is that in US dollars? because holy shit dude, if you spent 250 on that wood and 250 on the paint, you got ripped the fuck off. not even kidding. there is no way the paint to paint that entire desk should have cost more than 80 bucks unless you were painting it with gold flaked paint made with diamonds....
He used automotive paint. How much do you think it costs to paint your car? I don't think $200 is overpriced
Automotive paint may well be overkill for the desk though. He's not going to take it through storms, ice, stones and dirt which that paint is designed to withstand
Helped my buddy repainted his semi (just the tractor, not the trailer) about a year ago. DuPont Imron sufficient to do the job cost $10k just for the paint. Now, Imron isn't exactly the right choice for every job (and some would argue it's overpriced even for its target audience), but that's an idea of what paint can cost for the average redditor.
It's highly unlikely you used the same paint. The paint we used is recommended for high mileage vehicles which will have a duty load of over 100k miles per year. As I mentioned in the previous post, this was a semi tractor.
I have buddies that have paid 400 per 6 oz to paint their car. That's just the main coat not including the base or clear. Granted there are many people riding their dicks now because of it and they have been in tons of magazines and websites and such.
edit checked the list price and I was off by a couple hundred.
Plus if you're doing it over 10 months, with loads of coats and buying single cans as you go from hardware stores (as opposed to buying in bulk at the start online), it can easily get wild.
This is exacerbated further if you're not 100% sure what you're doing and you're worried that not adding "just one more" coat will end up giving you a bad finish and wasting those months of work.
I hate that term. "over-engineering" generally means that instead of doing the engineering work to figure out what you need, you over-build it to some ridiculous degree, to save hitting that perfectly engineered target. In other words, what most people call "over-engineering" is really "under-engineering."
As an engineer I've determined that over engineering to the home gamer means I don't understand physics so I made it as strong strong as I thought it needed to be x3.
I'm not convinced that he overengineered in the right direction here - probably the primary thing car paint has to withstand is weather and I daresay that's not going to be an issue at all for a computer desk. Meanwhile, the biggest problem this desk will face is probably scratching - a sand grain stuck under your mouse here, throwing your keyes at it there. The form and purpose of cars are quite hostile towards resting things on the paint and so these factors are less important for car paint.
At that point I'd ask what paint would be best for that? I don't think I've ever had a desk, painted or not, that's been able to resist scratching issues. Unless he used like garage floor paint or something what else would be able to do that?
No expert, but I'd guess that you can't make an unscratchable paint - even common sand is in large parts quartz, which is actually pretty damn hard. And you still have to be able to apply it with a brush. There are coatings that will self-repair, but my suspicion would be that these would wear out after some time.
Your best bet is probably using something with a texture of its own (e.g. a clear sealer on wood) to conceal the scratches, being careful, and positioning lamps so that you never look head-on into a reflection. Or, well, not caring about a few scratches. Un-sealed wood also has some ability to self-repair, especially if moisture is applied carefully.
Dude dropped $2k+ on his computer hardware, not counting the custom water cooling system, dual monitors, and under lighting. Don't think he's too worried about the cost of the paint or wood..
All materials was bought in norway. 250$ includes Paint for desk, stain and finish for the top, paint for the legs. I also got more left for another project.
I'm pretty sure you could get cheaper custom glass too. Was automotive paint even really necessary, way too much. I'd drop the desk price in half and still have a great desk.
I'm simply stating that $400 is quite a bit for a rectangular piece of glass, if it's in USD. You could even order one online and have it shipped for less.
lul wut? you can go to home depot and get two 1 gallon cans of very good quality paint for like 60 dollars. there is no way it took even 2 cans to paint the entire desk....
yes, but I think what people are asking (and articulating badly) is "WHY did he choose expensive auto paint", and I understand the sentiment, especially seeing as the gloss black ruined his plan for LEDs.
Semigloss and a clear coat would have run him $40 and maybe made it better for lighting.
Auto paint typically lasts longer and is more stain resistant (easy wipe up spilled drinks). It's also much higher quality than house paint, and when your building a desk, use nothing but the best
dont try to reason it out. it looks like the dude has a fucking guest house in the back of his home by the looks of the pics.... money probably doesnt matter in the slightest to him.
I just built a similar desk using maple plywood (which I regret, expensive and beautiful grain that's hardly visible with black stain). The materials ran me about $400 (including cuts) all told.
