Build Mother's Easy, Low-cost Big Desk

Enlarge Image Image Gallery The pattern for the curved sideboards: Draw a grid of 1-inch squares then use the reference lines to plot the shape of the curve. You also can enlarge this pattern on a copier until it is actual size, and then cut out the curve and mark it onto the sideboards.

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You’d be surprised how easy it is to build this simple desk. For about $75 (even less if you use recycled materials), you get more than 15 square feet of desktop space plus an optional shelf underneath for computer equipment or extra books. And building a desk like this won’t take more than a weekend, even if you don’t have much carpentry experience.

There are three keys to building any kind of simple, inexpensive furniture, and this desk incorporates them all: a design that uses standard lumber sizes; joinery details that are easy to build, yet strong; and a finishing strategy that’s fast, fume-free and durable.

Start With the Top

Most lengths for the desk parts on the materials list are related to the size of the desktop you choose, and that’s why your first step is to acquire a hollow-core interior door. These inexpensive doors are large, flat, rigid and lightweight — perfect for use as a desktop. Our plan assumes a standard size of 80 by 32 inches.

If you want to use a different-sized desktop, follow these simple guidelines for adjusting the other parts’ lengths:

• Long skirts: 6 inches shorter than the desktop’s length
• Short skirts: 5 ½ inches shorter than the desktop’s width
• Side braces: same length as short skirts
• Desktop backboard: 3½ inches shorter than desktop’s length
• Desktop sideboards: 12 inches shorter than desktop’s width

Most interior doors are reasonably smooth, but the finished desktop will look better if you spend a little time sanding it anyway. This is especially true around the corners and edges. A few quarter sheets of 120-grit sandpaper folded into thirds work best for sanding by hand. The same kind of sandpaper in a palm sander speeds up the process and yields better results.

Assembling the Side Frames

Next, assemble the two frames that form the leg structure of the desk. Each one is made of two legs, one side brace and one short skirt assembled into four-sided frames with square corners. The plan shows how the top edges of the side braces are 8 inches above the bottom ends of the legs. Cut the parts you need and then sand them all before continuing. It’s amazing how much nicer the finished desk will look if you perform this extra step.

There are two tricks for putting together the side frames well. If the corners of your desktop are square (and they almost certainly will be), use the underside as an assembly guide. By lining up one leg and a short skirt with adjoining edges of the door, your side frames will turn out square, too. As a final check of squareness, measure the distance across diagonally opposite corners of these frames. If the distances are the same (within about one-eighth inch), then your side frames are sufficiently square. Use carpenters glue on all joints, then attach them with 1½-inch finishing nails (two per joint) before carefully setting the two side frames aside to dry. Let the glue dry overnight, then reinforce the joints by installing two No. 8 screws in each brace-to-leg joint and two 3-inch carriage bolts, washers and nuts in each short skirt-to-leg joint.

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