Portable Writing Desk

The Correct Angle

Next, glue the top in place on the back and divider, leaving 3/8" overhang at the back and two sides. After that's dry, glue the interior dividers in place.You're now ready to cut the angle on the two sides. Use the illustrations to locate the beginning and ending points of the angles, and connect the points to define the angle. Use your band saw or jigsaw and cut both pieces, but cut wide of the line to leave room to clean up the saw marks. I've found the easiest way to make the angles perfectly (and equal on both pieces) is to clamp the two pieces together and use a plane to smooth the two edges. Take your time and keep the plane perpendicular to the pieces. With the sides angled, clamp the front piece and the center partition between the sides without glue as shown in the photo. The top edge of the front will stick up above the sides. Make sure the bottom edges are flush, then mark the angle of the sides on the front piece on both sides. Unclamp the box and connect the angled marks on both ends of the front piece on the front and back faces. This is your next task with a plane. Shave away the material, checking the angle as you go, until you have matched the bevel to the sides. Bevel the lid to match the angle formed by the sides and the front edge of the top. Lay the lid in place and transfer the angle to the lid from the top using a ruler. Then use your block plane to bevel the edge.

Before you can put the box together, sand the pieces inside and out with #100-, #150- and #220-grit sandpaper.

Ready to Glue
You’re now ready to assemble the box. This can be a little tricky. The main box is simple enough, with the front, center divider and two sides making a simple frame. Test the joints to make sure they are tight, then go ahead and glue up those four pieces. Make sure the bottom edges of each piece are all flush. Also, check to make sure the frame is close to square after you apply clamp pressure.

While the glue in the other corners is drying or after the clamps are off, glue the back in place to the left side. Because this is attached at only one end, take care to clamp it squarely to the side.

After the glue is dry, carefully turn the desk over and glue the top (not the lid) in place. Allow the top to overhang the sides and back by 3/8″. The front edge of the top will extend slightly past the divider. Make sure that distance is the same on both sides.

Because wood moves with changes in humidity, the bottom needs to expand from front to back without breaking the box. This is solved by screwing the bottom to the box through elongated screw holes.

The inside dividers are next. The three pieces simply are glued in place with butt joints. Cut the pieces to fit, marking their locations, then glue them in place. The spacing shown in the illustrations leaves plenty of room for pens and smaller items.

The Lid and the Bottom
The lid is pretty simple, but there are two things to do before adding the hinge. The first is to add the lip to the front of the lid. Before gluing the lip on, use a small (1/8″-radius) roundover bit in your router to shape the top edges of the lid sides, the back edge and sides of the top piece, and all four edges of the bottom. Then sand the lip and lid, and glue it in place, flushing the bottom edges of both.

Second, with the lip in place, the back edge of the lid needs to be beveled to match the square edge of the top. Lay the lid on the angled surfaces of the desk and carry the angle over to the lid. Make marks on both sides and use your block plane to cut the angle as you did with the front.

Make the drawer using the same rabbet joints as the desk. The two sides fit between the front and back, while the bottom is glued in place between the four pieces.

The bottom is held in place with screws and no glue. Because of the bottom’s grain direction, the piece will expand and contract front-to-back with changes in humidity. If the bottom is glued in place, this could tear apart the desk, because the frame above won’t move in the same direction.

To avoid this, drill elongated holes for the screws using your drill press. Three overlapping holes should be sufficient. Then countersink the holes and attach the bottom, predrilling the holes to avoid splitting the sides.

The lid is held in place with a simple brass continuous hinge. Predrill the holes in the top and lid to avoid splitting.

Adding the Drawer
With the desk complete, the last step is making and fitting the drawer. The four sides should have already been cut and rabbeted, so it’s a simple assembly.

Before gluing, check the drawer fit by putting the sides between the front and back, and test the drawer in the desk. The drawer should slide with a little room to spare. If it’s too wide you can reduce the width on the front and back until you have a good fit.

I added a simple Shaker knob to the drawer, but I didn’t want it to stick out too far from the side of the box. So I cut a 1-1/4″-diameter recess 1/4″ deep in the drawer front. A Forstner bit in my drill press made this a simple task.

The knob actually came with a tenon, but because this drawer will hold lightweight objects I trimmed the tenon off and simply glued the knob in the recess.

You’re now ready to glue the drawer together with the bottom captured between the four sides.

You may have noticed that the depth of the drawer is shorter than the space available. I wanted to make sure the drawer front ended flush with the desk sides when closed, and I also wanted the drawer to stay closed while the desk was being carried. A magnet and a screw solved both problems.

I installed a #6 steel flathead screw to the center of the drawer back, then attached a rare earth magnet (lots of strength in a very small package) to the screw.

I put a dab of cyanoacrylate glue on the magnet and pushed the drawer in place in the desk. After the glue has set, you can pull the drawer out (leaving the magnet in place) and adjust the screw depth until the drawer is flush to the side.

A Simple Finish
Cherry is a great wood to work with because it can be left natural and it’s rich color will slowly intensify to a deeper red over time. If you’re impatient, you can go ahead and add a stain to hurry the process, but I recommend letting time do its job.

In fact, sunlight hastens the process. If you set the completed box so it gets reasonably even sunlight for a couple of days, you’ll see the color deepen pretty quickly.

A clear finish is still a good idea. I used a couple of coats of linseed oil, allowing each coat to dry fully, sanding lightly with #220-grit paper between coats. Wax would be another good option, or you simply could use a spray lacquer finish to protect the piece.

The last bit of work is to add a simple catch to hold the lid closed. I used a simple friction catch, but you may want to add a lock to keep things secure as well as in place.

You’re now ready to take your correspondence on the road … or maybe just as far as your back yard underneath a tree. PW

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David Thiel is senior editor of Popular Woodworking.