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Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @kidphantom1. It's sensational to have you join us and many thanks for your question on creating a computer desk.
Thanks for the detailed description. From what you’ve written, it’s a bit hard to fully visualise the desk and exactly how everything will fit together. Some of the measurements and cuts could be interpreted in different ways, so a simple sketch of your proposed design would really help us understand how you plan to construct the L-shaped desk and position the computer tower.
Regarding your construction questions: you will definitely need to use screws in addition to glue. Glued joints alone won’t be strong enough for a desk that will hold a computer and other equipment; they can snap under weight or movement. You don’t want screws going through the top surface, so the best approach is to use L-brackets underneath the desktop to attach the legs and side panels. Make sure the screws aren’t so long that they penetrate through the panels. This setup will add significant rigidity to your joints while still keeping it fairly easy to disassemble if needed. Dowels are also an option, but typically you can get away with screws and brackets, which can be less fuss to install.
For connecting the L parts of the desktop, using 10mm dowels with wood glue should work, and the same goes for the legs and tower holder with smaller dowels (6–8mm) plus occasional glue. Just ensure your dowel holes are accurately aligned so the pieces fit snugly.
As for the back support panel that won’t reach the ground, that’s generally fine. Its main purpose is to tie the legs and desktop together and provide lateral stability, so it doesn’t necessarily need to sit on the floor. However, if it were to it would add support to the back, so perhaps a small legs there would help.
Regarding finishing, staining the panels a darker brown is a good idea. It will help the pine match more closely with the beech laminated desktop and hide minor marks and dirt. A clear coat or poly finish over the stain will also help protect the surfaces from spills or scratches.
Budget-wise, your panel and material choices seem reasonable for keeping under $500, especially if you can repurpose offcuts where possible.
If you can sketch out your design with all measurements and how the pieces join together, it’ll be much easier to give more precise guidance on dowel placement, screw positions, and any additional bracing that might be needed. I'd also be happy to create a rendering so we can take a closer look at it.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Mitchell
Thank you so much for the quick reply @MitchellMc! I created this sketch to help me visualise what the desk would look like from the top and front. Please let me know if you can't read any of numbers and I can let you know what they actually say.
A question I do have; should I use L-brackets AND dowels or would you recommend just the L-brackets? And if so, what L-brackets should I use along with what kind of screw should I use? I'm not opposed to doing more work if it means a sturdier and better overall finish to the desk.
Would you recommend poly finish over clear coat? What kind of poly finish or clear coat would you recommend?
Please let me know if you'd like me to do a quick sketch of any other parts of it and I'll be happy to.
You’d probably get away with just using L-brackets rather than dowels @kidphantom1, but it really depends on how strong you’d like the joints to be. L-brackets with a good quality wood glue will give you plenty of strength for most setups. If you expect to move the desk around often, then adding dowels would give you a bit of extra durability and help keep things tight over time.
For the brackets, something around 50mm x 50mm would be ideal for most of the joints. I’d suggest fixing them under the desktop and along the side panels, and also in the section where the computer will sit. That extra bracing adds a lot of rigidity to the frame. Use screws suited to the thickness of your material — generally atleast 5mm shorter than the timber thickness so they don’t punch through.
On the finish, polyurethane is essentially a clear coat. A water-based polyurethane (like Cabothane Clear) will give you a natural look without yellowing too much, while an oil-based version will add warmth but can darken over time. If you’re happy with the colour of the timber, you can just apply the poly directly. If you’d like to stain, do that first and then seal with the clear coat on top for protection.
Your sketch looks great. It really helps to visualise the build. I've put together some renderings for you.
Mitchell
Hi @kidphantom1,
That sounds fine. You'd want the countersunk timber screws as the other are for metal. I'd jump up to these 20mm screws for the top. The coating on the screw doesn't make much of a difference. It's mainly just the look of them.
Mitchell
