A new desk design - Comments, improvements sought

[bandcoach]

I've been whiling away the hours waiting for meds to stabilise (one day I'm too sleepy to safely use tools, power or otherwise, the next day I'm too hyper to safely use tools - gotta get the dose right).

So I've come up a with a new design. It looks chunky because it is - 35mm (ca. 1.38") is the main thickness of the boards excpt for the top shelf. The other thing that strikes me is that it looks like something from StarWars or BatteriesNotIncluded - it just needs to sprout a propellor overhead and behind to become a gyrocopter. I have a companion design for a slant-faced rack. I've also designed my own tape bay box to house my Fostex E-16 and Revox A-77. Happy to share these as well via PM.

Anyway, the fully rotatable model in embedded pdf can be found here. Page 1 is an attempt to avoid some of the controversy over intellectual property theft we had last year. page 2 is the rotatable model. No dimensions, but happy to share via PM if anyone is interested.

Comments, improvements sought

[alexfranke]

Hey, I like it! I think it looks really sharp -- certainly solid. You've left room for cables on the desktop but I think it would back up nicely against a wall if there were a couple slots for cables on the bridge, too. I love the big solid foot, too.

I'd be maybe a little concerned about how the bridge is fastened -- I wouldn't want it to go parallelogram on you under load. And I think if you rounded the open corners on beams that hold up the desktop, it would make them not stand out as much (and not so painful if you bumped then with your knee!).

I think it's a really cool design!

[bandcoach]

Thanks Alex .

I hadn't thought through the shelf/bridge for cabling - it was a recent addition so I hadn't looked at logistics of cable runs etc. thanks. The fastening will probably be using dowel pins plus biscuits - the pins for contrast and strength, and the biscuits for strength as well.

Yes, the beams do need rounding, I'm just not sure whether to round to the table or part way up the beam.

With the foot, I'm still trying to work out how to attach it to the legs - whether with pins that are embedded inside the foot (requiring a 3 part construction of the foot and more biscuits for joining everything together), or to have long dowel pins running through the length of the foot and leg, i.e. from back to front, this will just require a long drill bit and some patience.

Thanks again

Shane

[bandcoach]

Well, after a little work (and trouble getting the cutout in the shelf to work properly), here are the alterations that Alex suggested.

Any more ideas to improve this?

Thanks

Shane

[alexfranke]

Any more ideas to improve this?

Looking good. I like the second one -- the one with the smaller radius on the beams -- I think because the radius seems a better fit with the other rounded corners. I'd be tempted to try out something like this, though, to pick up the some of the other angles (and then rounded with radius similar to one the bridge). Maybe this would soften the bulk out on the sides, too.

shane-workstation.jpg (5.52 KiB) Viewed 859 times

For the base, you may be able to get away with just a big mortise and tenon (if the have the patience for that!). The beefy beams would make the legs pretty stable.

You think we should create a project-related discussion forum for members only? Or maybe invitation only? I felt terrible about someone lifting that other design and maybe tightening up a bit with an area for "serious" members would be an added level of protection.... let me know what you think.

[bandcoach]

You think we should create a project-related discussion forum for members only? Or maybe invitation only? I felt terrible about someone lifting that other design and maybe tightening up a bit with an area for "serious" members would be an added level of protection.... let me know what you think.

I've thought about this for a bit - my first reaction was, "yeah, it would be good," then moments later, "but why are we here then, if we aren't going to share with others?" A third thought was, "so they become a member first, then steal the ideas anyway." This last instance of course gives us a comeback if you institute confirmed e-mail addresses for new members, before they are permitted to post and view the inner sanctum.

I'm trying to reconcile the first two positions - the theft of ideas was particularly disheartening for PK, who at least had the good sense to have all his designs registered and tracked by his lawyers and other solutions in place, so that it was easy enough to prove copyright and patent infringement.

At the same time, there is so much we can do for the wider community through discussing the design issues and coming to conclusions that resolve critical and not-so critical issues - why black instead of pink, is to me a non-critical issue, but others may think it is the most pressing issue in the world (if you are a Douglas Adams fan, you should already have the image of the design committee arguing about what colour fire should be, if not see the end of the second book, or the end of the TV series (don't know about the movie as they were a little too cavalier with the concept, although my guess is Adams would have enjoyed the palimpsest aspects, as the three versions that he wrote were all slightly different (radio series, book, tv series plus recorded word albums)).

I guess in the long run we will need to have a dedicated private members area, if only to allow the experienced or long term members a chance to discuss design and implementation issues. Keeping the current Project display space as well the Studio furniture construction and planning space open to all should still be a priority as well.

Another solution is to apply the membership rule to viewing attachments - url rewrites based on membership status can allow us to limit access to some aspects of our discussions.

Alternatively, apply the membership ruling in a different way - what that status would be, i.e. how long a member, posting frequency, positive community contributions, etc. deciding these things should go back to a discussion of the moderators, although as you pay for it, ultimately it is your decision.

Which offers a third alternative, paid membership to the inner sanctum - help offset your costs and provide a traceable path to infringers of designs shared within at the same time.

Lots of ways to go forward. Lots of ways to go around. Lots of thinking to still do.

Shane

[bandcoach]

Looking good. I like the second one -- the one with the smaller radius on the beams -- I think because the radius seems a better fit with the other rounded corners. I'd be tempted to try out something like this, though, to pick up the some of the other angles (and then rounded with radius similar to one the bridge). Maybe this would soften the bulk out on the sides, too.

I prefer the second one as well. I see what you mean, I'm just concerned to ensure that the weight on the desk is channeled back to the legs across the whole width of the table, rather than just at and between the legs. I'll try the edge rounding, and maybe reduce the width of the support beams a little (I was thinking of this anyway, to make the ends a little cleaner and to ensure that the table top doesn't move about, as it might with the dadoes going all the way through.

For the base, you may be able to get away with just a big mortise and tenon (if the have the patience for that!). The beefy beams would make the legs pretty stable.

I'm certainly thinking of mortise and tenon for these, just going to take time to get them right. Although, setting it up on the tablesaw should make it possible to nibble the tenon quite easily. For me, it is the mortise that becomes the issue, with multiple passes of the router to square off the sides once the bulk of the material has been cut out with either the drill or the drill and jigsaw.

That and making the jig for the router to ride in while doing it. Given that I am looking at three of these for my main desk, my keyboard and my us2400 control surface (24 channel mixing surface plus master controls), the time invested in making the jigs for all the strange cuts and holes will be time well spent. Making a story-stick or two at the start would also be useful for layouts and lengths.

thanks again

Shane