Need help designing custom editing desk
 

hello.

i am very lucky, a friend of mine who owns a manufacturing company has offered to make me a custom desk for my editing setup as a wedding present.

i don't want to blow this by "designing" something that won't be functional.

they build killer workstation desks for engineers with square steel tubing and really nice laminated wood tops.

i know i want something sort of square in shape to make it more efficent.

with my current desk too many things are out of reach.

i have 3 lcd monitors and a 14" sony ntsc monitor

my computer / drive system is on the floor in a rack.

links to commercially available desks would also be a big help.

matthew

Hello Matthew,

Good timing! I'm shopping around for plans myself and am planning to start building my own editing workstation. I found a plan online from the New Yankee Workshop. It's not exactly what I need, but the overall design seems as though it can be enlarged and modified pretty easily as much as is necessary. A video and plans can be purchased for $24.95, or just the plans alone for less.

To give you an idea of how I plan to enlarge that plan and modify, go to the link above, and then scroll down the page and click the button that reads "Ohio, Steve Tuckerman"...he modified the heck out of it and it looks great. Lots of desk acreage. Other additions I'll add will be adding some storage shelves inside and under the table in front of the area where I'll sit. And in the "L" branch, I'll add a pull out media storage unit.

Also, check out this thread for lots of ideas. Charles Papert's U-shaped setup is especially interesting.

Great Friend!

Here are some thoughts - things I did some years ago for a console. I used plywood - but cardboard from boxes should work.

On top of existing desk ( assuming that's a good starting point), use the cardboard and duct tape to build a mock-up - including monitor screens, etc. You can play with it until you're happy. Don't forget to leave some space for expansion and alternate equipment!

Have fun!

yes charles' desk was one of the ones that finally got me thinking about a custom desk...

matthew

can somone post a pic of Charles' desk?

curious

We have a carpenter shop where I work.
It may be uncool, but I found some desk plans on edit furniture makers websites and just took the plans to our guys.
My desk is going on 4 years old and has accommodated the growth of my system.
Plan for that BTW

You might look at the Raxxess and Middle Atlantic websites. They manufacturer racks and consoles and you might get some ideas from their product lines. You can also see them on the Sweetwater and Full Compaqss sites.

I love my Raxxess setup.