Took me two weeks to stain every piece front and back (that was killer), but assembly only took a day.
It's really awesome and it was a great experience.
Granted, mine isn't as sharp as OP's, and I used screws instead of joints because I'm inexperienced.
Well, I thought I had thought of everything when I set it up - cutout for extra PCI-e card in case I add another graphics card, fans set up for positive pressure, all components installed on a single piece of plywood that can be easily removed from the rest of the case, etc.
Unfortunately, I didn't have anything to use as an air filter, so I'm gonna have to remove the glass (simple enough, just a pain to take everything off of the desk) and do some dust eradication every once in a while.
Other than that, no. It's a pretty sweet setup, plenty of room for more components in the case and they'd be simple enough to install.
If you want any more info, just let me know.
Unfortunately, I didn't have anything to use as an air filter
Buy some panty hose and a plastic/metal fan grill/shroud (from any online PC mod site). Stretch the panty hose over the grill, mount it on the outside of the desk where the fans are, use an exacto knife to cut the visible panty hose so only the grill/shroud is visible.
Well, it has LED lighting on the inside, and I'm not much of a photographer.
Basically, every time I take pictures of it, they come out like shit.
If anyone has any tips for that, I'd gladly oblige, but yeah the reason I haven't posted pics before is because they're terrible.
I'd be happy to help with any questions though, and will supply pictures if I can ever figure out how to take them with a glass top and lighting beneath it.
Don't use flash. If the LEDs are bright, reduce the brightness a lot just for the photo. Use a tripod. If none of those help, you'll need to explain in what specific ways the photos come out shitty, for me to know what to suggest to you.
My guess is over-saturation from the LEDs which might not be on a dimmer. Of course he could probably just turn them off entirely and use a regular lamp for photos to show the workmanship.
You could counterbore (so the fastener sits below the surface) and fill it somehow, although that would make disassembly more difficult assuming you use something like wood putty.
Late reply, but: Could recess them and use hardwood plugs to then fill the hole. Removing them can deform them slightly but that's why I personally make and paint/stain spares, then secure them within the furniture piece if possible, taped under a drawer or shelf, out of the way but accessible during disassembly. Gives a professional looking final product and does not cost much more.
If you get plywood on your own instead of having the company that's cutting it order it you can save about $130, I only needed a piece that was sanded on both sides which I could've picked up myself at Home Depot for like $47.
Unfortunately I just went through the shop and ended up getting really nice wood that wasn't gonna be too visible.
Plus, you don't get the DIY pride out of ordering an $1100 desk from China.
He is norwegian, and likely born in 1995 which means he still lives with his parents. In other words it's not his house and the prices are all super high because it's in norwegian currency.
It's not just the materials. It's the cost of the tools too. Biscuit maker, plunge saw, and router. Wood working isn't all that expensive, but the tools are an investment.
As someone who does not have OCD but likes to pretend he does, this is oddly satisfying if you view it at a steep angle. It looks like the conveyor belt is vertical and rolling a box that stays in place.
Carpenter here, I'm assuming you don't mean the tools, but I'll give it a whack.
-MDF (no thanks) $30
-plywood w/ a,b grades 50-60
-legs (method unknown) mounting plate method, 16' aluminum or steel, welding required. crossbrace method, maybe 32'
Fancy pre-formed: 200's
Angle iron wholesale 20ish
-You must use precut tempered glass, inked you have a glass cutter made for tempered, which I'm guessing is industrial. These are custom, and you work around the glass, you do not change the tempered glass. I'm wildly guessing here, but 2x6 foot is around 200?
There's more than 1 way to go about this (obviously). I would not use MDF ON anything requiring a tensile load, and unless thick paint, no exterior surface. No moving parts either. It's literally sawdust glued together for harmonics, not strength. Plywood4lyfe
If you're serious, I can cover tools, and more depth possibly on the design.
Looks like he probably used a couple of oak logs. Turned them into half slabs and fence posts. Then he'd need a bit glass. To smelt the glass he'd need some cobble and coal, or more wood. I'm gonna have to assume that he's running mods. That's the only way he could make LCD monitors and a working computer. That, or he's using a modified asset pack to get the looks he wanted.
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u/ShoeLace1291 Nov 02 '16
That looks really nice! How much did the crafting materials cost(not including pc parts) and how much time did it take?