# L shaped desk question



## sethiele (Jan 23, 2011)

hello all i am looking at building an l shaped desk when i come hom from afghanistan, i will most likely make 2 of them for 2 corners of the room. basically i the desk top is going to have to be diagonally cut to connect to tops to form the l shape. attached is a pretty crappy paint sketch i made to show you what i want. the question i am looking at being answered is if the long lengths are 60 inches to make the 2 pieces fit snuggly without being to long or to short. is there a mathmatical equation to get this number, or now that i think if it do i just make each top 60 inches by 48 inches and cut at a certain degree to get the same snug fit?


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## TomC (Oct 27, 2008)

With the two long sides being 60" each you need 45 degree angles to fit the 90 degree corner.
Tom
PS also agree 48" is wide for a desk.


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## sethiele (Jan 23, 2011)

yes i know 48inches is wide for a desk, i like a wider desk to fit my mouse monitor and keyboard on, i play alot of games and have a huge mousepad, my current desk is either 36" or 48" i cant remember those are estimates to basically this is gonna hold a monitor, mouse pad (huge mouse pad its 4 small ones combined basically, a keyboard, a laptop and a printer, along with any type of work i do on the side. i like alot of room so i can have food and drinks and not worry about spilling due to no space.


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## mdntrdr (Dec 22, 2009)

Yep, 2- 45 deg. angles, make a 90 deg. corner.

Here is one I recently did.

If you have any ques., I would be glad to help you. :smile:


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## TexasTimbers (Oct 17, 2006)

Is there a reason you want to know the inside (short) side dimensions? As long as you know the overall outside (long) dimensions, and if you can decide how deep you want each side then the inside length is going to be taken care of. But yes there is a formula to figure it out I just don't know it off the top of my head. Someone will post it. My point is that the most imprtant two decisions you need to make *are* the outside lengths and the width. once that is decided upon the inside dimensions aren't very relevant unless you have a minimum length you're shooting for inside. 

If that's the case, just do a quick rough calc by drawing a 6" length, put a 4.9ish" (48" is not 4.8" to scale but closer to 4.9 or 4.10 I'm guessing) width on it and draw the 45º on the other end then connect and measure. this is actually better than just using the formula because you can see the scale instead of just looking at numbers. If you don't like it, play with the end measurements and see how that looks. 





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## sethiele (Jan 23, 2011)

thats a very nice looking desk, almost exactly what i want, except im putting removeable legs so i can move mine when we end up moving, i even like the top you did that i might attempt something like that but still a beginner, can you give me a list of tools you used to make that? and when connectinig the two tops did you use a biscuit or is there a better way


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## mdntrdr (Dec 22, 2009)

The brackets are attached to the wall with French cleats, just pick up and go.

Upper is screwed to desktop, and wall.

As far as tools, Table saw, bandsaw, jointer, planer, router table.

You can hand sand... gives a flatter surface.

And, it is a sprayed laquer finish, brush or wipe poly would sufice. :smile:


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## sethiele (Jan 23, 2011)

i really like that finish and those tools not a big list, and should be easy for me to come across, ill end up using a router to round my edges, and i planned to hand sand it, my wood shop class hand a huge sanding machine loved it, but hand sanding will be my next one lol.

im gonna end up making another coffee table as well thats when i can find time around work, school, and raising a 3 year old lol


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## Improv (Aug 13, 2008)

View your diagram as two 48" by 60" rectangles that are overlapping to form a square 48" by 48" square. That leaves you a 48" by 12" rectangle that is excess of the square on each side (hence, the L-shape). According to your dimensions, the sitting area for that desk is going 12" by 12".

My recommendation is to make a top that is 48" wide and 108" long (i.e., 60" + 48"). Measure 12" down one side, 60" down the other side, mark and cut. Flip one board over and join the edges together. Might not be a true 45, but it will be a perfect match ;-)

Steve

P.S. The equation you are looking for is hypotenuse length = leg length * square root of 2.


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## Demosthine (Jan 18, 2011)

Improv, that's amazing. After years of math up through Calculus, they never taught us that one. The standard equation for a calculating the hypotenus of a right triangle was always Square Root of A^2+B^2. I tested your formula and it works, too, as long as both sides are equal.

