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Doesn't really work like that.
I have a "simple" desk - one level, round corner cut out, metal frame with power and data cable tracking: works fine for me. Similar to one quarter of this[^] but without the drawers.
Herself has a much more complex IKEA object, with cubby holes, multiple level shelves, a keyboard tray...and I hate it. Every time I move I bang into something with a knee, or elbow. I have to keep pictures of it so I know how to reassemble it if I move it (because it's too heavy and cumbersome to move as one object) and you can't adjust the height of anything! Ok, it's solid and looks good - but to use it is a PITA! 
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My budget for this is tiny. I don't mind using saws, drills and sanders (except for the dust and the noise  ). I have bought quite a few things at Ikea in my time, but in this case I think I will be happier with what I can make from scratch as long as I can do better than this[^]  .
The word 'plywood' does not have a great ring to it (personally, I hear it and in my mind I see this[^]), but the better quality products seem acceptable.
I already looked at Ikea, Office Depot, Office Max, local furniture stores and other places, but the cheap computer desks are no better than what I have now and the price of anything better quickly go above my budget.
Soren Madsen
"When you don't know what you're doing it's best to do it quickly" - Jase #DuckDynasty
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Try looking on FleaBay: we got Herself one there and it was a lot, lot cheaper than new (and a lot less hassle than building it from scratch if you don't have good woodworking skills and tools). I think new it was £250 and I got it for £30 plus the time and fuel to go collect it.
Remember that it's not just cutting and sanding bits of plywood - it's the connecting them together so they don't wobble, are flat and square and stay that way that make it difficult!
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I did take a quick look at eBay, but so many stores are selling their stuff there, that it can be tricky to get the filters set up. I think I mostly looked for L-shaped desks, so maybe I should have a second look. Thanks.
About putting the plywood together so it doesn't wobble, it looks like the basic design in the article has features to make it sturdy. I am thinking about the backboard and the monitor shelf. I actually think it will be harder to avoid the top sagging.
Soren Madsen
"When you don't know what you're doing it's best to do it quickly" - Jase #DuckDynasty
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Depends on the length, the weight you put on it, and the "wood" you use for the shelf. Thicker == less sag for a given distance, obviously... If you are worried, then bracing in the middle can help a lot - but look at your bookshelves. Books weigh a lot, and if your shelves don't sag under that weight...
Don't forget that the edges of plywood look horrible (and tend to be very "splintery") so you may need some iron-on veneer edging strips to tidy it up. It's also worth running a router with a rounding bit over the edges to easy pressure on your arms when leaning on it, and to round the corners off.
Our bed has "slightly" rounded corners on the foot posts, and the number of nasty bruises I have picked up from walking past incautiously is silly!
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Hmmm, you are pecking away at my worst fears, the finishing on the edges. I was kind of hoping that applying stain and sealer would make it smooth enough.
Yeah, I was also thinking I have to smooth out all corners and edges. I rounded off the corners on the bedposts years ago. Those things were so sharp they drew blood on my legs a couple of times. 
Soren Madsen
"When you don't know what you're doing it's best to do it quickly" - Jase #DuckDynasty
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:wince:
Wakes you up doesn't it?
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Yes. It's funny now, but not so much when you are rolling around, clutching your leg trying to decide if you should cry or wet yourself while looking at the open flesh wound that is still white and for some reason not bleeding yet. 
Soren Madsen
"When you don't know what you're doing it's best to do it quickly" - Jase #DuckDynasty
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...and you still need to pee! 
(And if you are like me, you get the other leg going back to bed...  )
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OriginalGriff wrote: (And if you are like me, you get the other leg going back to bed... )
Or simply stub your toe on the post. But not the big one. No, no, one that will really bring out the pain. 
Soren Madsen
"When you don't know what you're doing it's best to do it quickly" - Jase #DuckDynasty
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Yes a few of them. My first was an internal door on a frame. That one lasted about 10 years and 4 computers from a commodore 64 to a Pentium PC. My current one is a old dressing table with the top replaced with some half inch plywood and 2x1 pine for the bracers. Got draws and the desktop to the size I want it. Only problem now is with three 24 inch monitors it needs to be expanded. Oh well only £30 and a trip to the timber yard.
