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Walnut-Veneer Computer-Desk: Stock and Veneers From "Wood Works" episode WWK-710

	David Marks constructs this contemporary styled computer-desk veneered with claro walnut.
	The highly figured grain of the walnut gives the surface an almost three-dimensional appearance.

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In this special two-episode installment of Wood Works, David Marks constructs a contemporary styled computer-desk including the top, drawer-cabinet and frame. The steady surface of this desk provides a large area for any computer and frees up surface workspace with a retractable keyboard shelf. Custom handles grace the front of each of the desk drawers. This contemporary desk can serve as a reader's table, standing desk or computer workstation.

The desk, with its clean look and straight lines, appears simple, but building it presents a number of woodworking challenges. All sides are veneered with claro walnut, and the drawers -- made of maple and faced with walnut veneer -- are assembled using dovetail joinery. The distinctive figure of the walnut veneer provides a rich chocolate-brown color and almost three-dimensional quality of the grain. Those elements, along with the visual contrast between the light maple and dark walnut, raise this functional piece to the level of furniture art.

This first of two episodes on this project covers the preparation of the stock and the building and assembly of the case portion of the desk -- also called the carcass -- that holds the drawers. The second episode focuses on the drawers, side and back panels and the desk top.

Work gets underway in this first segment with the preparation of the stock for the carcass.

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The desk's drawers are constructed using dovetail joinery.

Tools and materials used in this project:

Claro-walnut stock for veneers
Maple stock
Baltic birch plywood stock
Ebony stock for handles
Maple plywood stock
MDF for templates and mockup
Table saw; cross-cut sled; dado blade
Miter jig
Circular saw
Jointer
Power planer
Band saw
Table router
Biscuit jointer
Drill press
Clamps
Yellow woodworker's glue
Slow-setting resin glue
Glue roller
Hand scraper
Hand plane
File
Razor hand-saw
Cordless drill; Phillips screwdriver attachment
Threaded inserts
Sandpaper, various grits
Straight-edge
Tape measure
Carpenter's pencil
Chalk
Carpenter's tape
Safety glasses or goggles

Safety Alert: Always wear safety goggles or safety glasses, and follow proper safety precautions, when working with wood, power-tools, saws, drills, routers, etc.

Figure A

Prototype, Stock and Veneers


Whenever taking on a project as complex as this one, it's a good idea to first build a mockup out of inexpensive material such as MDF (figure A). In this way, you can work out the basic shapes, measurements and dimensions before cutting into more expensive wood stock. For instance, in the mockup phase you can work out the number and sizes of drawers and the width of the top's borders. The mockup is one of the most important and creative aspects in a fine-furniture building project. It takes your initial basic design-diagrams a step forward to a 3D replica.

	Figure B
	Figure C

In the mockup process, you can divide up the different assemblies and devise a strategy for construction. There are four main assemblies that make up this desk:

• The top, veneered and edge-banded in figured claro walnut;
  
• The kick-panel and side (figure B);
  
• The case -- or carcass -- that holds the drawers (figure C); and
  
• The drawers themselves, built from maple and fronted with walnut veneer.

Steps:

• Measure and mark out the boards needed for the project and rough-cut the planks using a circular saw (figure D).

• To get the boards flat and 90-degrees, pass one face over the jointer (figure E). Then referencing the jointed face against the fence, flatten one edge.

  Figure D

  Figure E

  
  

  
  

• Then run each board through the planer to get the opposite face flat (figure F).

  
  

• At the table saw, with the jointed edge referencing against the fence, cut the opposite edge parallel (figure G).
  

  Figure F

  Figure G

  
  

  
  

• Now you're ready to cut the slices of veneer from the walnut stock. At the band saw, cut thin 3/32" slices of veneer. It's important to keep the veneers in the order that they are cut, so mark a cabinet-maker's triangle on the edge with chalk (figure H).

• Once the veneers are all cut, pass each of the slices through the planer to bring them all to the same thickness of 1/16" (figure I).

  Figure H

  Figure I

  
  

  	Figure J
  	Figure K

  
  

• Work can now begin on the case that will hold the drawers. In furniture-making, a structure like this is termed the "carcass." The two sides and back of the carcass will be veneered on both sides using figured walnut for the outward-facing sides (figure J) and maple for the insides. The core for the veneer panels is 3/4"-thick Baltic birch plywood.
  
  
• Starting with 5-foot-square sheets of 3/4" Baltic birch, cut two oversized substrates for the sides of the carcass, and one substrate for the back.

• To create the patterns for the outside faces, four veneers will be edge-glued together for each side. The pattern for the veneer could be either a slip-match or book-match. David opted for the more symmetrical and visually interesting book-match arrangement (figure K).
  
  

  
  

• Before edge-gluing the slices, joint all of the edges flat using the 6" jointer.

• Apply an even amount of yellow woodworker's glue to the edges of the first two veneer sheets, align the triangle, tape the glue joint and apply uniform pressure with clamps (figure L). Bricks placed carefully on top of the veneers will prevent them from buckling as the glue dries.

• Once dry, join the third veneer sheet in the same way (figure M).

• Once the whole sheet has dried, scrape the surface smooth and remove any excess glue using a hand-scraper.

  Figure L

  Figure M

  
  

  
  

• The veneers can now be blued to the substrate. Apply plastic resin glue to the substrate (figure N), and spread it evenly using a glue roller.

• Use the same technique to apply glue to the walnut veneer sheet.

• Place the veneer onto the substrate (figure O).

  Figure N

  Figure O

  
  

  
  

• Flip the substrate and apply glue to the other side and to the maple veneer sheet.

• Set the maple veneer on the top (figure P) and align the edges of the "wood sandwich" with tape to prevent slippage.

• Place the wood stack between two similar-sized cauls (figure Q).
  

  Figure P

  Figure Q

  
  

  Figure R

  
  

• Slide the assembly into the vacuum press and seal the bag. The vacuum pump will extract the air from the bag and apply 1500 pounds of downward pressure per-square-foot, bonding the walnut and maple veneers to the core (figure R).

• Allow the pressure to be sustained overnight to achieve a perfectly flat, bonded surface.

  Vacuum-Press Tip: If your shop is cold, use an electric blanket to keep the wood at around 70 degrees or slightly higher. The glue won't cure properly at temperatures below 65 degrees.

In the segment that follows, work continues with the joinery and drawer-runners for the desk's case.

RESOURCES :

The Small Wood Shop (The Best of Fine Woodworking)
Author: Helen Albert (Editor)
Publisher: Taunton Press
ISBN: 1561580619

Woodworking Techniques: Best Methods for Building Furniture from Fine Woodworking
Author: Editors of Fine Woodworking magazine
Publisher: Taunton Press
ISBN: 1561583456

David Marks Website
David Marks, DIY's Wood Works host, is a master woodworker. For more information on cut sizes and project details, please contact him via his Website at www.djmarks.com

Woodworker's Guide to Wood: Softwoods, Hardwoods, Plywoods, Composite, Veneers
Model: 080836878
Author: Rick Peters
(2000)
Sterling Publishing Co. Inc.
Website: www.sterlingpub.com

Fine Woodworking
A magazine devoted to high-quality craftsmanship in woodworking.
The Taunton Press Inc.
Website: www.taunton.com