DIY Desk From Solid Wood Six-Panel Door

My wife garbage picked this six-panel door almost 2 years ago and it's been sitting in the basement ever since. Well, I finally got it out. Given all the work-at-home during the pandemic, I decided it was time to upgrade my workspace. In my head I had this design of a desk with epoxy and potentially a way to showcase pictures. Well, I decided against the epoxy/resin because of the cost, time, and potential for spills. I only really wanted to fill part of the panels and decided it wasn't worth the effort. Overall, what I ended up with is really nice as the black backdrop in the panels creates a great reflection off the acrylic panels. I happened to have the acrylic pieces laying around from a project I didn't do and they fit perfectly in the door panels with a little cutting.

Supplies

Materials

Garbage Picked 6-panel Solid Wood Door

Felt Base Furniture Glide

Acrylic Sheets (I used roughly 24 inch by 48 inch)

3-8ft 4x4s

4-3inch Spax PowerLag Screws

Simpson Strong-Tie and Screws

Stains and Polyurethanes

https://homedepot.sjv.io/ojNQb

https://homedepot.sjv.io/BD5q1

https://homedepot.sjv.io/ojNQb

Recommended Tools

Here are some of the tools I would recommend for this job
(I am partial to Ryobi because they are affordable):

Ryobi Drill/Driver Combinations

These all include the 1/2 chuck as recommended If you want to check out other manufacturers such
as Dewalt, Milwuakee, and Rigid, please check them out through my link to Home Depot.

Circular Saw-Highly recommend sticking to one brand, so here’s some nice Ryobi Corded and Battery saws and tool sets

Kobalt Compound Miter Saw (10 inch)-I haven't been able to find the same version that I have, so I recommend the Dewalt 10-inch as I have had pretty good luck with Dewalt tools, but HERE is a link to some affordable 10-inch options at Home Depot.

Ryobi also makes an affordable option.

I use a Skil Router, but I have noticed that Bosch offers
more accessories that can be of great use. Also the combination fixed and plunge version that I use doesn't seem to be available.

Bosch Router

I recently bought a smaller handheld Ryobi Router and love it.

Here are some Random Orbital Sanders (I use Dewalt, but I’m sure some of the Ryobi options are more affordable if you want to stick to a reasonably priced brand)

Sanding Pads (I usually buy in bulk, or try to get to Harbor Freight for some cheaper options)

Kreg Jig

Forstner Bit Set

Router Bits

These are affiliate links and we could obtain compensation for sales completed through our links.

Step 1: Cut/Trim Door to Size

Based on where I planned to put the desk (between two of my front windows), I needed a roughly 60 inch wide desk. To do this, I trimmed off the two smaller panels of the six-panel door and made sure there was a symmetrical distance on the outside of the 4 panels remaining. I didn't have to in this case as there weren't hinge mounts (i.e. routed out hinge spots) but you might want to trim off a quarter inch or so to remove and hinge routings to make it flush. This specific door didn't have those markings, but did have screw holes. Instead of filling them, I just sanded them down and left it part of the design.

Step 2: Sand and Route Top

Sand the entire top. I chose not to do any detailed sanding on the bottom side or in the panels. I recommend roughing up the panels a little with some sandpaper before the next step.

After the door is sanded (removing all finishes), route around the entire door with a 1/2 round bit, be sure to go in through where the door handle hardware was mounted, it actually makes a great slot to feed cords and cables.

Step 3: Spray Panels and Touch Sand

You can probably spray the panels before you do any of the top sanding, but that's not the order I did it in, more because I wanted to see how things looked before moving on. I used a high gloss black spray paint, taping off the primary surface and using cardboard to try and keep it contained. I let it all dry and then touch sanded the primary surface and all the routed edges.

Step 4: Cut and Prepare Leg Pieces

For the base of this workspace I made the following cuts:

Leg Vertical: 25 inches (4)

Leg Horizontal: 21 inches (4)

Cross Beam: 52 inches (1)

Cut 2-25inch and 2-21inch pieces from 2 of the 8ft 4x4s and then the 52inch piece from the remaining 4x4.

Sand all the edges of the legs after each cut.

On one side of each of the horizontal pieces, add 2 pocket holes at each end. On the cross brace, also drill 2 pocket holes at each end on one side.

Step 5: Cut and Fit Acrylic

I used 1/8 inch thick clear acrylic I had from another project I didn't end up doing. I would measure each panel individually or cut them a little large and then trim them down because each of the panels on the door can have variation in size. The 1/8 inch acrylic sits nearly completely flush in the panels of the door I used, so I have to do no other adjustments to make the whole top fairly flush.

Step 6: Build and Reinforce Legs

Build the two legs by attaching the horizonal leg piece (21 inch) to the vertical piece (25 inch), with the pocket holes facing up. Do the same to the other side. Attach the bottom horizontal piece the same way with the pocket holes facing down. This way the pocket holes will be facing up towards the top (hidden by the top) and facing down (out of sight).

For my desk, I have a heat vent on the floor near the back of the desk and therefore need to mount my cross brace about 7-8 inches off the floor. I used some scrap 4x4 pieces to use as a measuring tool for placement of the brace. I faced the pocket holes towards the back of the desk (but you can also face them down).

I reinforced each of the connections using Simpson Strong Tie galvanized steel plates. I'm really, really glad I did that. It makes the whole unit much stronger and I actually like the look of the plates.

Lastly, I used a 1 inch forstner bit and drilled a hole about an inch and a half into the underside of the top horizontal brace.

Step 7: Sand the Legs, Mount to the Top, and Install Feet

Using a random orbital sander, sand down any and all rough spots to make sure there are no splinters or high points after putting the base together.

Mount the legs to the top of the desk using the 3 inch Spax Lag screws. I recommend pre-drilling the hole.

Turn the whole desk over and install the furniture feet following the instructions on the packaging. I like these adjustable feet because my desk will be partially on an area rug and partially on hardwood.

Step 8: Stain and Clearcoat

Pick a nice stain. I'm partial to Minwax Products, but since they became exclusive to Lowes (and I prefer Home Depot), I may have to change it up going forward. Let the stain dry at least a day before applying a clear coat. I used a brush on Polyurethane (Polycrylic) first and then coated the top with a spray to help keep a more consistent coat.

Step 9: Let Dry and Enjoy

That's it. All we had to do was temporarily dismantle the base (just 4 lag bolts), carry it upstairs, and reassemble in my new office space.

I hope you all enjoyed this instructable. I had been sitting on this door for about 2 years and my old workspace was a little limited and uncomfortable, but this is great.