Hello,

I have been receiving many comments about my workstation (which you can see in a couple of the photos here). To answer your questions, I built the desk using a design that I tailored to my specific needs. I mostly wanted a lot of open desktop space, plenty of storage for supplies and sheet music, and to have a pull-out tray for my digital piano to rest on. Many of the raw building materials were found at the Rebuilding Center in Portland, OR. I decided to use recycled materials not only for obvious environmental reasons, but also because the prices are much more affordable than those of brand new materials.

The desktop is simply a solid wood door 6.5′x3.5′ - and it’s very heavy! I positioned the doorknob hole to be at the back of the desk so that I could route computer/component cables easily and neatly. There is a recycled set of drawers holding up one end of the desk and a homemade shelf on the other side. I designed the shelves so that they would be the right size for my numerous 3-ring binders full of piano/orchestral scores. Lastly, to keep the desktop clear at all times, I made two pull-out trays: one for the keyboard and mouse, the other for my digital piano.

Altogether, after the rest of the hardware and supplies were purchased, I spent about $80 - not to mention the time it took to design and fabricate the desk. It is certainly more satisfying having saved money by building something that is custom made, rather than spending a couple hundred dollars on a piece of furniture that might not be exactly fit your needs.

What is my next music/woodworking-related project? I am building a new electric guitar. When I was in high school I got the crazy idea to build an electric guitar. It took me nearly 4 years to finally finish the monstrosity and by then I had grown to hate my initial design. In addition, with the limited woodworking skills and tools I had, the neck I produced was unplayable. Having grown wiser in the years since graduating high school, I decided to build a new guitar but to order a neck crafted by a professional luthier. I had a neck custom built from Warmoth in Puyallup, WA. It was made to match the shape and contours of the neck on my only electric guitar which I’ve grown accustomed to over the past 11 years.

When the guitar is finished I’ll post a couple pictures so that anyone who’s interested may admire it.

-Daniel