Building My Dream Desk

[@AndreaArzensek]

The hop at the beginning made this build even better :)

[@jeffroberts760]

That clean up job on that big gash from your track saw was very impressive

[@Gojirosan]

Desktops and Dylan: both very relevant to my interests. Fab video, K, cheers!

[@RobSchweitzer]

That's a super cool idea shimming the track saw track for that bevel!

[@harveychuckles3780]

If you've only come here for Dylan skip to: 12:00, 15:47, 16:05 & 16:31. Oh, that little shower of dust when you got your planer/thicknesser out was pure class by the way.

[@matz1011]

What a service comment

[@terristroh3965]

Sapele and Dylan! My favorite wood and my favorite KZbin cat in one video…boy, am I spoiled!

[@pitsnipe5559]

That beech was absolutely gorgeous. Never knew beech would look that nice.

[@melissahislop5716]

Honestly, I often skip sponsor portions of videos but you always put Dylan in them so then I have to keep watching, you sneaky bugger. Looks beautiful! Gotta love anything in beech and sapele. I hope you use a bit of the leftover coat and hat stands in your desk base.

[@adamnicholzz]

I'm in the middle of a desk build myself.. I had some white oak milled recently, and am going to eventually make a desk from one of the slabs. In the mean time I'm making a "place holder" desk, to tide me over until the white oak is dry in about 2 years.. I have an ikea desk as well, and whilte mine doesn't squeak like yours. It definitely has lateral movement, it feels cheap and looks unprofessional when I'm video conferencing. Enjoyed the build, and I love the method of putting the bevel on the top with the track saw and a block of wood. So simple, but I would have never thought of that! So thank you!!

[@IEnjoyCreatingVideos]

Nice job on the desk top Keith! Thanks for sharing!💖👍😎JP

[@mandyleeson1]

It looks beautiful Keith, and I love the sapele contrast. Also, little Dylan, what a soulmate. 💜

[@RagnBoneBrown]

thank you Mandy! Yeah he's a dreamboat

[@Cradley684]

Great video Keith really enjoyed, can't wait for the next, have a nice day & Stay Safe All !!!.

[@markwatters6875]

Looking forward to the finished desk mate.

[@awantamta]

It looks great so far. I'm looking forward to the next part.

[@mattclark7700]

keiths woodworking just gets better and better! this is joinery quality work.

[@RagnBoneBrown]

thank you Matt

[@ÐÞæ]

Already looking awesome! Looking forward to see the end result :-)

[@adamprice7150]

Great video mate and loved the HELLO from the bracket haha 😂

[@watcherofwatchers]

It looks great as expected! I made a similar design from some butcher black counter toos. Instead of using metal plates to join the two main pieces like you did, I used dowels for alignment and used countertop bolts to draw them together. The countertop bolts sit in a recess (a large, round bore hole) and allows me to very tightly draw the the pieces together to eliminate any gap between them. They're essentially permanent clamps! I have had that desk for a couple years and in a couple different houses with very different climates, and wood movement has been a non-issue.

[@RagnBoneBrown]

Worktop bolts are a great idea, wish I'd thought of that

[@philipwilliams8114]

Enjoyed a good old build video. Cheers Keith

[@No5Workshop]

Great trick to cut the > 45 degree bevel. I've learnt something new😁

[@nathalie5064]

Looks beautiful. Well done as always.

[@DirkieB]

Looking good! Like the trick to angle the rail for the track saw!

[@robscene66]

What a passion project, hats off to you 👌

[@smallspacecreation5768]

Came out really well the two different woods look really good together be good to see it finished

[@RagnBoneBrown]

Thanks Mark

[@p_mouse8676]

I have actually never bought a desk myself, always made my own custom to size and for the room. The one I am using atm is full size all across the wall right underneath a nice window. Anchored to the wall, as well as using proper legs. I can literally stand and jump on it. This time we actually decided to use laminate floor planks as a top. They are extremely scratch resistant and they can be very easily replaced by some new ones while keeping the desk intact! Anyway, looking great Keith! Love the finish as well! Very satisfying projects to do in general 😃👍

[@domswoodshop2692]

