Chet Posted March 14, 2021 Share Posted March 14, 2021 3 hours ago, Kev said: since this desk lives in our bedroom and I often work when my wife is trying to sleep, I'm curious if this would create the "ambient" light I'm wanting. If this is what you want the LEDs for I am guessing that under the desk top wouldn't really serve your purpose. LEDs are actually pretty directional, they pretty much cast light in the direction you point them. LED's that look like a regular light bulb cast light all the way around because they have mounted the diodes on a calendrical pattern inside the bulb. So I would think that all you would get by mounting them under the top is a glow that may still have your wife less then happy. Look into red light. I used red in a couple of situations on was in my darkroom developing pictures and another was at night with my telescope. I would use a red flashlight if I had to read something but it would effect my night vision for looking through the telescope. With red once she closes her eyes she would even know you had a light on. Or... how about an LED headlamp? ? 2 Quote "Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for." - Epicurus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodenskye (Bryan) Posted March 14, 2021 Share Posted March 14, 2021 The final design needs to meet your needs. I think your rational for putting in LED strip makes sense, I just don’t know if doing under will provide enough light. Maybe if you did a strip on the back of the desk on top it would solve your needs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Posted March 14, 2021 Share Posted March 14, 2021 (edited) 3 hours ago, Coop said: @Bob, not being nosy but just curious. What kind hard copies do you keep for so long? The only thing I can imagine would be old newspaper articles or family memorabilia such as photos, death certificates, marriage license and in my case, divorce decree (just in case?). All that stuff, plus, for most of my law enforcement career I was required to keep my notes from my day to day activities. The notes, no matter how trivial or scribbled, were subject to subpoena for trial. Failure to produce the notes was a big no no. 44ys = a lot stuff. I got into the habit of keeping almost anything involving my daily life, and there were a number of times I was glad I did. Edited March 14, 2021 by Bob double 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted March 14, 2021 Author Share Posted March 14, 2021 7 hours ago, Coop said: Kev, would you have room to make the right cabinet the same size as the left. Then put a file drawer on the bottom of each and desk drawer(s) above each? The right side cabinet isn't wide enough.. Now, that's not to say it can't be.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie Posted March 15, 2021 Share Posted March 15, 2021 Another way to make a little bit of room is to make your drawer stock thinner than you normally would. I know it’s not much, but think you are looking for every bit you can get. It is a heavy drawer when full so might not be the best idea. Can you turn the way your files orientate? Might not get as many in the drawer but the width wouldn’t matter then. Seems like you will have plenty of depth to make it work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted March 15, 2021 Author Share Posted March 15, 2021 5 hours ago, Jamie said: Another way to make a little bit of room is to make your drawer stock thinner than you normally would. I know it’s not much, but think you are looking for every bit you can get. It is a heavy drawer when full so might not be the best idea. Can you turn the way your files orientate? Might not get as many in the drawer but the width wouldn’t matter then. Seems like you will have plenty of depth to make it work. I'm struggling with height, not width.. There's a few things I can do but, I need to be there to get some actual measurements.. I can shorten the feet a little I can make the rails a bit more narrow What I do will depend on how much I need.. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted March 22, 2021 Author Share Posted March 22, 2021 Back to this design today.. Once I was able to get some actual measurements, I think I'm going to be ok.. I'll be able to get 2 file drawers into this design but, there won't be any web frames in the case. I'll be side mounting the Blum under mount glides. Now, where this design threw me a curve ball was on the smaller cabinet! If I stayed with my original footprint, I'd of had a bank of 7" wide drawers.. Yes, those are about useless...lol. So, I expanded that case to get 12" drawers. I'm just hoping it's not a knee knocker! I'll build the 2 cases first and then lay it all out on the floor to see if I need to adjust the size of the top on that side.. Fortunately, I have some room on that side so, I can make that adjustment. I know I have enough material on hand to get going. I have the 8/4 for the top on order (looking for 6/4 when flat) as well as a sheet of 1/2" AM ply for the case sides. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted March 22, 2021 Share Posted March 22, 2021 Just spitballing here but I wonder if 1 1/2 inch legs on a case like that will end up looking a little spindly? Just as a comparison my current project has 2 inch legs over all it is 22inches wide 17 inches deep and 29 inches high. You can kind of get a feel for it in the last pic of the journal. I know you are working with some space constraints, just thought I would toss it out there. Quote "Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for." - Epicurus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted March 22, 2021 Author Share Posted March 22, 2021 8 minutes ago, Chet said: Just spitballing here but I wonder if 1 1/2 inch legs on a case like that will end up looking a little spindly? Just as a comparison my current project has 2 inch legs over all it is 22inches wide 17 inches deep and 29 inches high. You can kind of get a feel for it in the last pic of the journal. I know you are working with some space constraints, just thought I would toss it out there. I had originally designed for 2" legs but, I needed to buy some real-estate from a few different places to make everything work. I'm hoping they don't look "spindly" and I'm sure my wife will let me know if they do....lol I roughed out the legs from some material I picked up this morning.. The board that I pulled all these legs from was just a little over 5" wide but, I could pull all the legs for both cabinets from one board with 2 spare legs. What really surprised me was the amount of reaction wood in such a small board. There wasn't a lot of twist or cup to the board in its full length - About 10'. I cut them into 30" chunks and milled everything flat and square. From there, I ripped the individual legs out leaving them oversized and I'm glad I did! Here's a picture of them before I stickered them for the night to do whatever else they were going to do.. