Solid Surface material for a desk

[jacko9]

I haven't looked through the links others have posted, but I doubt you'll find a 8' x 4' sheet of solid surface material. Have you felt the weight of a sheet! I use 760mm x 3.6M sheets regularly, and I can't pick one up by myself, it simply weighs a tonne, and also flexi's too much under its own weight.
At 3/4" thick it will need a lot of additional support again to stop it flexing under its own weight.

I love working with Corian, you can incorporate a reinforced frame inside the laminated sheets of corian to add additional support, but again, you'll never be able to lift the top by yourself.

I finally gave up on the Solid Surface after I discovered some Brazilian Boxwood in the back of my lumber rack.  I have three timbers one 8/4 by 8' long, another 10/4 by 10' long and the third is 12/4 by 10' long.  This stuff is beautiful but it weighs a ton and with the exception of some Brazilian Rosewood it is by far the most dense wood that I have.  I have managed to surface and plane the first piece yesterday and then while resawing the piece, I actually stalled my 20" Powermatic bandsaw with a 1/2" Wood Slicer blade.  I might have to get another blade before I resaw the rest of the pieces.

Update, I got my new Wood Slicer blade and it took all of 5 cuts to dull that blade.  I finished by cutting very slowly but for wood that hard and dense I need to find better blades for resawing.

Jack

 

[ElCabong]

I know this is kind of late and best of luck on your project with the Boxwood as the top. That said, I completed an "L" shaped desk for my wife using Paperstone as a solid surface. I purchased 1/2" Paperstone from their outlet and then epoxied another 1/2" strip to create a 1" edge. Working with this material was easier than I thought it would be. It created a nice seam where the two pieces came together and the milling and finishing was a breeze with my TS-55, Domino and ETS-150/3.

 

[tiralie]

I know this is kind of late and best of luck on your project with the Boxwood as the top. That said, I completed an "L" shaped desk for my wife using Paperstone as a solid surface. I purchased 1/2" Paperstone from their outlet and then epoxied another 1/2" strip to create a 1" edge. Working with this material was easier than I thought it would be. It created a nice seam where the two pieces came together and the milling and finishing was a breeze with my TS-55, Domino and ETS-150/3.

Looks good! If you or your wife find you are knocking your knees into those brackets you may want to consider some hidden brackets

 

[ElCabong]

Thank you and thanks for the link. I tend to overbuild things and those brackets are made to support about 1000 lbs each. Paperstone is really heavy in weight, not to mention the 3/4" plywood base underneath it as well. I can stand on top of the desk in the corner and the desktop won't budge. A little overkill I know. The brackets I used are curved so that the knees (at least hers and mine) isn't a problem.

 

[jacko9]

Very nice, I'll look at Paperstone for future projects.  I already have my boxwood sliced and stickered while I cut up the White Oak for the corner cabinets and apron structures.  I like the nice clean look of your desk and the top backsplash adds a nice touch to keep stuff from rolling off the back.  Is most of the weight supported by your corner cabinets or wall brackets?

Jack

 

[ElCabong]

Thanks Jack.

The corner cabinets and wall brackets do support the majority of the weight but I also attached 1 X 2" poplar strips against the wall to support the back of the desktop in between the cabinet and wall bracket for additional support. There is no flexing at all.

- Floyd

 

[jacko9]

Floyd,

Very nice job, It looks a whole lot simpler than the desk I designed [eek]

Jack

 

[jacko9]

Well, I didn't use a stone product for this project but the Brazilian Boxwood stained a Java color went well with the white oak desk.  Thanks for all of the suggestions.

Jack