Is a cluttered desk a sign of a cluttered mind? Or is it a sign of genius? Let's just say if your desk is anything like the one in my home office, you'll benefit from this compact desk organizer.
The design is based on the simple lines of a circle. The two ends and the two dividers all have nine-inch-radius curves. The dividers are quarter-circles. The ends are a bit more than a quarter-circle and they create the backward lean of the design.
Small projects such as this one are perfect for that special board you've been saving. I chose a 1 1/4" plank of spalted maple that I'd picked up a year ago. I built my organizer using 3/8"-thick stock. That one board went a long way. Run the board through the planer just enough to create a consistent thickness, then resaw the wood into half-inch-thick boards. After jointing these to create one straight edge, lay them out in a bookmatched fashion, creating an attractive, mirror-image grain pattern. Glue the boards together to make 10 1/2"-wide panels. After the glue has dried, give the wood a final planing to bring it down to 3/8" thick.
Download the project plans here!
| YOU WILL NEED | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| PART | PART | SIZE (T x D x L) | QTY. |
| Ends | spalted maple | 3/8" x 10" x 12" | 2 |
| Dividers | spalted maple | 3/8" x 9 1/2" x 9 1/2" | 2 |
| Bottom | spalted maple | 3/8" x 9 3/4" x 12" | 1 |
| Back | spalted maple | 3/8" x 10 1/8" x 12" | 1 |
| Top shelf | spalted maple | 3/8" x 4 7/8" x 7 1/8" | 1 |
Middle shelf | spalted maple | 3/8" x 8 5/16" x 7 1/8" | 1 |
| *length indicates grain direction | |||
Full circle
Take some time to familiarize yourself with the grid pattern on the plans. You can download a full-size template of it.
There is only one pattern on the plans page, but it serves three purposes. First, it provides the outline of the two end pieces, as well as the location of the dados that receive the back and bottom pieces. Second, it provides the outline of the two quarter-circle dividers. And third, it shows the location of the dados that are cut into the right-hand end piece, as well as the right-hand divider, for the top and middle shelves.
As you work through the project for each operation, double-check which part is which before you cut-it's easy to mix them up.
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