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A Ditty about Desks and Details

9/26/2018

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I have casually mentioned in past posts about our "self-imposed deadline" for finishing the basement project, which includes my new ham shack. I figured now is as good a time as any to share what that deadline is - the date our 3rd future operator joins us! We're expecting a baby boy, and we are now in the window of possibility [ed. he was born the 27th!]. The goal was to have the basement project done before he is born, and we "might" make that goal, depending on the timing he decides:-)

With that in mind, here's the progress update...

Since my last update, I have finished everything in the big room except for the shoe molding and a couple transition strips between the new floor and a couple doorways. With a bit of luck, by the time you read this, I will also have finished that, and we'll have started moving in furniture:-)

Now - on to the part you mostly likely came here for - the shack progress! The update since last week is mostly around details and the desk:

Finished making the additional slabs for the desktop
Attached them in place
Stain/Poly applied (I used Minwax Polyshades for speed and simplicity)
Acoustical Foam put in all vertical corners, and the whole way around the wall/ceiling corner
Baseboard Trim installed

The next bits in here will be the shoe molding, a couple T moldings and such for the floor, a board to act as the "backsplash" for the desk, and then moving in furniture! I'll also be adding more acoustical foam before too long, but I want to get all the furniture etc. in the space before I decide how much additional echo-dampening I actually need, since things like the couch will go a long way to cutting down on the reverb effect in the room :-) Here's some pictures, with some quick captions of the things to note....enjoy!

As a parting note - since we are in "any day now" mode with the baby, if I disappear for a couple weeks without a new post, you'll know what's up:-)

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Like, Totally Floored Man!

9/19/2018

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I just recently finished putting down about 830 square feet of flooring! The largest portion of this was in what will be our new rec room, but a small portion of it was the very important bit - the ham shack!

For the floor, we wanted something simple and quick, that also looked pretty decent when it was done, so Pergo to the rescue! We used their Outlast + series, and were very specific to follow their recommendations for the type of vapor barrier for our application, since this is a basement and I don't want any trouble :-)

With the floor in place, and the desktop partly built, the room is really starting to look like a ham shack...

Oh, and for anyone who hasn't been reading along for the last few months, and is wondering what that hole in the wall is for.....

The recessed fridge also has a secret purpose. I can pull the fridge out, go through the hole, and there is an empty space large enough for me to stand in. That space is where the conduit runs up to the attic start, so I can go in here to work and pull cables up and down in the future. I've been trying to plan ahead during this whole thing :-)

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A place to work

9/12/2018

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I'd like to share another bit of my shack project with you - the desk for my operating position. For reference, here's the space before I started building the desk:

The look I'm ultimately, going for is more on the rustic side - think "old English pub turned into a radio studio" :-) Anyway, for a desktop to match that look I waffled around with ideas, but ultimately wanted something pretty beefy - like maybe butcher block or old thick reclaimed boards. Ready-made butcher block would have been pricey, and I didn't see any old torn-down barns in my area in the last few weeks, so I decided to make something. Of all the potential materials, I ended up just getting a bunch of 2x6 boards.

I started by ripping about 1/4" off both sides using my table saw, so they would have square edges. After that, I borrowed the YL's kreg jig to make pocket holes, so that I could glue them up, and then use screws to pull them together tight.

This type of lumber is often pretty green (i.e. not fully cured) so it can have a tendency to twist funny as it dries. Since I'm going for rustic, I don't mind if goes slightly askew while it dries, but to try to minimize it, I screwed some steel angle onto the bottom, to keep things relatively straight while the glue set, and I did the sanding etc. to prep the top.

This is the first of two of these slabs to make up the desk area. It was a couple days before I had a chance to get back to it, so the glue was good and cured by the time I flipped it over and started sanding the top. I started with 60 grit paper in my sander to knock everything down to the same level, and then worked my up to 80, 100, 120, and finally 220 grit paper. The second slab has just started getting its first sanding with the 60 grit :-)

I'm pretty pleased with how the top came out after sanding. Once it's stained and sealed I think it will give me just the look I'm after.

Next, I needed a frame to mount the desk on! Luckily, I though ahead and put lumber in the walls where this was going to mount, so I have some very strong anchoring in the wall. For the frame I went with 1x3 pine. With the frame in place you can really start to see how the operating desk will kind of flow around the corners, and blend in with what will be the workbench area, to the right.

One final note - most ham shacks are probably going to want deeper desktops, but in my case, the equipment will be recessed in the wall, accessible from the rear by the doorway to the left. For this reason I only wanted my desktop wide enough that when I rest my arms on it, my finger tips just hit the wall (where the buttons will be!) For me and the way I sit, that worked out to be about 20."

Bye for now!

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Progress Update (In Pictures!)

9/5/2018

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It's been a busy couple weeks here at home! We're trying to move fast on our basement project, which by default means we're also moving fast on the shack progress. I figured a quick and fun way to share the progress would be to throw up some of the progress pictures, and let the pictures and captions do the talking. Some of these pictures are from the main rec room, but since the two projects are intertwined as one big home project, I figured I'd share everything.

The last time I gave an update, the drywall was hung and finished: