Oak desk without frame?

[Mustey]

I am looking for a desk that fits my home office.
My plan so far is to buy the top and the legs and then bolt the legs on.
I am not planning to use a frame!

My concern is that the desktop might warp with time. I don't plan to put anything heavy - just a screen, laptop, maybe a plant.

Here are some details:
Desk top measurements: 140x62
Desk top material: Grade A Oak (air dried) kitchen worktop, 40mm thick, 40mm staves

 

[JP_]

Should be OK. Get adjustable legs, if it warps, no problem! I built 2 desks form mdf boards with legs from B&Q screwed on.

 

[SFK]

I have exactly that as my desk.
It has not warped (yet).
But my expectation is that the use of multiple oak staves to make up the wood reduces the risk of warping.
And your desk is only 140cm wide, and with inset legs the span is very short.

Also, if it were to warp, it would also warp on kitchen counters as a few screws would not stop the strength of warping wood.

 

[Mustey]

I don't know if I used the correct word: "warping". I didn't mean the natural change of shape that real wood incurs with time, I mean more like slowly "buckling" under the weight.
Anyway, most desks in my price range seem to be without any support along the width of the desk. I think I will go with that and save me £££ and if it buckles, will flog it on ebay

 

[SFK]

I think word you are looking for is 'bow or bowing'.
40mm thick stave oak will flex very little (mm) with a 140cm span, even if you sat on it.
My last desk was only 18mm thick and never had issue.
So 40mm thick and that narrow span is very unlikely to permanently bow in the middle under its own or computer weight.

Oak stave worktops do make great desks, but nightmare to move into place as so heavy. Last one I fitted was 3m long!

 

[foxhole]

Have oak block board desktop , 18mm no legs just between walls on batons with no movement 15 years old .

 

[motorbiking]

Any saw mills near you? You can get English Oak, kiln dried planks for the same money as the tiny bits of oak glued together kitchen work tops. All you need is a buscuit joiner and you have a much nicer table.

 

[JP_]

biscuit joiner

I always wondered how planks were held together!

Just watched

 

[Mustey]

Any saw mills near you? You can get English Oak, kiln dried planks for the same money as the tiny bits of oak glued together kitchen work tops. All you need is a buscuit joiner and you have a much nicer table.

I am horrible at dealing with working men. I am on the spectrum and even though I think I make perfect sense, they prefer to shrug me off, whatever I am asking for!
I've been looking for someone to turn me a very simple piece and couldn't find anyone with a lathe willing to even have a thought about it...

Also, I am not sure it's going to be smooth? I don't have a biscuit joiner or any means of finishing the wood (other than a tin of Danish oil).

Right now, the wood comes to about 230 quid with shipping and offcuts. I am pretty sure I could use the offcuts for shelving or a coffee table, which could be then sold on.
Not sure how much more I could save, as the whole price right now isn't so bad.

Yes, I would have liked a nice representation of the oak, as a long plank. My father is a woodworker of sorts (musical instruments engineer) and I have a childhood appreciation of beautiful wood.
But I am currently bound to a rather exclusive budget...

 

[SFK]

I tended to go on the cheaper side of that.
Note that these are NOT the suppliers I used, as I buy second hand worktops:

Ebay worktop (lower than A grade wood): 2,000mm x 620mm x 40mm. £120-£140 inc delivery
Amazon Square-Table-Legs Legs: £70. (I selected these over the cheap ones on screw fix as desk is heavy)

Total £190 to £210
and 60cm by 62cm left for shelves.

Put the Danish Oil onto the wood in very thin coats and wipe off any excess.
Note I prefer Osmo over danish oil.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_...k+worktop.TRS0&_nkw=40mm+oak+worktop&_sacat=0

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hartleys-I...locphy=1006457&hvtargid=pla-717210141509&th=1

 

[SFK]

Also if you wanted to go thiner with 26mm (40mm can look heavy in small room) and want lots of oak shelves as it is 3m long,
I also considered (but did not use) this from Wickes (3,000mm x 600mm x 26mm) for £125:

https://www.wickes.co.uk/Wickes-Solid-Wood-Worktop---Solid-Oak-600mm-x-26mm-x-3m/p/119517

 

[Mustey]

yeah, that's inline with the pricing I am getting. The 230 figure includes the cut, "preoiling" and edge processing (my elbows don't like sharp edges!).
And it's "Premium Oak" ("Grade A", selected without knots, etc...)

But I will definitely shop around ebay some more! I initially tried, but my search wasn't effective (now I know what to search for)

Thanks

 

[SFK]

Noted with regards to the 'edge processing'.
My desk edge has a painfully sharp edge, even after a couple of years.
But that was my going for form over function.
SFK

 

[Mustey]

Going to pull the trigger tomorrow
I wonder what kind of screws to use for mounting the legs to the top?

Thinking about these legs:
- (My floor isn't the best) Not adjustable. The adjustable ones have separate brackets, which I imagine will result in a wobbly desk
+ The bracket is welded to the leg = more stable
+ Much cheaper than the frame-type legs (these are 20 quid, shipped)
+ Straight (no horizontal parts to collect dust)

 

[SFK]

As desk is 40mm thick, so 35 or 40mm screws that are just smaller than the hole (4 or 5mm I guess)
https://www.screwfix.com/c/screws-n...y=cat840066&productlength=40_mm&sort_by=price
I had to pilot the holes to get the screws in without ripping their heads off.

If one leg is too short put some cardboard from cereal packet between metal plate and wood.
SFK