Solid wood-look desktop - advice needed!

[eucalyptus]

Hi Workshop community!

Long time reader, first time poster I am looking for advice on what surface to use as a desk-top, as I am hopefully going to build a floating desk in our study. 

I am hoping for the desk to look like its made of solid timber (reference image below), and am open to the ideas of veneer/laminate if it has the right look! I have seen panels of pine ply at Bunnings that have the solid wood-grain type look (ie not finger jointed) which I could stain pretty easily, but I'm worried the pine would be too soft to use as a desk + I'm not sure how I would cover the edges! Does anyone have any recommendations on what to use? I'm hoping to keep this as inexpensive as possible!

Thanks so much!

[seannami]

Could you use something like a project panel? https://www.bunnings.com.au/products/building-hardware/timber/timber-boards/timber-panels/table-and-...

or a wood-look benchtop https://www.ikea.com/au/en/p/saeljan-worktop-oak-effect-laminate-60439210/

These all tend to look like boards as in your reference picture. Not sure how you could do a more "looks like a cross section of one big log" unless you perhaps went to a timber yard.

[Noyade]

"but I'm worried the pine would be too soft to use as a desk + I'm not sure how I would cover the edges!"

Below is a computer desk I made for my youngest son from one of those panels Seannami mentions above. It's had a solid 10 years of use/abuse and stands up well - I'm impressed with these panels. I think from memory I just used Linseed Oil.

I routed round edges - and again, they've stood up well over time.

Were you thinking of aluminium angle on the edges?

Dirty keyboard

[EricL]

Hello @eucalyptus

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. Thank you so much for joining us and sharing your question about building your own floating desktop.

It's great that you've received fantastic advice from @seannami and @Noyade. Depending on the type of timber you choose it's easy enough to stain and varnish a timber top to your preference. There are also laminated benchtops that you can choose from the Kaboodle Benchtop Range. It can be custom ordered to the length that you want. However, if you are looking to build it from scratch by gluing laminate onto an existing timber top it will be more involved. An affordable option is the 2200 x 600 x 26mm Acacia Solid Oiled Hardwood Project Panel and the 2200 x 600 x 26mm Beech Laminated Panel. These benchtops are commonly used as office and work desks. They are easy to prep and paint. 

If you wish to protect the top of the timber benchtop, you can purchase a desktop mat that will protect its surface if you wish to write on top of it. I suggest visiting your local store and looking at the sample varnish and timber stains in the paint department. This will give you a very good idea of what you can do to the timber tops at the store. 

Here are some excellent D.I.Y. desks that our Workshop members have shared.

• Simple and spacious desk by @robchin
• Spotted Gum student desk by @Nham
• Easy D.I.Y. desk by @cmstar

Let me tag our experienced members @prettyliving and @lifestylebymari for their recommendations.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric

[eucalyptus]

Thanks so much for your replies @EricL @Noyade and @seannami 

I have had a look at the project panels at my local Bunnings this afternoon after your recommendations! I apologise I wasn't entirely clear in my original post (I'm still learning all of the lingo). I'm hoping to find some recommendations for a type of desk surface that has the look of a solid plank of wood, rather than the multiple smaller pieces joined together like in the utility panels. I'll post a comparison picture below to make sure I'm making sense.

The simple reason for this is that I struggle to concentrate, and find the multiple wood tones/grains that occurs in the utility panels visually a little bit busy and distracting! I know that an actual solid plank of timber would be very expensive and heavy, which is why I was considering plywood as an option as the desk surface would be more simple and non-distracting in appearance. I am also open to melamine, laminate or anything else that any of the DIY geniuses on here might know of! The desk will be just over 2m wide, and I'm happy to stain, cut, or join anything that fits the bill

Once again, thanks so much!

Single plank of wood appearance This is what I'm after, with the appearance of a solid plank of wood

As opposed to this, with the appearance of multiple smaller pieces joined together

[seannami]

@eucalyptus Thanks for clarifying! I can definitely see how a multi-toned desktop could be distracting. @EricL had a good suggestion to look at some of the in-stock benchtops- a 2m-ish laminated bench is about $100 at Bunnings or Ikea (eg https://www.bunnings.com.au/marquee-2400-x-600-x-25mm-white-laminate-bench-top_p2660665). The exactly 2m one is speckled stone look which may cause the same problem. 

Staining plywood and varnishing is a good option but personally would go a benchtop or one of the beech panels Eric posted and sand and stain or paint it darker top hide the joins. I'm looking to build a full built in desk myself soonish so it'll be interesting to see what you decide!

[robchin]

I agree that the Pine will be too soft for that purpose @eucalyptus 

[EricL]

Hello @eucalyptus

I'm glad you had a chance to visit the store. My next suggestion would be to speak to the In-Store Kitchen Specialist. The kitchen specialist will be able to walk you through all the benchtops available at the store. Since you're not keen on painting, I recommend these three benchtops for you to consider.

• Kaboodle 38 x 600mm Honeywood Compact Radius Customisable Benchtop
• Kaboodle 38 x 600mm Pepperwood Compact Radius Customisable Benchtop
• Marquee 2400 x 600 x 25mm Black Laminate Bench Top

Your other option is to get 2250 x 600mm 30mm Plywood Pine BC Grade and paint or stain the top. Plywood will give you a plain surface to work on and will provide very little distraction. 

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric

[Noyade]

"I know that an actual solid plank of timber would be very expensive and heavy."

A neighbour down the road has a Lucas Mill and he has shown me how it cuts slabs that are desk/table sized - impressive. He was selling them for around $300. Is this the sort of thing you're after? Would a top-end furniture manufacturer sell these?

[Nham]

Hi @eucalyptus ,

Have you considered the EKBACKEN worktop from Ikea, it comes as an ash pattern and is fairly uniform. It is a laminated top and should last a long time. My son bought one of these and a sit-stand desk frame. He joined them together and can now adjust the height of his desk. BTW, that is a great user name "eucalyptus". Take care.