OSB desk

[Kristian]

I see an increasing trend to use OSB for other things than regular construction work so I'd thought I'd jump the bandwagon and make a desk.  [smile]

It's made of 15 mm OSB/3 and 38x57 mm laths. Gave the whole thing 5-6 coats of varnish leaving the surface smooth and completely splinter free.

The small box at the back of the table stabilizes it horizontally and vertically and holds cables, power supplys etc.

The cost of the completed project was about $100 replacing a desk worth $500 that I never really liked. It just goes to show....  [smile]

- Kristian

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[waho6o9]

Good idea! The desk looks stout.

 

[jmbfestool]

Seen on TV think it was grand designs some one used osb for furniture.  Cheap way to make stuff.

Bet its very light in weight the desk.

 

[Kristian]

It's fairly light but at 60 x 180 cm it's still heavier than I would have expected and extremely sturdy. I was a little concerned about sagging at the front of the desk but this is clearly not going to be an issue. Everything is glued and nailed.

 

[galwaydude18@gmail.com]

Seen on TV think it was grand designs some one used osb for furniture.  Cheap way to make stuff.

Bet its very light in weight the desk.

Ya there was an episode where they used Osb to fit almost the entire inside of a house. In love grand designs

 

[nanook]

looks great - one nit-pickey design thing though: a miter on filler strip on the corners might look a little neater. 

 

[jmbfestool]

looks great - one nit-pickey design thing though: a miter on filler strip on the corners might look a little neater. 

Agreed

 

[Guilliaume woodworks]

I like it alot! Very clean, I don't think I've seen anybody use osb this way.there are some bamboo products that look similar,but they are expensive. Four coats of varnish was sprayed or brushed?

 

[Kristian]

looks great - one nit-pickey design thing though: a miter on filler strip on the corners might look a little neater. 

Yes, you're right. I thought about this but since the two sides were assembled and placed before the top went on I went with this where the top simply rests on the two sides giving the top much better support. I had to build it on the spot and complete the two sides first since the floor rises about 25 mm when it's closest to the wall (it's a building from 1896...) so the sides had to be levelled out in all directions before I could put the top on. Then it was easy to place and fix the top by resting it on the sides without a mitered cut pushing the sides out (the top being heavier than you would expect).

This picture was taken before the desk was sanded and varnished so today you can hardly see where the sections meet.

If I ever build another one I could change the construction of the frame so that the visible front laths are more cosmetic than load-bearing making a mitered cut possible.

Thanks guys.

 

[Kristian]

I like it alot! Very clean, I don't think I've seen anybody use osb this way.there are some bamboo products that look similar,but they are expensive. Four coats of varnish was sprayed or brushed?

They're were brushed. That's the good thing about this design - it's fairly rough making it okay for the finish to be this as well.  [big grin]

 

[honeydoman]

very interesting use of osb...

 

[Alan m]

nice job.
id like a pic of it varnished
i think if i was doing it i would have kept the structural part of the fillers back a small bit and put a nice piece on over that. maybe something really fancy to contrast against the osb. maybe walnut or purple heart

 

[Kristian]

nice job.
id like a pic of it varnished
i think if i was doing it i would have kept the structural part of the fillers back a small bit and put a nice piece on over that. maybe something really fancy to contrast against the osb. maybe walnut or purple heart

Thanks Alan.

Yes, that could easily be done to a nice result. This was never my intention though. I wanted the desk to look raw - like you would expect to see OSB and laths in any structural work. The perpendicular joints add to this look (as opposed to mitered).

Luckily the varnish didn't change the color or glow of the OSB so it appears original in it's look - but it can still take a coffee cup or a cold one.  [smile]

 

[Alan m]

did you sand the top smooth or leave it that uneven surface osb has

 

[Kristian]

did you sand the top smooth or leave it that uneven surface osb has

It was pretty smooth from the start but you couldn't run your hand over it without catching a few splinters. So I sanded it down, just a quick run with grit 180, and then varnished it the first time. The grain would then rise so I gave it another quick go with the ETS 150/3 (lovely machine) and repeated the process. The last two or three coats of varnish were done without sanding.

But you're probably also referring to the small "spaces" (in lack of a better word) that naturally will occur when you press strands of wood in different sizes and shapes together. And no, I did not remove them entirely. I don't think you can unless you apply a filler to the surface. But again, I think this adds to the raw look of the unit and I reckon that after 5-6 coats of varnish every nook and cranny of these small holes should be sealed so I'm not too worried about liquids and general use.

- Kristian