After finishing the inlay, I focused my attention on the curve of the desk. The desk couldn’t be a simple rectangle unless it was 24 inches wide. I want the desk to be 30 inches wide, but because of the layout of my office, I would run the risk of stabbing myself in the leg every time I walked into the room. So, I decided to make the right side of the desk only 24 inches wide and then curve the rest out to the full 30 inches. This will make more sense when you see it installed. So, how did I make said curve? I’m glad you asked.
I drew a curve on some MDF and rough cut it. And I mean really rough. Then, I used a file and my sander to smooth things out. Once I was satisfied, I traced the curve onto the desk and rough-cut it there. Then, using the template as a guide, I flushed the desk curve with the aid of a flush-trim router bit. At this point, I was left with a solid slab of plywood with a curve cut on one end. Unfortunately, a plywood edge is ugly and so it needs to be banded.
Sometimes it’s enough to just get the heat-activated edging material and iron it onto the edge of your plywood. That isn’t going to work in this case because I want the underside of the desk to have a bevel, mostly for asthetic purposes. So, I’ve got a 5/8″ x 1.5″ piece of maple hardwood that I’m going to edge the desk with. This is easier said than done.
I started out by clamping the piece of hardwood to see if it would even bend around the curve. And for the most part, it did. However, I can’t settle for “mostly” right. Plus, I’m concerned about the wood ripping itself apart once I take the clamps off. Luckily, I have some tricks up my woodworker’s sleeve. Stay Tuned!