Nice job!!! Looks great! For jointing the edges when making the desktop, try using the in and out method before glue up. This is especially helpful if the wood sits after milling. Once you get your layout the way you want it, alternate marking the face with in and out. Take them through the jointer again. Which ever side is marked as "in" goes against the fence and the edges marked "out" will face away from the fence. Jay Bates has a great video on this. Much love and keep up the great work! ❤️

[@Unlovable]

Do you perhaps know the title or the link to that video? All I get are videos about the effectiveness of the pull out method

[@domswoodshop2692]

@@Unlovable 😅 I couldn’t find the original video that I saw by Jay Bates but this one by Shaun Boyd is good…. And appropriate to the subject 😂 kzbin.info/www/bejne/jWbFmKd6e7V1ZtE

[@RagnBoneBrown]

It's a great method, although as my boards were so long I suspect my issue was more due to user error of not being able to support the board properly from start to finish. Needed another pair of hands really

[@kookiboy]

Love the choice of wood colour. Beautiful project.

[@sfn4702]

Lovely finish!

[@vandammesque]

Like the chair's face at the beginning!

[@bradasskg11]

Yeah, there’s really nothing better than some ribbon stripe sapele. I’ve got this 8/4 board with ribbon stripe I’ve kept for two years just to use for really special occasions lol

[@aaronalquiza9680]

liked for the jump at the beginning.

[@JamesManCave]

Lots of effort gone into this one. Good thinking about the mitre joint movement. This desk will look great In situ!

[@RagnBoneBrown]

Cheers James

[@WoodworkJourney]

Looking great fella! I do like the idea of spraying finish. I’m going to have to give it a go at some point!

[@erictheviking672]

That's a great job and I like how you explain about wood movement. Thanks

[@NomadMakes]

Mate! I loved that trick tilting the track for more of an angle. I need to make a 60 deg cut on a top soon, and have been wondering how I was supposed to do it. Thanks!

[@JohntheSchreiner]

Looking good so far, looking forward to the rest!

[@tonyworkswood]

Enjoyed watching you flatten the Beech boards Keith, the contrasting timbers look well as does the finish using the water based varnish. Nice job. Tony

[@RagnBoneBrown]

Thanks Tony

[@SparrowStockwell]

Pretty so far!

[@markduggan3451]

Looks amazing, can't wait to see the end result.

[@DebsHill1]

beautiful work

[@Handleyman]

Absolutely gorgeous Keith. I agree with all the logic you used. Can’t wait for the next instalment!

[@jcoul1sc]

Inspirational. My old desk has same 45 bevel edge, think it's perfect for office desks, I need a belly without too

[@TigerCarpenter]

combining different wood colours is really beautiful well done!

[@clivemarsden5655]

Great work mate. It's motivated me to drag some oak and walnut out that I've been saving for a desk. Only hope it comes out as nice as yours.

[@ianvicedomini2648]

It's looking brilliant Keith and a really nice surface shine. Not too much and not too little. Great video mate 👍🏻👍🏻

[@thecreativecardinalbyl.bet7012]

Love, love, LOVE THIS build!

[@paultay23]

Nicely explained about the wood movement on your tops Keith...Looking forward to the next vid... Wish my cats would show some interest in my hobby...I need to get into their zone and sleep more.

[@jameschamberlain8708]

thats really nice Keith

[@karyldavidkidd7111]

"Hello" Such a friendly steel tie plate. Pleased as punch the algorithm sent me this vid. Lovely shop, excellent narration and well paced video. Subbed Thank you bud! Oh my. This is my issue with commenting before the vid is completed, the water to raise the grain issue! Thank you as I was going to attempt this.

[@SMee67]

Looking good.👍🏽

[@michaelbaykara2322]

very Nice sapele contrast, nice work

[@BischBaschBosch]

Looks really nice mate. N8ce contrasts. The more you remove from your stock, the more likely you'll get movement. That's probs why the gappy edges I've no doubt. Can make material go bandy sometimes, removing that much. Best done in stages if you have the time, so the stock can aclimatise. With you on wetting the grain first. Pointless. Lifting it with finish much more likely to fill the paws which means your next coat won't lift the grain again. End of my waffling.👌👍

[@RagnBoneBrown]

Good points! Yeah I won't be doing the grain wetting method again, a few people have commented how I should do it multiple times and sand diagonally rather than with the grain, but just applying a coat and denibbing seems much easier and quicker to me 🤷‍♂️

[@mfcosi]

Great job Keith but I`d really like to see the desk in its place with all your stuff on it.