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What kind of plywood did you use or do you not care about the appearance?
Soren Madsen
"When you don't know what you're doing it's best to do it quickly" - Jase #DuckDynasty
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I paint it since plywood has little splinters which hurt when you use the mouse lol.
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SoMad wrote: What kind of plywood did you use...
"Furniture Grade" plywood works best for a project like this. (It doesn't have any voids in the layers which makes it stronger, less prone to warping, and the edges(although clearly plywood) can be finished without them getting ragged.) An alternative is to buy a counter-top (cut to size... anything from marble to cheap plywood with a veneer.).
If you own your home and don't plan on moving soon, you may consider building the desk into a wall. Simple 2x4 frame attached at the right height. (remember to use a level, not strictly the height from the floor) Use either table legs with adjustable feet (available pre-made, just attach) or support the top with 2x4 braces that run from near the edge to the wall. This can look like almost anything depending on the materials used. Nice, functional, classy, hillbilly.
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don't.
go to a store and by 4 legs and a top and it will be better than that, especially if you are not used into building stuff.
I'd rather be phishing!
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Forget the desk, all I need is the chair[^] 
Marc
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Get a couple of filing cabinets and a decent length of laminate countertop. If you want an L shape, just use two with 45 degree endcuts. You can always build extra shelving for the top if you need it. 
"Go forth into the source" - Neal Morse
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Thanks, but I am not sure I can find filing cabinets at the right height - the height of my current keyboard tray.
Soren Madsen
"When you don't know what you're doing it's best to do it quickly" - Jase #DuckDynasty
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My home "office" is 10x10. Oddly enough, Lowe's has 10' long faux marble kitchen counters, precut to fit together in an L.
Plenty of room to fit my systems, their monitors, the near-field monitors, the printer, the scanner, the ridiculously bulky video monitor, and the two cats.
Real Soon Now™.
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This[^] and this[^] are the only pictures I have of the last one I made -- I don't have any of the "finished product"
When I moved house, I chopped it up so that the computer side and the shelf side would go on opposite walls.
I wanna be a eunuchs developer! Pass me a bread knife!
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 That's pretty nice, thanks for sharing. What wood did you use for the top?
Soren Madsen
"When you don't know what you're doing it's best to do it quickly" - Jase #DuckDynasty
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I made the whole thing out of MDF, and used yacht varnish to get a rich, heavy finish.
Note that if you build the desk in as part of the room, the missus can't keep making you move it.
I wanna be a eunuchs developer! Pass me a bread knife!
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Thanks, you did get it quite shiny with that varnish .
I am considering using MDF, but I am also considering using edge-glued boards since they are not as prone to splinters and edge-chipping as plywood. The problem is that I cannot find a pre-made board with the dimensions I would like (56" x 30").
Soren Madsen
"When you don't know what you're doing it's best to do it quickly" - Jase #DuckDynasty
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SoMad wrote: The problem is that I cannot find a pre-made board with the dimensions I would like (56" x 30")
Get yourself a cheap biscuit cutter[^], and you can join two pieces -- my desk was joined just where the drawers end (designed to be separated, later, which it now has been).
If you make sure that the joining edges are dead straight*, no-one will ever know you've added a bit.
n.b. If you do go for joined-edge panels, pick ones that don't have big colour differences in the batons, or the stripes'll piss you off when you're sitting at it.
* Use a jointing block: spray- or contact-glue 100-grit sandpaper to both sides of a 4x9" MDF-or-similar offcut, and rub the full length of the board in a single movement, several times -- it doesn't take a lot of practice, and works miraculously well.
I wanna be a eunuchs developer! Pass me a bread knife!
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I think this would be quite a fun exercise, and my small media collection is growing fast enough (with the Telkom 60GB + 60GB) package to start making me anxious about preserving it. I'll just offload it to an external drive for now, so it's safe if my machine goes postal, but just one copy doesn't do much for peace of mind.
Has anyone done this, or does anyone know of a good guide to doing it? I really only need rich theory, not specifics, as I'm limited to parts readily available to me here in SA.
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