# Office Desk, Built Ins and Vanity



## Leo G (Oct 16, 2006)

Birch desk with a custom brown stain


















File Drawer









Printer Drawer



























Keyboard Drawer













































Pullout Hamper



























The desk is made from Solid Birch for the doors, drawer fronts, face frames and front edge of the desktop. The other visible surfaces are 3/4" A1 Birch plywood. The drawers are made from 9 ply 5/8" Euro Maple. I didn't have some smaller pcs of Birch ply for the keyboard drawers so I used Maple. Got the same color, but the grain is muted. I have two types of drawer slides in the desk. The file drawers ride on Accuride heavy duty file slides and the regular drawers ride on Blum Blumotion slides. The drawers are made using a small rabbet and pocket screws.

The vanity is made from Soft Maple and painted with MLC Resistant (Ben Moore White Dove) and then clear coated with MLC Krystal. Both finishes are a conversion varnish. All the drawers ride on Blum Blumotion slides except for the center upper, it is a Accuride 8" slide. The drawers are made from the same 9 ply but these drawers are dovetailed.


----------



## Old Skhool (Oct 31, 2009)

All beautiful work Leo.


----------



## Allthumbs27 (Dec 25, 2008)

That bookshelf with filing drawers in the wall is pretty cool. And I like how you seperated the bathroom space with that storage space in between the sinks. Good work
My bad.


----------



## Leo G (Oct 16, 2006)

Not really a dresser, it is a Bookshelve with filing drawers below. It is in the office, same room as the desk


----------



## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

Nice work Leo...looks good. Finishes came out great.


----------



## wfahey (Oct 24, 2009)

Absolutely beautiful work Leo. While I don't mind sharing my office with anyone, I am not so sure I would want them right beside me though.


----------



## joesdad (Nov 1, 2007)

Gret work Leo, you actually made birch look nice! I knew it could be done..lol


----------



## Geoguy (Feb 22, 2008)

*Beautiful*

Fantastic, Leo. Especially nice job on staining the birch. Keep posting pics of finished jobs - they're great.


----------



## jenslin (Nov 17, 2009)

Leo,
Any chance you could share your finishing recipe, I am working on a cabinet for my bath, I used birch and poplar, and i need a similar finish to yours. Here is a link to my post. http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f8/needs-finishing-help-cant-decide-13262/.
Thanks
Jim


----------



## The Everyman Show (Jul 10, 2009)

Loe some fantastic finish projects. All of them look first class. I really like the finish and the color of the office set up.


----------



## Leo G (Oct 16, 2006)

jenslin said:


> Leo,
> Any chance you could share your finishing recipe, I am working on a cabinet for my bath, I used birch and poplar, and i need a similar finish to yours. Here is a link to my post. http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f8/needs-finishing-help-cant-decide-13262/.
> Thanks
> Jim


Good luck with that Jim. If you aren't proficient with spraying it will be tough to match that finish. Because you used Poplar it will make it more difficult to get a nice even stain. 

I would suggest using a wash coat. (your finish thinned out to 5% solids) and then a gel stain. If I did it, it would probably take about 8 steps to get there.


----------



## Maveric777 (Jul 30, 2008)

Grade A work Leo!


----------



## gingerbo (Nov 22, 2009)

LOVE the mirror trim and mid-counter cabinet. I have a very similar setup in my bathroom and I had thought of having a cabinet just like yours added. Your trim design around the mirrors is elegant and takes away that "cheap motel" look I currently have with the plain mirror slab glued to the wall. I've saved your photo. From an interior design standpoint, however, it appears the faucets are silver and the cabinet hardware is brass. This may be my computer so accept my apology in advance if I am mistaken. If the hardware is brass, it would really look terrific to swap it out to match the faucets. But, that's just me being a picky woman. LOL. I am trying to learn a little about woodworking so that I can add some decorative trim to my home. I'm new to this site and I'm sure I'll have lots of questions as I go. Thanks for the inspiration.


----------



## Leo G (Oct 16, 2006)

It is all chrome plated, no brass.


----------



## gingerbo (Nov 22, 2009)

*Good call*

Way to go, I'm jealous.:smile:


----------



## Kenbo (Sep 16, 2008)

Nice work there Leo. Everything looks great.


----------



## Kryptoroxx (Nov 15, 2009)

Absolutely stunning. Excellent workmanship and a very classic look too I might add. I do have one newbish question for you though. How do you do the design on the doors? I'm pretty new to woodworking beyond landscaping and a few simple rough products but I am researching a computer desk myself. I have a design put together but I have always wondered about that. I've ordered some books (base library didn't have much) and I'm waiting for them to come in the mail but here in Japan it takes a while. I don't need a step by step but the inlaid squares are very elegant. Also since you've already put the desk together how is the birch for strength. I've been having some trouble finding anything except walnut and walnut is pretty pricy. I have seen some birch but I would like your opinion on the wood itself. Thanks and great work again.


----------



## Leo G (Oct 16, 2006)

Birch is a strong, hard, brittle wood. By brittle I mean while milling it, it is chippy. You need sharp tooling and slow feeds with the board in the correct direction cutting with the grain.

The doors a re a typical raised panel. It is a 5 pc door, 2 rails (horiz), to stiles (vert) and 1 panel.


This is a picture of a door I constructed, but not a cabinet door. This door had a panel on both sides, but the concept is the same.

It is a cope and bead construction. The slot is where the panel goes. It has a 1/4" tongue that goes into the slot, it is not glued in there but floats. This lets the panel change size during the seasons without splitting. The panel is run on a shaper and done in one pass. You can make a panel with a router table or a table saw. But you won't do it in one pass.


----------



## Kryptoroxx (Nov 15, 2009)

thanks for the answers they are helping me edumacate myself.


----------

