My Custom Minimalist Desk For A Productive Workspace Setup

This is my first real desk since college! It's a custom built desktop made from walnut and filled with Totalboat ThickSet Deep Pour Epoxy. And it's placed on the Uplift V2 Standing Desk frame. Hope this video will give you some ideas on your desk!

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Check out the full tutorial below!

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step 1: lumber shopping

Naturally, I went to my local lumber place, URBN Timber to get the slabs I needed for this project because they work with local arborists to salvage trees that have been damaged by weather, removed due to hazard, new construction, disease, or death. And then up-cycles them into slabs for building beautiful furniture pieces.

I picked out pieces with large holes and cracks for this project because it’ll give the final piece a beautiful and unique.

step 2: flattening slabs

I used my home-made jig to flatten the slabs. First I shimmed the slab so there’s rocking or movement when the slab sits in the jig. Then I attached the Amana 2.5” diameter Slab Flattening bit into my router, and began taking passes. Once the first face is completely flattened, I flipped the piece over to flatten the opposite side.

step 3: prepping lumber

I made a rectangular template that’s the size of the final desk top. I placed the template on the slabs and traced out the boundary. Then I used my tracksaw to cut the pieces down.

Next, I used a chisel to remove all the bark from the slabs. And then sanded the live edge with an 80-grit sandpaper to make sure all the loose pieces are removed.

step 4: making the form

I used my table saw to break down the 3/4” MDF to make the form. Then covered the surfaces with sheathing tape to prevent the epoxy from sticking.

Apply a seam of caulk along the edges of the bottom panel. Attach the sides on to the bottom panel with brad nails. And then apply another seam of caulk along the inside edges. Make sure all the cracks are covered to prevent any possibility for the epoxy to leak.

Lastly, I laid the slabs into the form. And I put a seam around the voids to act as a dam to keep the epoxy contained later on.

step 5: pour epoxy

I used Totalboat’s ThickSet Epoxy for this build. After mixing the resin and the hardener, I mixed in a black pigment and poured in the mixture.

step 6: second flattening

After letting the epoxy cure for 3 days, I broke the part out of the form with a pry bar (my chisel), and a mallet. Then I placed the part back into my flattening jig and used the same method as in Step 2 to flatten everything and bring the table top to its final thickness (1-1/4” thick).

step 7: cutting to final size

After flattening, I used my tracksaw to clean up the edges and bring the table top square. Lastly, I tilted the blade to 45 degrees and added a chamfer along all the edges to give it a slimmer profile.

step 8: c-channel

Next, I flipped the table top with the bottom facing up and used my router to cut the grooves for the C-channel. I used a 1/4” upcut bit on the edges to make a deeper groove for the C-channel flanges. And then swapped to a 1/2” bit to remove the material in the middle.

I drilled holes for the threaded inserts that I’ll use to attach the C-channels. Once that’s all done, I put the C-channels in, and attached it to the underside with bolts.

step 9: drilling holes for legs

Next, I put the leg assembly on top of the desk, marked out where the holes needed to be. Drilled the holes, and attached threaded inserts for attaching the legs later with bolts.

step 10: wireless charger

I used Shapr3D to design a template and cut it out on my CNC. I attached the template to the bottom side, and used my router and a templating bit to cut out the pocket for housing my wireless charger, which was just placed inside and attached with screws.

step 11: sanding

Finally, sand everything down, going from 120 grit and worked myself up to 320 grit.

step 12: drawer

I cut 1/2” thick hardwood walnut for the drawer box on the table saw. Then I cut rabbets on the ends of the longer panels. Finally, I used a 1/4” bit at my router table to cut slots for the bottom panel to sit in later.

I used my dado set at my table saw and made cutouts on the drawer back panel for the undermount drawer slides later. Then I assembled the drawer box.

I used my Rockler jig to drill the holes and mount the undermount drawer slide hardware.

To attach the drawer to the table top, I needed to attach a couple of cleats to the underside. The cleats are 3/4” thick and attached using pocket screws and holes. Make sure the pocket holes are facing inward, so they’ll be hidden by the drawer slides. Attach the undermount hardware, and install the drawer.

I made a design in Shapr3D and cut out the design on my CNC for my drawer front. I have another video on this here.

I used my Amana non-marring countersink bit to drill holes to the backside of the drawer front. Then used double sided tape to temporarily attach the drawer front. And then permanently attached things together with screws.