Small Table Desk: How-To

I have to give my hubby an extra big shout-out for this one. We were able to sponsor a local child for Christmas through our church. The form they gave us stated the child’s first name, age, and a short list of items… it looked like a couple of things they would need, and a couple of things they would want. One of the items on the list for our boy was a small desk for schoolwork. Stephen didn’t even hesitate- he was like, I’m on it!

He found some plans online and went to it. Not knowing the space the boy has available, he found a good-sized desk that’s big enough, but not too big. It’s lightweight and portable and very sturdy!

Here are some of the plans (via http://www.ana-white.com):

Stephen started off by making the legs of the table.

Next, he put together the 4 wood pieces for the top. He cut them all to the same length and used pocket holes and wood glue to keep them together. He clamped them together to keep pressure on the boards to make sure they were tight while the glue dried.

He then attached the top to the two bases, again using pocket holes and wood glue. He used wood filler to fill in the cracks between each wood piece.

The wood filler dried overnight, and he sanded the top to make everything smooth.

I decided to try out a new stain color: Verathane Penetrating Wood Stain in Ebony. I had bought this months back, but was afraid to use it since most of our stained wood was either dark brown or light gray… and I thought it would be too black. Our boy that we are sponsoring asked for most of his things in black (shoes, earphones, etc.) so I thought- I’ll give the Ebony stain a try on his desk!

I am so impressed! After one coat, it was not a shade of black like I thought it would be. It was a beautiful almost dark brown/gray. (Whenever I’m stain shopping at the store, I type in the name and brand of the stain into google and go to images, hoping to find examples that people have done with that color. I now remember that the below color is about what I saw online, and which is why I had purchased it. I kind of regret not using this sooner!)

I’m so glad we could fulfill this boy’s wish of a desk! Stephen estimated the price of the project to be around $20. These plans are great if you, your child, or someone you know needs a virtual learning desk, or just a smaller desk in their room.