Desk Top
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1 August 2017 at 1:10 am #314210
I just bought my wife a stand up desk for her birthday and would like to make a top for it. The top will be somewhere in the neighborhood 3 feet by 5 feet. The question I have is after I glue up the panel for the top is there anything I need to do for a panel that size to decrease warping. I will be using kiln dried lumber. I know some tables use a breadboard end but a wasn’t sure if that was needed on something this size. Or I have also seen battens on the bottom side. Just trying to keep this as flat as possible. She will use it mostly for sewing and crafts.
If you have the budget, you could buy air-dried, quartersawn stock from the same flitch of a stable wood. If that’s not in the budget, breadboard ends are a very common way of minimizing (but not eliminating) warping.
If flatness is a really really high priority, a composite like mdf or plywood might be considered, and then you could veneer the top.thats a pretty large desk, should make a nice craft area for her. For that size unless there is a table apron around the perimeter, I would probably add battens underneath to keep it flat. Breadboard ends would work well too, but a lot more work for a craft table.
Will there be a full apron all the way around? An apron contributes to keeping the top flat and may be the only thing you need. Consider doing the top last so that the apron will be built and flat. That way, you can attach the top at the earliest possible moment to help hold it flat before you put finish on it. Normally, I’d say keep the top in plastic trash bags, but at 3’x5′, I don’t know if it will fit. Maybe wrap it in a plastic drop cloth?
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