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DIY Plywood Desk

May 30, 2018 By Erin Spain 6 Comments

I finally built a thing! Ha. It’s been way too long since I’ve built anything and this DIY plywood desk project has been on my to do list since last year. This is an easy build and a great project for beginners, and as always, you can customize it to your taste by painting or staining it whatever color you choose. I could have gotten this project done way faster, but my little Jonah keeps me on my toes 24/7. He currently has a broken elbow which he got on Mother’s Day! But slowly but surely, I finally finished. (P.S. Did you know that a banana peel looks like a fossil when you leave it under a nightstand for who knows how long. We discovered this when moving furniture in the boys’ room. What is it with boys?)

Learn how to build a DIY Plywood Desk! All it takes is a few basic tools and materials.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

Materials I used:

  • 1 4×8 sheet of plywood (I used Purebond maple)
  • Circular Saw
  • Kreg Rip Cut
  • Hairpin legs (I bought these from Amazon and they can be purchased in custom lengths.)
  • Wood Glue
  • Drill
  • Orbital Sander
  • Minwax Polycrylic in Satin finish
  • Paintbrush
  • 2 inch screws
  • Countersinking drill bit
  • 12 L Brackets

Learn how to build a DIY Plywood Desk! All it takes is a few basic tools and materials.

How to Build a DIY Plywood Desk

Step 1

First, cut your plywood to the following dimensions:

(2) pieces at 4 ft. x 18″

(24) pieces at 18″ x 4 1/2″

Learn how to build a DIY Plywood Desk! All it takes is a few basic tools and materials.

Step 2

Sand. And sand some more. And then sand even more.

Learn how to build a DIY Plywood Desk! All it takes is a few basic tools and materials.

Step 3

I knew that I wanted the middle slot in the desk to be 11 inches wide (wide enough for a notebook or folder but not too wide), and I wanted a total of 3 slots. I made 4 stacks of 6 pieces of plywood. I originally started with 4 pieces, but decided I liked it chunkier so I added two pieces of scrap in the middle of each stack. I didn’t mind that those pieces were shorter since you’re not going to see them from the back anyway, but if I was doing it over, I would have cut them all to the same length. I glued and screwed them all together, countersinking my screws as I went along. This allowed each piece of plywood to lay flush against each other.

Step 4

Once I had all of the pieces of plywood attached, I sanded them again just to even out the edges. It’s hard to get them perfectly aligned and straight since there are sometimes length variations of a fraction of an inch, and when you’re lining them up side by side, it’s noticeable. So I tried to sand them down to the same height.

Step 5

I flipped what would be the top of my desk over, and attached each block of plywood using L brackets. I knew I would be screwing them from underneath when I added the bottom of the desk, and I didn’t want screws to show on the top, so I opted to go with this method of attaching them. For added strength you can use wood glue too. I used 2 L brackets on each side of each plywood stack. Your stacks should look like this when you’re done:

Learn how to build a DIY Plywood Desk! All it takes is a few basic tools and materials.

Step 6

Working on the desk upside down, I added the bottom (which was on top at this point), and then screwed it onto the plywood stacks. I didn’t get photos of this part because I was also trying to film video which I hope to have posted to YouTube soon!

Step 7

Lastly, I added the hairpin legs. I had to use some shorter screws than what they came with in a few places because they would have poked through the plywood. I actually just used some screws I had left over from my L brackets and they worked great.

Step 8

Now it’s time for the finish! I used Minwax Polycrylic in Satin (I like it since it’s water-based).

And here it is in the boys’ room now. I ordered a white chair just like this one and it hasn’t arrived yet, but I’m debating which one I will end up using.

Learn how to build a DIY Plywood Desk! All it takes is a few basic tools and materials.

Learn how to build a DIY Plywood Desk! All it takes is a few basic tools and materials.

Learn how to build a DIY Plywood Desk! All it takes is a few basic tools and materials.

Learn how to build a DIY Plywood Desk! All it takes is a few basic tools and materials.

Learn how to build a DIY Plywood Desk! All it takes is a few basic tools and materials.

You can find the Boba Fett print here.

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If you liked this post, you might also like these:

  • DIY Aztec Patterned Storage Bench
  • IKEA TARVA Hack
  • Coffee Bar Makeover
  • Or check out my Project Gallery

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Thanks for visiting!

-Erin

Filed Under: DIY, Furniture, Home & DIY Blog, Kid Stuff, Popular Posts, Tutorials

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Comments

  1. [email protected] says

    May 30, 2018 at 10:50 pm

    The desk looks great, though what I really couldn’t take my eyes off of is the Boba Fett print! So cool!

    Reply
    • Erin Spain says

      June 1, 2018 at 9:45 pm

      Thanks, Ashley! We love the Boba Fett too! Found it on Etsy.

      Reply
  2. Laurie says

    June 1, 2018 at 9:38 am

    I really love this Erin! I was just saying the other day that I want a desk for Noah for his homework station. This would be perfect! I don’t have any of the tools you are using, but I am sure maybe my dad does or an uncle. Since you said this is a good beginner project maybe I could make one. I love the pin legs too and the chair. Thanks for sharing. Btw..my Noah keeps me on my toes 24/7 too.

    Reply
    • Erin Spain says

      June 1, 2018 at 9:45 pm

      Thanks so much, Laurie!

      Reply
  3. Corrine says

    August 17, 2018 at 3:21 am

    Love your Diy plywood desk, it is amazing! I’m working on this type of desk now!

    Reply
    • Erin Spain says

      August 17, 2018 at 8:29 pm

      Thank you!

      Reply

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