Building the modeling desk Part 1

With our recent house move i needed to make a new modelling desk. I normally have a few projects on the go at once so i need some good working space. When i was making up the design,  i decided to have 3 main sections on the desk. Machining,  Assembly and a drying/holding section. The room the trains are in now has a nice window/ door way area. I wanted to be near a window for the views, but mainly so i can have the window open when working with glue and soldering.  Down below are the materials i used and an outline on how i built it.

Materials used.

4x 1800x 600x 18mm laminated pine sheet (desk & boxes)

3x 1200x 140x 19mm pine plank (upper shelves)

2x 1800x 140x 19mm pine plank (upper shelves)

1x 1200x 184x 19mm pine plank (upper shelves)

1x 1800x 184x 19mm pine plank (upper shelves)

3x 1200x 600x 3mm Mdf sheets ( backing on shelves & boxes)

5x 550mm shelve running kit

100x 25mm timber screws

I first made up the two boxes. These boxes are at each end of the desk. They are 720mm high by 600mm wide and 550 in depth. First i needed  to trim down the laminated pine sheets. I trimmed off 40mm on the sheets. This was down to make a 40mm lip on the desk. I used a power saw and a metal guide bar to get a nice straight line when cutting the wood.  Next was to install the draw runners.  These are very easy to install. I set the centre height i wanted for each draw and than drew a line across the two sides of the draw.  I than screwed in the runners with the supplied screws, using the line as a guide. The boxes were than screwed together using the normal method of using a pilot hole, and counter sinking the screws. A 600x 600mm Mdf sheet was nailed onto the back of the boxes to act as a backing.

Cutting guide

Centre line for shelf runner

Installed runners

Finished boxes

Close up of box

Next was to cut the desk out, this was fairly easy to do. Because i have an angle turn in the desk  i had to get angle right before i made the cut.  One length is 1800mm long and the other side is 1000mm long, both 600mm wide.  Once this was done the desk was screwed down from under the desk through the boxes. I also screwed in a piece of wood to support the join on the desk.

I than made up the upper shelves to go on the 1000m length desk. This was made nearly same way as boxes. I used 140mm wide shelve with a height of 600mm. I used a 184mm wide plank to go top. I plan to add some led lights along the overhang. Work has started on the second shelf and will explain more in part 2.

Half finshed desk

Half finshed desk