# do you need more room on your desk? i can help



## keakar (Sep 21, 2007)

do you need more room on your desk? i can help 

heres a mod suggestion for everyones desk, make a monitor shelf for it.

get a 12" x 24" shelf board and put 1"x4" boards on each end to raise your monitor and speakers up off of the desk so the keyboard and mouse can slide under the monitor shelf completely out of the way giving you more desk space.
and remember to use wood glue and screws to hold it together for added strength because nails can pull out too easy and the glue makes the bond solid and strong. dont underestimate how strong gluing makes it. (use the glue)

i cut it 24" long for the monitor and speakers to have room to fit and the 18" keyboard and mouse fit easily underneath it. i cut two 1"x4" as side panels. this shelf instantly doubles your free desk space.

on mine i went all out and built it 8" high so my cd cases fit under it and i made it a 4 foot long shelf (i added 1x2 runners under it for added strength) so it holds my printer, monitor, speakers, and the computer case. the computer case was supported by adding a seperate 8"x24" board screwed securely to one end of the shelf and allowed to hang over in the front. this way i could remove it if i decided to put my computer in another spot. i also screwed it down in the back with some corner brackets so it cant move around or tip over from the weight. the only thing on my desk now is the keyboard and mouse. i also added a spare electrical outlet and a 24" floresent under cabinet light from walmart for $10 so now i have a keyboard and desk light that doesnt shine in my face but i covered the clear plastic cover with 3 layers of masking tape to tone down the brightness for working at night.

you can have the entire desk free of all your stuff because its on the shelf instead.
Attached Thumbnails


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## Carcenomy (Sep 22, 2007)

That's great, IF you have an LCD. Otherwise your CRT might collapse your shelf and crush your hands while sending all your stuff flying off the desk...


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## Wile E (Sep 22, 2007)

Carcenomy said:


> That's great, IF you have an LCD. Otherwise your CRT might collapse your shelf and crush your hands while sending all your stuff flying off the desk...


Nah, all you have to do is add some additional bracing, and all will be fine.


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## Carcenomy (Sep 22, 2007)

That's true.

I have had a monitor shelf collapse once, it's not a pretty sight. I should have done something about it sooner rather than later...


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## keakar (Sep 22, 2007)

Wile E said:


> Nah, all you have to do is add some additional bracing, and all will be fine.



an 8ft long 3/4" shelf board can hold over 200 lbs easy and with an lcd you could even do the 24" shelf with 1/2" plywood but i like things sturdy. the shorter it gets the more weight it can hold.

on my 4ft long shelf i used 3/4" plywood and it held me up with no bracing and thats 280 lbs but it did sag about 1" with me on it so thats why i added the 1x2 braces and now i can sit on it with no sagging, your crt is safe lol.

in the pics you can see i have my computer and printer on it as well, only thing on the desk is keyboard and mouse.


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## keakar (Sep 22, 2007)

Carcenomy said:


> That's true.
> 
> I have had a monitor shelf collapse once, it's not a pretty sight. I should have done something about it sooner rather than later...



always use screws to hold it together because nails pull out too easy when they are the small size nails.


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## Chewy (Sep 22, 2007)

Carcenomy said:


> That's great, IF you have an LCD. Otherwise your CRT might collapse your shelf and crush your hands while sending all your stuff flying off the desk...



 good discription


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## niko084 (Sep 22, 2007)

Looks like you did a good job 

Been thinking about building my own desk as it is...


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## Wile E (Sep 22, 2007)

niko084 said:


> Looks like you did a good job
> 
> Been thinking about building my own desk as it is...


It's about to come to that for me as well. I just can't find a reasonably priced one that meets my needs. All the reasonably priced ones are too high, because they have that stupid keyboard tray that i despise. Still using my folding table for now. lol


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## ex_reven (Sep 22, 2007)

No offense, I find the solution (the extra level for the Monitor) kinda awkward.
Id prefer just to get a larger desk. My whole thinking is that if you were to have your keyboard under where the monitor is you might be sitting too close to the screen (or typing at arms length) in order to reach it. Neither of those positions seem to be very comfortable to me, but meh.

As it is, my keyboard is above my lap where I sit at the desk. So my wrists are above the edge of the desk. Having the extra level would mean that the screen is not 30 degrees from regular viewing angle (parallel to the ground) which IIRC isnt ergonomic for the eyes. Your solution however, would be excellent for a larger screen such as a 22/24" and above. 

What it IS particularly excellent for, is when you need your desk for something else like writing etc. You can slide the keyboard forward.


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## keakar (Sep 22, 2007)

ex_reven said:


> No offense, I find the solution (the extra level for the Monitor) kinda awkward.
> 
> Having the extra level would mean that the screen is not 30 degrees from regular viewing angle (parallel to the ground) which IIRC isnt ergonomic for the eyes.
> 
> What it IS particularly excellent for, is when you need your desk for something else like writing etc. You can slide the keyboard forward.



well raising your monitor 4" off the desk is IMHO no chance of changing viewing angles enough to be noticable and for the eyes it makes you look straight ahead for good posture instead of downward which gives you bad posture so it should IMHO actually help you and be more comfortable.

and the desired purpose was to give you more desk space so that was the point of doing it.

the second shelf that i did was 4 foot long and 8" high and was exactly like you said. the screen angle was too high and uncomfortable so i had to remove the stand for it to rest directly on the shelf and now it is fine. i went that high is only because i needed the 8" of room for my cd box to be able to fit under it. after adjusting the monitor by removing the stand i find everything to be extremely convienient and my viewing angle is straight forward when sitting upright but if i slouch it is more like looking slightly up at the screen and i dont find this to be a bad angle.


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## ex_reven (Sep 22, 2007)

keakar said:


> well raising your monitor 4" off the desk is IMHO no chance of changing viewing angles enough to be noticable.
> 
> as for the ergonomic for the eyes it makes you look straight ahead for good posture instead of downward which gives you bad posture so it should IMHO actually help you and be more comfortable.
> 
> ...



Sweet.
Ive always dreamed of having a massive desk ...


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## keakar (Jan 11, 2008)

ex_reven said:


> Sweet.
> Ive always dreamed of having a massive desk ...



well if your like me and always have several projects going on at the same time, having more room is a big help.


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