[@RagnBoneBrown]

This is like three weeks work, and I have a weekly upload schedule, so...

[@alistairbiggar6830]

Lovely job Keith, the bevel detail is fantastic.

[@RagnBoneBrown]

thanks Alistair

[@robjworkshop5692]

Beautiful bit of Beech. I've just made a live-edge Beech desk with purple resin infills. I've got loads of slabs from the local country park estate, but sadly they'd been outside too long un-protected and some have some deep black water staining. They still mill-up okay but not as good as your ones. Have to router-plane them considerably to get them looking decent, fed-up with the 'black bags' of dust so now installing a wood burner in the 'shop!

[@RagnBoneBrown]

Would oxalic acid remove the stains?

[@robjworkshop5692]

@@RagnBoneBrown Ah, never even thought about a chemical solution! Cheers Keith, will give it a shot! Thanks!

[@normanbott]

Try the de-nibbing at 45 degrees to the grain after it's been water-raised. ( From Thomas Johnson's restoration) Nice result, I like the contrasts very much.

[@TheWardagh]

Beautiful work and great detail as always 👌🏼

[@TurnTheHeatonNow]

Gorgeous mate. And I really don't mind the longer videos personally 👍

[@RagnBoneBrown]

Good to know! Thanks Mike. I think the next part is going to be even longer!

[@bradasskg11]

Also I agree with your opinion on “raising the grain” Anytime you’re using a finish on your project it seems like a massive waste of time to bother sanding through all the grits a second time when you can just use your regular finishing process to accomplish the same thing lol

[@theneone111]

Nice desk enjoyed the video.

[@eileenworth7862]

"Hello!" 😉 16:42 is not long enough!

[@tomjones6479]

Really enjoyed this type of video

[@RagnBoneBrown]

Thank you

[@theceramicrepairstudio]

Great Job 👍

[@JohnColgan.]

Hi Keith, it's sad to see so much dust that isn't board any more!. Could you have sawn to manageable widths eg 6-8" & resawed on bandsaw to get your desired thickness?. It does mean some extra gluing planks. But keeps you some usable board instead of dust?

[@RagnBoneBrown]

Hi John, I probably could have but as explained in the beginning, originally I wanted to keep the full width of the boards but that didn't work out. By the time I ripped them down to thinner widths, there wouldn't have been enough thickness to resaw

[@tim_biller]

Great work - that wood combination looks lovely - I'm with you all the way on sapele. Can I ask the make of the blue and green clamps, please? I can't see them on your affiliate links. Cheers.

[@RagnBoneBrown]

Hiya Tim, thank you! The green clamps are Dakota, I bought them from Rutlands a few years back, but a quick Google search suggests they are no longer available to buy. The blue are by Sauter Shop, they are based in Germany. Great clamps and reasonably priced, but beware of the hefty import fees to the UK - Sauter Shop sent them to me to try out for "free" but it actually cost me about £80 in fees!

[@tim_biller]

Hi Keith - thanks for that - yikes!

[@FernsDad]

@@tim_biller don’t buy cheap clamps. I’ve bought cheap F-clamps in the past and regretted it as they slip and are good for nothing.

[@JohnColgan.]

Me again. Just finished watching the rest of the video. Could you have used the kitchen worktop clamping tenons? Or would end/face not slip movement. Love the finish with sprayed varnish, most of my work is much smaller scale. So might try that with air brush & polish/buff with 600 w&d till totally smooth to touch!

[@RagnBoneBrown]

Worktop bolts are a really good idea, wish I'd thought of that

[@puddinggeek4623]

Excellent video as always. What is the lifting mechanism for the height adjustable table for your planer? Can you leave a link to the one or similar one? Thanks.

[@RagnBoneBrown]

It's just called a manual lift table

[@FernsDad]

Nice video - partucularly timely for me as I'm to the process of making a maple desktop to fit on a set of motorised standing desk legs. I love the colour and finish on maple, but it's a very hard wood to work with. The biggest challenge was milling the rough cut maple boards into jointable wood. The boards are about 1.8m long, and my jointer always seems to end up creating an inward bend with a piece of wood that long. I could relate to the amount of shavings you had at the end of milling! Question - wood movement, is it really something we need to worry about? There seems to be a lot of different opinions.

