Single Sheet Plywood Desk

Originally posted August 2, 2014 by Brad.

When my wife bought a new computer, we needed a desk that could be built quickly, fit neatly between two bedroom windows, and keep the room feeling open. The goal was not fancy furniture. It was a simple, useful workstation that could be made from one sheet of plywood.

The finished desk has an open frame, a lower shelf for equipment, and enough structure to be surprisingly sturdy once the parts are glued and nailed together.

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Watch The Build

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Design

I started by drawing the desk in Google SketchUp. That gave me a quick way to check the overall size, make sure the desk would fit between the two bedroom windows, and work out the shelf placement before cutting any plywood.

The lower shelf was planned around the things we actually needed to store: the satellite receiver and the PC tower. Keeping those pieces off the floor made the desk more useful without adding a lot of bulk to the design.

Cutting The Sheet

Once the design was laid out, I printed a cut sheet showing all of the parts on a virtual 4 x 8 sheet of plywood. Having the cuts planned ahead of time made the build much easier to follow and helped keep the single-sheet layout organized.

To get the plywood home, I had Lowe's split the sheet into two pieces so it would fit in my FJ Cruiser. From there, I could break the parts down in the shop.

For the larger pieces, I used a straight board clamped to the plywood as a guide for the circular saw. It is a simple setup, but it makes a big difference when a full panel or half sheet is too awkward to handle safely on the table saw.

After the main panels were cut, I ripped the 2 inch wide plywood strips used for the legs, shelf supports, and tabletop supports. These narrow strips make up most of the desk's frame and give the build its open look.

Several of those strips needed to be cut to matching lengths, so I set up a stop for each repeated dimension. That let me cut the frame parts quickly and consistently instead of measuring every piece one at a time.

Assembly

Assembly was intentionally simple. I used glue and an air nailer to put the desk together, working through the frame, supports, shelf, and top until the full shape came together.

For such a quick project, the finished desk turned out much sturdier than I expected. It is the kind of simple furniture build that makes me want to keep experimenting with plywood, clean shapes, and practical one-sheet designs.