DIY console desk build,,,sort off :-)

Hello, I wasn't sure what section to put this in, so if there is another place where this should go could a Mod please move this thread. I had some pics of the console I built laying around on the hard drive so i thought i would share. I have some pics right after i built it before i painted it that show some of the stuff i will describe of the build. I had painted it, and set it up and used it at my old bands studio/ jam room, then we broke up, and i brought all my stuff to the house, and had taken some assembly pics for the hell of it when i crammed it all in and put it all together in my little jam room here. I haven't done any serious/critical recording or mixing since the move and since the conditions of the space are less than ideal for the task i havn't really bothered to care...so no need to tell me my room sucks..I know,,trust me :lol: thats why i'm itching to start working on my studio renovation of a renovation :roll: in the other thread,,,,,,,really its not that bad for just jamming , and i have since joined a Prog metal band that has a choice room and their own recording rig, so i'm mainly just laying down scratch tracks here,,,,,for now :wink: ANYWAY... i dont have the step by step pics, just some assembly pics but i thought i'd put them up anyway as maybe it would help others who were thinking about building their own. I had thought of buying a nice desk, then i seen how much it was going to cost to ship the ones that i liked, and thought maybe i should build one for now,,,,so i looked at a few desks and settled on a design very close to an OMNIRAX MIXSTATION desk.I studied it pretty good and created a couple of side templates until i settled on the one to go by. This desk was made with 4- 4x8 sheets of 5/8 partical board. i would have went with some nice plywood like birch or something, but i didn't have alot of cash. If, like mine your side racks are 48" or less,,have the lumber house(Lowes,Home Depot, whatever) cut 2 boards in half on their machine, cause your gonna have to do it anyway, and at most places you get a free cut per board you buy, so you might as well have it done for you :) "And here is a tip for someone who plans to build their own" get some big pieces of cardboard, and lay out the shape of the side racks . that you want into a template Then when you get your height, top angle, and general side shape that you want you can cut it out and stand it up next to you, and you can tell if it needs any adjustment to be ergonomic and comfortable( mixing angle) plenty of room underneath, etc. then you can transfer the patern to your wood. If your sides are 48" or less , you can carry on, if they are more, then do what applies for your build.... Take your 4 halves that you now have, align the 3 factory edges, and secure them together( for mine I have air tools so i shot 4 -2" brad nails through them then just pried them apart when i was done) Now, take your template and transfer it to your side stack, and make sure that you use the 3 factory edges as your strait sides for alignment and let the bulk of your waste be from the cut side. For mine i used the factory edges for the top, back, and bottom and use the cut side for the front wich has angled cuts so i could use the factory edges to the fullest, when i was done for measuring and laying out the shelves and rack stops. I used a circular saw for most of the cutting and a sawzall (reciprocating) saw for the tight stuff. i would have used a jigsaw for the tight stuff but the blade was to short to do the job properly. Once you have them gang cut, pry them apart and lay them out into two pair back to back. Now you can lay out the shelf lines and rack stops for the side units together at one time so when you put them together evreything lines up nice and even. Ok, now that you have that done, take the two inisde pieces ( 2 and 3,, as if you layed them out 1+2 3+4 ) and turn them over and place them back to back so you can now lay out the mixer shelf and monitor shelf. Once all that was laid out i shot 1" X whatever length strips that i ripped from my scrap under all my shelf lines for shelf supports. The tops and bottoms of the racks are made from 2 pieces in a "T" config., so to speak, the tops i made 1" wider all the way around, but on the bottom the outside piece is the same width and length as the rack and the inside is the same length front to back, but 1"(1/2" on each side) smaller in width so the rack sides sit on the bottom piece and the next to the inside one. If you look close at the tops of the unpainted pics, you can see what i mean alot better than the confusing stuff i just posted. Now you can make the mixer and monitor shelves the width and depth as needed ans set them into place. I also added a platform underneath to put my computers, and some cable cutouts in the back, in case i ever had to push it against a wall. I made the two racks on the sides solid units with 13 rack spaces underneath, 6 spaces that hang, and 7 spaces on top. the center section that holds the mixer and the monitor are basically shelves, as is the computer platform on the bottom all sitting on ledges and held in place with mini "L" brackets wich ties the whole thing together and makes the unit as a whole very tight and sturdy. If i was to buy this desk, and have it shipped to me it would cost me $1275.00 +(IIRC) 200 to ship. and i would still have to put it together. i built this desk for $114.00 and it took 4 nights (plan, laid out+ cut, pre-assemble, paint) after i got home from work to do,,, muuuuucccchhh betttttter, for a non rich guy like myself :) I hope this helps eveyone who might have been thinking about building their own desk, and if anyone has any questions or comments i'd be more than happy to give what i can to the community here. thanks for looking ,,,now on with the pics :) DAVE

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After i had it up for a week i decided insted of two small monitors, i'd go with a larger monitor for the DAW :twisted: and changed some of my cabs out in my guitar rig.

it's nice to see someone else who still owns a pair of peavey precision transducers. mine are in my garage awaiting the completion of my teeny studio that they won't actually fit in.

SUP? :) John,,,,yea, i didn't have nowhere else to put them, and my wife didn't want them in the livingroom,,,or the bedroom ,,or the bathroom,,,etc :lol: I'm not cozy enough with the new band to leave my gear at their place,,so it all gets crammed in here till i can figure out a better design or what to do with whats already there and get things going in my studio build. Once i get it going and about ready I think I'm gonna make a new desk. I'm gonna go with Johns sofit mounted monitor design in the control room, so I think it will be a lower profile desk maybe based off of an Argosy design or something. When i do make the new desk I'll do a step by step, with pics so i can contribute something back to the community though, cause i've learned alot reading here at night :) DAVE