[@tim_biller]

Good grief, it's you! ;-)

[@FernsDad]

@@tim_biller yup - new member but long time watcher

[@RagnBoneBrown]

Thanks Martin. Re: wood movement - some say it matters a great deal, others say it doesn't - I sit somewhere in the middle - if the boards are wide (like these desk tops which are 500/620mm) then I will always account for it because otherwise likely to get cracks, or pops. A lot of it depends on how much moisture is in the wood to begin with though. Mine are dry but as they were stored in an outbuilding I expect they will shrink a little now they're in a heated home. Time will tell. I made a mahogany box with dovetails on my channel once, and lots of people said that movement would be an issue on the top panels of that box. I suspected it'd be ok as the panels weren't that wide - and it still looks perfect years later! I don't think I've ever had any maple to work with, sadly! Unless I used it somewhere but didn't know it was maple, which is possible. I do love how it looks though. I know what you mean about planing long boards, it's really tricky without another pair of hands!

[@FernsDad]

@@RagnBoneBrown thanks for the comprehensive reply. Maple is very hard - I believe it's what they use to make bowling alleys. My local hardwood supplier is conneced to a bespoke kitchen manufacturer so they normally have a good supply of maple, walnut and tulip wood.

[@pteddie6965]

The desk top is extremely nice, Keith. You did a great job getting the slabs planed and attached to each other. I love the finish. I'm looking forward to watching you build the base. Do you plan to upgrade the lighting in your office room?

[@RagnBoneBrown]

Thank you. No the lighting is fine for working at a desk, it's just not very good for filming a video

[@32dras]

It would be much more cuting and much much more headache about combining wood grains because of contracting and expanding but it wood be nice touch if sapele stripes could meet from main to side part of taible, but like already said, it would be nightmare to combine wood grains. Great job, looking forward to making base!

[@RagnBoneBrown]

Yeah I agree that would have looked nicer, but I can't think of a way to do that while allowing for movement

[@2305macleod]

Hi do you have a link to our hight adjustable table? Been looking for 1 since ages but cant find 1. Great vid. 👍

[@stankolodin5586]

5:10 Have you tried letting the boards sit after you jointed and planed them? That's what all the KZbinrs say to do.

[@RagnBoneBrown]

Sometimes I do, I think I did on this occasion too

[@LadyGecko]

My dream desk is an executive vintage piece that I'm in the process of restoring with secret compartments because the desk is very wide.

[@tadaskaralius2688]

Why using Makita track saw not milwoke? :))))

[@rogertaylor712]

How do you find using the height adjustable table for the planer/thicknesser? Is it sturdy enough or does it wobble around a lot?

[@RagnBoneBrown]

Yes it's quite heavy duty

[@DavidinEssexUK]

What size needle are you using in your spray gun to spray the varnish? It’s a brilliant idea.

[@RagnBoneBrown]

1.2mm

[@DavidinEssexUK]

@@RagnBoneBrown Thank you sir. I want to give it a go and I have luckily a 1.2mm spray gun.

[@glennmcqueen9475]

this reminds me of dexter setting up his kill room

[@mururoa7024]

As you've now experienced in this video, a regular butt join to make an L shaped desk top isn't the best way to achieve a good result. This is a problem kitchen makers have resolved decades ago. Use a kitchen countertop routing jig to route the edges that need to meet. It creates a profile on each edge which causes them to automatically self-align perfectly in the corner. Then use kitchen countertop connecting bolts (only 2 needed) which allow you to very easily and reliably pull and hold both boards together (still use dowels, biscuits or dominos), AND will allow you to still compensate for expansion later on when the boards settle in your office (don't glue them!).

[@RagnBoneBrown]

Yeah a router jig would have been a good option but I don't have one

[@robbie19robbie]

Where do you get all your hardwood from?

[@stevemassey1627]

Keith, will you be applying for the next season of Handmade, Britain's Best Woodworker?

[@RagnBoneBrown]

Definitely not! 👍

[@MartinJablonski]

how could you not show it in the office after assembly?

[@RagnBoneBrown]

As explained at the end of the video....

[@phillippowis7398]

You have to sand diagonally after wetting the wood to take the raised bits off, otherwise you're just pushing them back down again so that as soon as you add finish they raise back up!

