How to Build a Custom Computer Desk

With No Experience, Planning, or Common Sense

In early 2022, I bought my first home. I was excited to have the space and freedom to dive deep into woodworking, a hobby that was never particularly accessible to me as a rolling stone despite great appeal.

The first major project I chose for myself was to build a computer workstation desk, with all features I value, and none of the ones I don’t.

I started by visiting a local lumberyard and asking if they had a slab available. They did. It cost $80! Though a bit narrow at just under 20 inches, it was the perfect length and came with a nice rough-hewn edge and some really neat grain.

It sat idle for some weeks as gradually added coats of polyurethane.

It sat idle for some months as I pondered what to do for legs.

I decided, eventually, to use two filing cabinets, as is commonly done. I sourced two identical ones on Craigslist. Together they cost $100.

I could now use the thing, and so, in the true spirit of Agile, I did!

It became quickly clear that resting directly on top of the filing cabinets made the surface too low to be an effective ergonomic workstation desk. I tried some postures, took some measurements, and happily realized that about 3.5 inches of additional height would be perfect for my body shape.

I went to same local lumberyard. In hindsight, another source would have given better cost performance, but I was impatient, excited, and eager to move fast and build things, in the true spirit of Agile. I found an oak laminate post indended for use as an interior baluster; though I didn’t need that grade, I had it in hand and so bought it! It cost $40.

At this time I had not discovered my amazing neighborhood makerspace, and so I took some measurements and made some cuts the hard way, using a skookum circular saw ($30 on Craigstlist, pandemic) at multiple angles. It wasn’t pretty, but it worked! The time was around Summer 2022.

This desk served me well. It wasn’t perfect as I’d dreamed, but it offered everything I needed in this piece of furniture, and allowed me to do my job.

In winter of 2022 I sought the next level, by sourcing a large piece of acrylic, which I chose over tempered glass for its safety and workability. I picked it up in person in New Jersey, on the way back from Christmas with my family. My amazing partner joined for the adventure and helped me load it in.

Now, there was a problem: the acrylic sheet wanted to intersect the center post of my VESA monitor mount. I pondered for a week, then found a hole saw. I discovered how difficult it is to use a hole saw without a central drill bit to hold it stable. Instead of figuring out the correct way to do what I wanted, I switched tactics and used a spade bit. This of course is all part of the process; I embrace my foolishness. But now I had a new problem: the smaller hole was just too shy to accommodate the diameter of the post. Curses, foiled again!

It took a couple of months to learn what a deburring tool is called, find one (I gave up and resorted to Amazon) and laboriously carve out enough diameter to accommodate the post. There…may have been better ways to solve this problem. But this is the solution I chose.

By using the high-end sophistication of empty soda pop cans for supports, I was able to add a second level to my workspace, leaving room for my hands, with visibility to the lower deck, so to speak. Great victory! I felt much less cramped and free to do my very best work, finally.

In time, two problems arose. First, the acrylic, however skookum, had a flex to it that any amount of weight would threaten to throw out the supports and make a big mess. Even an accidental elbow rest put one dangerously close to catastrophe.

Secondly, the beautiful slab at that wonderful $80 price point began to warp and cup as it dried out. You see, nobody told me that green wood dries on the order of years per inch of thickness, not weeks. And of course, I didn’t think to ask. The upshot is, my keyboard and laptop would wiggle and wobble, no matter the orientation.

Well, I lived with it for a year or so. In early summer 2024, I decommissioned that desk for maintenance, moving my main workstation into the basement (a seasonal tactic I highly recommend to those who can avail it, to escape the summer heat without wasting energy). With an assist from the incomparable Toph O’Leary, we (mostly he) planed it flat on our giant CNC, lasered in a logo, and began the laborious process of staining and sealing, this time with the benefit of some more experience with various wood finishes. I went with a natural stain and about 7 coats of polyurethane. In hindsight, 10-12 coats might have been better.

Anyhow, along with that, I re-finished the oak chucks, and added some pegs (also oak, but stained darker to look like mahogany or something, shh, it’ll be our little secret) that I easily chopped off of a 1” dowel the Home Depot carries for $8 or so.

At present I have yet to match the alignment of the pegs on my slab to achieve a snug fit where it won’t slip-slide around. I am also noodling on whether to use CNC-carved wood to support the acrylic top deck, or to instead lean into multi-material and make a metal bracket (which would surely function better but not look as nice, or be as enjoyable to make). Or do something else entirely!

More on this story as it develops.