How to join Specrite timber panels for desk?

[ssss]

I am thinking about renovating my home office, but unsure whether it is feasible to join Specrite panels into long desks. 

The image below describes the general idea I have. Essentially I want desk panels running along the length of two walls, that connected to base cabinets. These would run 3200 x 2900. These panels - https://www.bunnings.com.au/specrite-2400-x-900-x-33mm-brown-acacia-multi-use-timber-panel_p0472677  look ideal, but since the maximum length is 2400, I would need multiple.

My question is, would it be possible to connect these with biscuits or dowels and have them look smooth? 

Thank you.

 

[JacobZ]

Hi @ssss,

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community, it is fantastic to have you with us.

It's a pretty simple answer. Yes, you could join them with dowels or biscuits and have it look smooth.

The main thing you need to check is that the biscuit holes line up perfectly. You can do this by simply setting the panels against each other, then drawing a straight line across both at the point where you want to install the biscuit. You would then separate them and use a square to continue that mark down around the face where you are cutting the biscuit join.

You could use an Ozito 1010W Biscuit Joiner to cut your holes, put a No.20 Wood Joining Biscuit in each hole with some wood glue on the biscuit and the face of the timber panel.

If you wanted to, you could also use a pocket hole jig to put some pocket hole screws through the join on the underside of the bench. This will help to clamp the joint tight.

Any minor imperfections can be tidied up with some sanding and a bit of filler that you can create by mixing the sawdust with some wood glue.

Let me know what you think and if you have further questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Jacob