Star Trek TOS Inspired Home Office Remodel

[Snow Builder]

Looks great! Glad that you're able to start to seeing positive results.

 

[Starbase101]

Looks great! Glad that you're able to start to seeing positive results.

Thanks! I thought there might be yet another delay today. The desk's hutch assembly is quite bad. They sent simply two offset brackets (black) and some screws. Well, this is a corner desk, and guess where I placed it....yep, in a corner. There is absolutely no way of attaching the brackets with it against the wall (they go on the outside) and for sure the hutch is not getting attached before moving the desk into the corner. Without the slider feet it does not move easily and the main desk by itself is quite heavy, so the desk + return + pedestal + hutch = no way without a crane. Besides, black brackets on the outside would look ugly. My solution - drill alignment holes in the top of the desk/return and bottom of the hutch, and use solid steel dowels to keep it in position. After several hours I finally came home with steel dowels today. (Don't you just love when a store's website specifies a quantity in stock at a particular store so you drive across town to get them and hear "we don't carry that item, the website is wrong". Some inventory managers just need a good slapping.) After several attempts at various hardware stores in the state's capital city I finally found the metal dowels needed for my scheme. We are so not looking forward to lifting the hutch up onto the desk - it is heavy.

 

[Starbase101]

The hutch is on, which ended up being very easy to do (work smarter, not harder). I decided to not use any dowels. It would be too complicated getting them perfectly aligned, and the hutch is so heavy it's not going anywhere anyway. The last big piece to place before attaching the various underside drawers and shelves is this roll-out printer shelf.

That's where the laser printer is going instead of occupying desktop space like before. The yellow tackboard on the right was removed because I intend to shorten it and re-skin with mustard/gold "Galaxy" replica fabric from trekkerguy when available. It will also get a burgundy frame inset around it for matching the TOS wall panels.

Today I will be attaching the next silver strip and the remaining desk pieces. I also need to straighten the doors and drawer faces, as they were installed crooked at the factory and I want them to be properly aligned.

 

[trekkerguy]

Hope to have a fresh run of the "Galaxy" checkerboard fabric available soon. Perfect for a bulletin board, and many other uses (not to mention Sickbay!)

 

[Starbase101]

Hope to have a fresh run of the "Galaxy" checkerboard fabric available soon. Perfect for a bulletin board, and many other uses (not to mention Sickbay!)

It's the yellow fabric I'll be interested in rather than the red:

 

[trekkerguy]

Yes, I hope to have that available sometime later in 2021, too. These are small runs with a U.S. mill, which frankly has been busy with other projects and running at full-steam (despite Covid.)

 

[Starbase101]

Well dang it, the under-desk printer shelf (which is intended for placement under a desk) is too tall and doesn't fit. I will need to trim it down.

 

[Kal Argos]

Haggis! Well lad, just go slow and steady. ...

 

[Starbase101]

Wrapped in plastic to keep as much sawdust off as possible, especially the roller bearings, and taped to deter laminate chipping:

Just as clean as a phaser cut:

A whole 1/4" had to be removed (that's well outside of manufacturing error tolerance) but it now fits properly under the desk:

But another Maverick goof - no grommet hole for electrical....and this is specifically a printer shelf. Since my printer isn't battery-powered, I'm going to have to make another hack. By the way, that unsightly lock on the top drawer will be vanishing - I've got a replacement drawer face coming with the second furniture delivery and will swap it out so all the drawers are smooth except for the handles. Unfortunately it was not an option having no handle holes (100% smooth faces like the hutch doors). I would have preferred to install push-release spring latches behind the drawers instead of handles, but since all their drawer faces are pre-drilled for handles I opted for the most "futuristic" looking handles in their catalog.

I really liked the idea of having the printer below the desk instead of consuming desktop real estate but it's going to interfere with an oversized keyboard tray I ordered (so both the keyboard and mouse pad are off the desk). The printer shelf will need to be placed on desk's left side instead where there's a little more room.

So....I guess it's time to apply another silver stripe while I consider alternate drawer and shelf arrangements for the desk.

 

[Starbase101]

I got the molding ordered for the tackboard frame - the best match I could find is SeaTeak Bulkhead Cap Molding (aka teak cap molding) and I'll simply reduce its height. The last material for me to source is still the red alert panel frame. Does anybody have ideas/suggestions on where to find this frame material in 1" width? It's not flat, there is a slight bevel to it.

 

[Snow Builder]

Don't know where you can find it - but given your comfortable with power tools, is it something you can make?

On a different note, I've been doing a home office revamp and was building a custom printer stand this weekend. While it will be usable, let's just say my tolerances are about as good as what you've been experiencing <joke>.

Keep the updates coming, very much enjoying seeing this come together.

 

[wdtenney]

That molding you're looking for looks like picture frame stock installed fat side in rather than out. Try your local custom frame store.

 

[Starbase101]

That molding you're looking for looks like picture frame stock installed fat side in rather than out. Try your local custom frame store.

I know, right? You'd think it would be that easy. Picture frames are all too ornamental (nothing plain like that) and much too thick. I have found something else that might work, though...