without issue.
If you spent a couple more bucks and added a ...
- 630
4
votes
How to unlock a jammed cam lock
Basically apply more force.
They may break, depending how jammed they are - they are cheap zinc castings most of the time. The screws they connect to are usually steel so they are likely to survive, ...
- 202k
4
votes
Will a 72 x 24 x 1 3/4" Maple tabletop sag if supported by only four legs?
There is a cool website that calculates sag based on a variety of inputs. https://www.woodbin.com/calcs/sagulator/
It also naturally depends upon where you attach the legs. If they were set in from ...
- 23.1k
4
votes
Wobble in the Desk I am building
Glue a piece of packing to the short leg.
or
cut the other three legs to match.
Make sure that the floor surface is level as a small difference could also cause the issue you face and if it is the ...
- 26.3k
4
votes
Accepted
Modify a wooden desk so the legs either fold or are removable-and-reattachable
Adding closure, - I sat on this project for over a year. Then these hinges came up in a random search, so I bought four, fitted them, and the table works well. Its a little wobbly than when it was ...
- 10k
4
votes
Accepted
Joining two desktops - options
I recently added a desk extension so I had the same problem, I needed the two surfaces to be flush and stable. The solution I came up with was to use a dowel jig to drill dowel holes at the same depth ...
- 5,209
4
votes
Accepted
Trying for a “floating desk” supported by two walls. I think the boards for my frame are too thin at less than 2” – would this be sturdy enough?
First of all, you'll need some way to hold up that free-floating corner. And this is a fairly difficult task. The design you have isn't going to cut it, even if you use much bigger supporting members. ...
- 1,895
4
votes
How to brace double layer (2x18mm) plywood against bowing/sagging over a 2.2m span?
You can use a stiffener, something like this. If you want to build it out of wood, a 100mm or so ripped piece the full width can go under the middle at 90 degrees to the underside of the table. Screw ...
- 9,282
4
votes
Will 3/4" square steel bar support an 8 foot MDF desktop?
An 8 foot long 3/4" steel rod will sag, rather dramatically, all by itself.
The same amount of steel in a different shape (tubing or angle, typically at this scale) would be much stiffer. As ...
- 202k
3
votes
Accepted
Isolating a workstation located in an open space office
Why not just put up sound barrier screens around the noisy desks. To make this work you will have to, as a minimum, keep it to one person per desk and where desks are adjacent move them apart enough ...
- 64.1k
3
votes
Accepted
Building fitted desk for home office
To answer your questions in reverse order: 3) Install your floor coverings first. It will go faster and easier if you have no obstacles to work around. You can always cover the new floor with tarps if ...
- 10.9k
3
votes
Attaching a heavy plastic object - of which I can't access the inside - to the side of an office table
To go off of what bib recommended, If you would like to keep the same vertical orientation for the dock, I would investigate using a wall mount magazine rack like these one:
Some factors you would ...
- 480
3
votes
Accepted
Stopping a standing desks from rocking
If I see correctly, that your table legs are attached directly to the top with no apron at the top. That there is no rack bracing of any sort, short of the 1 1/2" by 3 1/2" faces and sides screwed ...
- 34.4k
3
votes
Accepted
Mounting Computer Under Particle Board Desk
While there's no problem mounting things to particle board as others have described, 1/2" is just too thin to work with. I would mount another board under your desk using construction or wood glue, at ...
- 130k
3
votes
How thick should plywood be when building a desk?
I would go with at least 3/4" (or something close to that). I would use the hardwood ply for a desk, it has a much nicer finish and will not dent as easy. The birch ply you get from the box stores ...
- 362
3
votes
Broken Slide Stop Clip
These clips are from an individual manufacturer and are not a common hardware item. You could contact the drawer-slide manufacturer, who might provide a clip gratis. If that fails, or you wish to ...
- 5,856
3
votes
"Floating" desk - Avoiding wood sag, aluminium right angle support
I would not waste time with an aluminium angle iron. It will being next to nothing in terms of real support for the front edge of your desk. Instead you should look at something like steel rectangular ...
- 64.1k
3
votes
Wall-to-wall desk with battens
Given the lengthwise span and the truncated support at the right end, I'd use cleats on the ends and two brackets across the back. 25mm MDF won't handle that load without a lot of bounce and some ...
- 130k
3
votes
How can i fix my wobbly table?
Yes, put some panels or diagonal bracing behind those end shelves.
eg: bottom of left rear leg to top of left front leg, and the same on the right.
- 19k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible