Back in 2014 I built my manually operated sit/stand desk. It served me well for a decade, but because it was inside an armoire style cabinet, it had limited desktop space. As I put more hardware on the desk, it became harder to lift and lower. So I eventually grew lazy about any standing.
I needed to build something bigger and better. I bought the highest rated, lowest cost power desk that I could find. I bought the Famisky 48″x25″ power standing desk. The top was made out of particle board and laminate that I would discard. All I really wanted were the legs and control mechanism.
The Cypress I used for the top came from my backyard. I had two large Cypress tress cut down in 2019. I then cut slabs with a chainsaw. From the slabs I still have left, I found two that would work.
These slabs were a bit long and unwieldy, they were too long for my bench. So I setup my flattening jig on some sawhorses. This setup works pretty well. It is not terribly precise, but does allow me to keep the mess out in the driveway, instead of burying my workshop in wood chips. I use four Stanley Fat Max saw horses and a pair of 2x6s on the sides to support the router sled.
To keep the slab supported I lay down 1″ iron pipe (from my pipe clamps) The pipes want to roll so I clamp the end pipes down using Powertec Tracksaw Track Guide Rail Clamps to keep them from rolling.
Multiple passes of the router using a flattening bit had the slabs ready for the next step.
I found a line art dolphin online and printed it out big.
Not needing a large jug of epoxy I went with Amazing Clear Cast epoxy because it works well and comes in smaller quantities.
Since the dolphin will need precision to look like the dolphin and the water needs no precision, the water gets poured first. I used some Tuck tape to create the sides. The trick to avoiding leaks is to pour just a wee bit the first pour and let it harden. That seals the holes. I used Blue painters tape to mask off the area being poured, and I used plasticene modelling clay to keep the blue water from filling in where the dolphin will go.
I never thought I needed a palm router, until I got one. This Bauer works quite well. I used it freehand to define the shape if the dolphin.
Relatively standard glue-up. I used some shop made clamping cauls to keep the two boards flat while I clamped them together. I had to go light on the pipe clamps so they would not crush the live edge. I also used a doweling jig to put in three dowels, just to help with alignment
I mixed black and white pigment to get gray. It came out a lot darker than it appeared in the cup.
I made this sled for my palm router out of popsicle sticks glued together with CA glue. The trick is to have the bottom of the sled start behind the router bit. This lets you hit and remove any epoxy that stands proud of the wood. I put a piece of blue tape on each side of the base plate, then another piece tape on each side of the sled. Then I use CA glue to stick the two pieces of tape together. That way I can remove the sled from the router base when I am done with it.
Here you can see how I have moved the router progressively forward over the epoxy to bring it down to level with the wood. This method has the potential for errors to stack up. If the bit is to high above the wood, each pass of the router will get progressively higher. If the bit is just below the surface of the wood, it will get progressively lower and will dish out the area. So it pays to take time to get the bit to be exactly the same height as the wood.
In total I did 5 coats of the pure Dark Tung oil over the span of a week. I was fortunate, the weather provided me several sunny days in a row, so I was able to use my sun and tung method of wood finishing.
The power desk I bought had a cheap particle board top that looked … OK. The system has 3 memory points you can set and it works smoothly and quietly. The entire desk was more affordable that just trying to buy the legs separately.
To mount the legs to the new top, I moved the legs out toward the ends to make it look a little better balanced.
I am very happy with how this desk turned out. I spend 8+ hrs per day on for working from home, and it makes me happy to look at it.