How to Make a Desk From Lumber Yard Scraps

After cutting lumber to standard sizes, lumber yards often sell or give away leftover scraps.

Adding a desk to a room gives you a place to work at home without taking up space at the kitchen table. Buying a new desk is an expensive purchase. You could choose to build your own with lumber from the hardware store. If you have access to lumber yard scraps, however, you can build your own desk in a weekend at a fraction of the cost of new wood or buying a premade desk.

Things You'll Need

• Circular saw
• 36-by-20-by-1-inch scrap lumber
• 2 pieces scrap lumber, 30-by-20-by-1-inch
• 36-by-31-by-1-inch scrap lumber
• Medium-grit sandpaper
• Wood glue
• Hammer
• 2-inch nails
• Wood putty
• Paint
• Stain
• Paintbrush

Instructions

1. Cut the scrap lumber into pieces sized for the desk’s construction using a circular saw. Cut one piece so it's 36 by 20 by 1 inch for the top. Cut two pieces of 30 by 20 by 1 inch and one piece that's 36 by 31 by 1 inch for the back. Sand all sides of the four pieces with medium-grit sandpaper to remove rough edges.

2. Place the top piece on your work surface, resting it on its longer 1-inch-wide side. Place the two side pieces at both ends of the top piece. Rest the 1-inch sides of the side pieces against the top piece, making sure the edges are flush. Apply wood glue where the pieces meet. Hammer 2-inch nails through the top of the top piece into the 1-inch edges of the side pieces. Place one nail every 5 inches for a total of four nails per side piece.

3. Place the back piece of wood on top of the side and top piece. Line up the edges and apply wood glue where the pieces meet. Hammer one 2-inch nail every 6 inches around the edge of the back piece into the 1-inch sides of the top piece and side pieces.

4. Fill the nail holes with wood putty. Let the putty dry according to manufacturer’s directions. Once the putty dries, paint or stain the surface of the desk. Let the paint or stain dry overnight before setting it up on the side pieces and using the completed desk.

Tips & Warnings

• If you want the desk different dimensions, adjust your wood measurements accordingly.

• Check with your local lumber yard for scraps. Opt for larger scraps for easy construction. If you can only obtain scraps smaller than the dimensions needed for the pieces, however, use several smaller pieces and attach them together with wood glue and nails.

• If needed, use a wood plane for uneven scrap pieces to make them useable.