[@RagnBoneBrown]

I'm not convinced it works well enough, so going back to my old method as it's quicker

[@RagnBoneBrown]

🤝 HELP SUPPORT THE CHANNEL 🤝 Support with KZbin channel membership: kzbin.info/door/VyE_6jEtVZGmYGXtUOL5FQjoin Support with Patreon: www.patreon.com/ragnbonebrown Support with PayPal paypal.me/ragnbonebrown 🔨 MY TOOLS 🔨 For links to the tools I use, plus some of my favourite consumables, finishes and more see links below. As an Amazon Associate I may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases: UK affiliate store: www.amazon.co.uk/shop/ragnbonebrown US affiliate store: www.amazon.com/shop/ragnbonebrown 💰 SHOP 💰 Etsy: www.etsy.com/uk/shop/KeithBrownMaker teespring.com/stores/rag-n-bone-brown-merch 🎧 WORKSHOP BANTER PODCAST 🎧 kzbin.info Also available on Spotify, Apple, Google and most other podcast platforms 🔗 LINKS: 🔗 Website: www.ragnbonebrown.com Facebook: facebook.com/ragnbonebrown Instagram: @ragnbonebrown Twitter: twitter.com/ragnbonebrown Email: [e-mail] Second KZbin Channel (non woodwork videos): kzbin.info

[@LMCFootball]

awesome

[@danielwozniak8411]

Can I ask what you do with the sawdust created? (Just nosey) really like the desk (just finished all 3 videos).

[@RagnBoneBrown]

Depends on the type of wood I'm using. All the beech shavings went to a local person who keeps horses as it's safe for them. The sapele I'm not sure about... So that got binned

[@keanMechanic]

How’s that planer thicknesser working out? Are you using HSS or Carbide blades? Nice finish on the desk.

[@keanMechanic]

Thank you.

[@whirled_peas]

Wet sanding definitely isn’t a waste of time, gotta sand perpendicular to the grain, and needs to be done multiple times

[@RagnBoneBrown]

If it needs to be done multiple times, then that's all extra effort and time - simply applying one coat of varnish and then denibbing is a much better process in my opinion

[@twwanderer]

Star of the show (Dylan) @12:00 @15:45

[@MidtownSkyport]

The bevel's in the details

[@Jon-vp7uq]

Has anyone got a link to the pen he uses to measure ?

[@RagnBoneBrown]

Links are always in the description under "my tools"

[@emilianourrutiao]

where is the desk?? :C

[@RagnBoneBrown]

It's not finished yet, this was like 4 days work and I have a weekly upload schedule....

[@MrTooTechnical]

Kick ass

[@PabloBD]

it's looking great! Looking forward for the second part!

[@H2Dwoat]

Hi, do you watch the Blacktail Studio channel? He has started an interesting project, a database of workshops that rent out time on their machinery. They range in size from home shops to industrial. I believe it is worldwide and there may be someone close enough to put your wider boards through whole. I appreciate it is too late for this project but perhaps a future project or some of your watchers future projects might be able to take advantage.

[@RagnBoneBrown]

Thanks, will check it out

[@benjaqsonworkshop9974]

Great design and build! Really clear video that's easy to follow, thank you! Did you consider kitchen worktop clamps routed into the underside? I am curious about how long you can leave the varnish in the spray gun before the next coat or if you have to empty and clean it between each one - anyone tell me?

[@RagnBoneBrown]

Worktop bolts would be a good solution. With water based varnish, it can be left in the gun for a few hours between coats is fine. Anything longer than that (overnight for example) and I clean the gun

[@benjaqsonworkshop9974]

@@RagnBoneBrown Helpful, thank you.

[@humansaremortal3803]

What about the legs? Hey! This isn't over!

[@RagnBoneBrown]

That'll be next

[@stevebettany8778]

I don’t wish to offend but the new podcast sounds like a speed talking semi final. Sorry but had to give in.

[@tobybeswick36]

youtube woodworkers go on way too much about wood expansion... the wood has been drying for 15 years and you've gone on about it as if its still green -.-

[@RagnBoneBrown]

Still need to account for seasonal movement on boards this wide.... Besides it's been stored in an outdoor building for 15 years+ which is VERY different to the wood being in a heated home

[@felixreali7101]

Keith, shame on you !!! Using Dylan to get more viewers and subscribers !!! 😂😂

[@andrewgibbons8159]

Great job 👏