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted March 24, 2021 Author Share Posted March 24, 2021 Got some work in on the dest the last couple days! I forgot to get pictures last night so, didn't post the progress.. This picture is of the file cabinet side of the desk but, both cabinets are being worked at the same time. So, they're both at the same stage... All the rails are finished sanded to 180 with all the appropriate grooves for the panels and the curves. It's also dry fit so, the joinery is done as well.. Next up will be grooving the legs for the panels which I'll get to tomorrow.. My ply won't be here until tomorrow anyway so, there's really no reason to rush along.. For the top, I'm going to recess 1/2" ply inside after notching the legs. I'll add an additional support or 2 across the top using pocket screws as you'll never see them and they're only there for support. The bottom will be a piece of BB in a thickness that I have on hand.. It's only there as a dust stop so, the thickness isn't really that important. The under mount glides will be mounted to the sides after fillers are installed .. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted March 25, 2021 Share Posted March 25, 2021 I missed the Monday portion of this till now. Is there a reason the bottom rails are wider than the top ones? i have never used bottom mount glides but hope to in the future. I guess you are side mounting these to give you more depth to the drawers? Why not use side mount from the git go? Availability? What is AM ply? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted March 25, 2021 Author Share Posted March 25, 2021 5 minutes ago, Coop said: I missed the Monday portion of this till now. Is there a reason the bottom rails are wider than the top ones? i have never used bottom mount glides but hope to in the future. I guess you are side mounting these to give you more depth to the drawers? Why not use side mount from the git go? Availability? What is AM ply? The rails are a little different size as a design choice and, it also bought me a little needed room to fit the 2 file drawers. The under mount glides (Blum) are typically mounted to the sides. The middle set in this cabinet will be unsupported on the bottom but, I'm not expecting anywhere near the weight load for these glides. I chose the under mount for drawer size considerations. With side glides, you lose 1" to the width of the drawer and keep them at full depth. With under mount glides, you lose 1/2" to the depth of the drawer but, keep the full width. And, the Blums have a lot more adjustment options as well as they just function better. Over all, they're just a better glide but, their price point goes right along with being a better glide.. I'm not sure where you saw AM ply? I reread my last post but, I've obviously missed something somewhere.. Not that that is anything new...lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted March 25, 2021 Share Posted March 25, 2021 Very last sentence Monday. Prob a typo. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted March 25, 2021 Author Share Posted March 25, 2021 1 minute ago, Coop said: Very last sentence Monday. Prob a typo. Ah.. Ok.. Now it's in context.. African Mahogany. .. Sheet is due here tomorrow. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted March 25, 2021 Author Share Posted March 25, 2021 Well, I goofed! Got a great early start in the shop this morning and started routing grooves in the legs to accept the panels.. Yep.. Routed a groove in the wrong place. Inside of the front so, this is where the drawers will go in.. I cut the repair piece and glued it in.. I'll clean it up when the glue dries.. Bad thing is that I have this labeled "no groove" in pencil and just didn't recognize it.. The remaining faces like this now have blue tape on them so I don't make the same mistake twice.. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted March 25, 2021 Author Share Posted March 25, 2021 And the fix is complete.. Not as pretty as @Chet's but, it'll work for an inside face that nobody will ever see. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted March 25, 2021 Share Posted March 25, 2021 1 hour ago, Kev said: The remaining faces like this now have blue tape on them so I don't make the same mistake twice.. I do this a lot, thats why blue tape can end up on my Christmas list. 43 minutes ago, Kev said: Not as pretty as @Chet's I have probably had more practice. ? 2 Quote "Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for." - Epicurus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie Posted March 25, 2021 Share Posted March 25, 2021 Great job on the repair! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted March 26, 2021 Share Posted March 26, 2021 Good thing you cut the groove before you tapered the legs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted March 26, 2021 Author Share Posted March 26, 2021 4 minutes ago, Coop said: Good thing you cut the groove before you tapered the legs. Wouldn't have mattered.. The tapers are short at the feet only and not near the groove.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted March 26, 2021 Author Share Posted March 26, 2021 I was actually able to get quite a bit done today even with the set back! Got both cases glued up.. Still have to do the tops and the drawers but, those will be for another day.. Probably taking tomorrow off. Having dinner with some friends and getting some of my house chores caught up on.. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted March 26, 2021 Share Posted March 26, 2021 (edited) The grain on those panels look fantastic! Are they 1/4”? Edited March 26, 2021 by Coop 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted March 26, 2021 Author Share Posted March 26, 2021 17 minutes ago, Coop said: The grain on those panels look fantastic! Are they 1/4”? No, those are all 1/2" ply. Frankly, I made the legs a little smaller than I wanted to so, upped the game a little on the ply.. It's African Mahogany ply. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bushwacked Posted March 26, 2021 Share Posted March 26, 2021 Looking great!! I am with Coop, that is some dang good looking ply there! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkinneb Posted March 26, 2021 Share Posted March 26, 2021 I am too, I love that ply!! Great job Kev! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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