C^2 = A^2 + B^2 or C = Sqrt(A^2 + B^2)

I could sort of understand having a 36" deep desk, but think about that in real life. The average adult male's arm is 36" from armpit to fingertips. You are adding another foot onto that. You are talking about the full width of a piece of plywood. You are taking up a very, very large portion of the average den or office with a desk that size.

Sorry if that seems too negative. I can't fathom a desk this size. I'd love to see photos when you get it done though.


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## jschaben (Apr 1, 2010)

sethiele said:


> hello all i am looking at building an l shaped desk when i come hom from afghanistan, i will most likely make 2 of them for 2 corners of the room. basically i the desk top is going to have to be diagonally cut to connect to tops to form the l shape. attached is a pretty crappy paint sketch i made to show you what i want. the question i am looking at being answered is if the long lengths are 60 inches to make the 2 pieces fit snuggly without being to long or to short. is there a mathmatical equation to get this number, or now that i think if it do i just make each top 60 inches by 48 inches and cut at a certain degree to get the same snug fit?


Making a 45 degree cut makes a linear relationship between the long edge and the short side. Tangent of 45* equals 1. Therefore just subtract the depth of the desk (48") from the length (60") to get what's left (12"). 

Probably not what you had in mind:no:

I drew it up in my deltaCad package to illustrate how it works.

Hmmm, numbers kinda small. Will try to make it better but if I can't the 3 lines are 12,24, 36 and 48" from the long edge and the lengths are 48, 36, 24 and 12 respectively from bottom to top


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## jschaben (Apr 1, 2010)

Couldn't edit the pic, let's try again


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

You don't need fancy math to figure this out. The only reason to know the short dimension is to figure out how much room there would be. Simply, if you lap over a 4' onto a 5', you are left with 12".

You could just do this with pieces of paper cut to scale. This works well for odd sizes too. For this project, cut your two pieces of paper 4" by 5" (using a scale of 1" = 1 foot). Then line up the two on the back corner and see what's up front. Doing this with sheet stock for the top, you could just put marks where the two sheets intersect at the front, and then on each sheet draw a line to the outside corner for the miter line.

Now to connect the tops. If a miter would look better to you than a cut across one of the tops at 90 degrees, that joint will be longer (the mitered one) than a 90 degree cut. Usually (but not always) a shorter joint is better (but maybe not visually). Make a support piece of 3/4" ply that runs from one sheet to the other over the joint on the bottom. Overlap the joint (6" - 12"), enough to get a few rows of screws on each side. This will also keep the top edges flush, providing both sheets are the same thickness (check them first...don't assume). You can cover what shows from the front by just adding a wood edge to the front that would be at least 1.5".

If you can make a standing leg (panel), along the mitered line with a plate on top, both sides of the plate will screw into each side of the "L". This gives standing support, and provides a method of holding the two pieces together. If you need a mechanical fastener to bring the two pieces together, you can install what's called "tite joint fasteners".












 









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## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

Sethiel, do you really want on 12" of sitting room on the front of each side of the desk? (That is the dimension for where you have your question marks.) 

The widths of the two sides of the desk do not have to be the same. I am sitting at a L shapped computer desk. One side is 28" deep and the othe side is 24" deep. Also the outside lengths do not have to be the same.

You need to go out in the sand and draw some prospective top view sizes. I am thinking that a desk that is a maximum of 30" deep will be all you will really want. You could make one side 84" long and the other 60". 

If you do some scale modeling in the sand I think it will help.

George


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## phinds (Mar 25, 2009)

I agree you don't need to know it, but the answer is 60" minus 48" which comes out to 12", so the scale is WAY off in your drawing and I don't think you are going to like the results.

[LATER] ... OOPS, I see that George beat me to it.


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## jharris (Jan 8, 2011)

Sethiele,

Nothing to add but I'm assuming that since you're in Afghanistan you are in the military serving your country. I'm sure I speak for everyone here when I say thank you, God bless you and get home safe!

