DIY Dream Desk/BattleStation Build w/ iCUE Control Lighting (Progression)

[solarity]

I have been wanting a new battle station/desk for a while. I have took inspiration from the Ikea Desk builds I have seen for a while, though I wanted a desk that was a little lower and more ergonomic. I also wanted a desk large enough to host two PCs and sit two adults comfortably. This room is our office/guest/on call room. Here is my previous battle station:

Battle Plan:

I drew a diagram to show what I was wanting to build.

Proof of Concept:

I got a 98"x1.5"x25" Walnut Butcher Block from Home Depot. I also picked up a 2x6 to give the desk ~5" more depth as well as something cheap that I could cut and not fill bad messing up. 

My old man was up from Texas and helped me test the height of putting the butcher block on the filing cabinets as well as we used blue painters tape to mark out how big we wanted the desk.

 

Construction:

We both agreed that the table height of 31.5" was to high and decided to a 27.5 table height. If I wanted it higher I could easily raise it up. We also decided that we had to cut 1ft off the as we wanted to keep the cabinets flanking the desk and to hold the weight of the PCs. Having it go the full 98 means it would have reduced access to the closet.

I cut 1ft off the butcher block and cut the 2x6 to size. The edge of the butcher block was to sharp, so I used a router to test out different profiles and I ended up going with A.

I used a Jigsaw to cut wire management holes in the 2x6 then used the router on that as well. As well as I sanded the board.

 

I used scrap pieces to test stain and finish. I decided to use a Black Stain on the back 2x6 and I went with Boiled Linseed Oil for the walnut. The Boiled Linseed Oil has a strong nutty smell and it takes a while to go away. Luckily it didn't smell like a typical chemical smell of a stain.

We got 26" Legs off Amazon as well as a wooden peg leg to attach to the center of the desk. I also purchased a 1x6 of maple to support the 2x6.

 

Can't forget everyone's favorite part, cable management!

Wide angle:

As the finish didn't full cure yet, I noticed a cup left a water mark, I found a nice Coaster on Thingiverse that I printed out to protect the desk.

Then I finally put it together. The lighting in the back is from LS-100 strips and 3x HUE bulbs controlled by iCUE.

 

Corsair Gigabyte Build:

500D Case

32GB of Corsair Vengeance RGB RAM

Hydro-X Loop (CPU, GPU, Radiators, etc)

Corsair 1TB PCIe 4.0 NVME

Fans: 3xLL-120 & 3xHD-120

X570 Gigabyte Master

10Gbe Gigabyte NIC

Gigabyte 2080 Ti

AMD 3700x

AX1200i PSU

 

Control everything w/ iCUE build:

Gigabyte z390 Master

Intel 9900K

32GB Vengeance RGB RAM

Fans: 3xLL-120, 1xLL-140, 3xHD-120

3x ArrrRGB DACs (I designed to control RGB fittings via iCUE)

AX1600i PSU

Lots of Water Cooling Parts all pre-HydroX

 

 

 

 

Edited December 18, 2021 by solarity

[LeDoyen]

Well that's one build and a half!

Desk height is sooo overlooked but that makes the difference between a normal day and an early trip to the bed because of back pain. 

really neat 10/10

I would worry a bit about the mice though. using them on wood that tends to keep sweat and dead skin in place will get sticky 😉 just a inor annoyance but i see the charm of leaving as much lignum exposed as possible

[solarity]

Yeah, funny you mention the mice. I initially wanted to build a bigger desk, so I could use a larger mouse mat that I bought a year or so ago:

 

Though the table turned out so well, I felt covering up by a huge mat:

I do use an old mouse pad that has seen better days. I think I want to get a  new mouse mat, similar to the size of what I have.

 

[Zotty]

LOVE that desk dude!!! Wood is good!! . well done man

[Beefy1223]

Im terrible at everything involving work so I just got all my lighting and stuff around my desk but yours required some real work, not just buying things and arranging them. Great work, and the wood is super sexy.

[Beefy1223]

Forgot to ask in my original post, and maybe you've already explained, but how are you combating sag int he middle? I know that wood is probably really solid, but is there any noticeable sag so far?

[solarity]

Thanks, the table is 1.5" solid walnut finger jointed together. I added a 5th leg in the center towards the back. In between the 5th leg and the table is a 1x4 of maple that helps distribute the load a little bit