Jeff


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## Texas Sawduster (Apr 27, 2009)

*Scale*



sethiele said:


> hello all i am looking at building an l shaped desk when i come hom from afghanistan, i will most likely make 2 of them for 2 corners of the room. basically i the desk top is going to have to be diagonally cut to connect to tops to form the l shape. attached is a pretty crappy paint sketch i made to show you what i want. the question i am looking at being answered is if the long lengths are 60 inches to make the 2 pieces fit snuggly without being to long or to short. is there a mathmatical equation to get this number, or now that i think if it do i just make each top 60 inches by 48 inches and cut at a certain degree to get the same snug fit?


I would re-sketch this as close to scale as you can.
Since you are in Afghanistan, try sketching it on the ground with the actual dimensions you are looking to make this to.

Then sit in the corner as if you were sitting at the desk. I believe that you will find, as stated earlier, that you will end up with alot less space for setting at the desk than you realize.

I would consider making portions of the top, in the corner, at 32 - 36" wide instead of 48". That way you will be able to sit closer to the actual corner and still have a large area to store the monitor, keyboard, etc.

Also, Thanks for your Service.

P.S. If you see anyone from the 502 HHC 101st Airborn say hi. My son was with them up until last November. Medical Retirement forced him out. He failed his combat physical due to injuries suffured in Iraq.


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## PSDkevin (Dec 18, 2010)

I concur with the comments already posted. Id like to add a few things. I love big chunky furniture but 48" sounds a bit big. Id definitely scale this out or better yet if you can get some cardboard boxes from someone over in supply and mock this up full size. That way you are sure that's what you want. I learned (the hard way mind you) that when it comes to furniture there usually is a reason for certain measurements. 48" for a desk that is against the wall and can only be reached from one side is going to be a nightmare to clean for example. There are other ways to give yourself some room. Monitor risers, keyboard rollouts etc. Here's a pic of one I made. I more of a function over form guy so excuse the style. The odd shaped piece in the corner really big and gives plenty of room for the monitor. The desk depth is 30". Going back to my original point. Mock it up and be sure before you start.


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## DavidM (Jan 24, 2011)

I also use a corner desk for both work and game play and hate to have too little space. So there must be a balance between size, overall usability and mobility for my needs. 

After years of having several different types of desks and moving many times (sometimes trashing the old ones that just didn't work as well for me). I ended up purchasing one from IKEA. I do want to build one someday when my skills are better but let me throw out a few things I have learned along the way.

1. I hate to sit at an L-shaped desk to either side. It just isn't comfortable to me. I prefer to sit facing the corner where there is more room for my keyboard, monitor, etc. The sides are for my other "stuff" (printer, coffee cup, papers, etc).

2. Since I also work from home, my primary personal computer is set up in the corner and my work monitor and laptop currently sits to my right on the same desk. My printer is set up on my left. It's not ideal as I want another desk for the work stuff. But works fine when my work is slow and I want to head over to this forum (like I am doing now.. lol). I just swing my chair to the corner.

3. The corner part where I sit most of the time is curved and not at a sharp angle. This allows me to get closer to the desk (or maybe that's just my belly getting closer).

4. The desk is all one height (keyboard and mouse are on top) with no keyboard tray.. these get in the way for me and with long desk times (esp for gaming) you can rest your arms on the desk and move the mouse and keyboard around for comfort.

5. The desk is modular. Meaning that it is in several pieces and are bolted together with a steel frame underneath. Not sure yet how I would accomplish the same with wood but I am sure it's not too difficult. This aids tremendously in moving the desk later. No piece is too large to fit through a standard 30" door.

6. The legs come off to make the desk even more portable if necessary.

7. The legs are height adjustable. I didn't think too much about this until I accidentally set it up a bit lower than I normally would. It actually was way more comfortable having it an inch lower. I had to lower my chair a bit but it all turned out for the better.

8. Make sure the seams where the desk pieces butt together are a smooth transition. I don't typically use a mouse pad and the seams are annoying if you are moving the mouse in that direction and run over it.

Take a look at the IKEA website. They have the desk dimensions for all the pieces and makes it easy to plan for your desk by deciding the different layouts you might want. Adjust your size appropriately for a custom desk.

DavidM


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