There are a lot of people that spend hundreds of dollars on the modern gaming desks. But some DIY geeks look to build a custom portable gaming desk and wish to know all about affordable gaming workstation computer desk with chairs and how to create one. If you are also considering to make one on your own, I suggest you get ready and read cautiously. Below, we are going to discuss how to make a custom shaped gaming desk with a practical step by step guide for you that will help you in saving hundreds of dollars.
Table of Contents
The criteria
First, we have to figure out how we want our desk to be. There are infinite possibilities and many fancy counters in the market from which you can take inspiration. But keep in mind that those desks are crafted by top not professionals who are experienced craftsmen. Considering that you are a person with relatively no knowledge about how to do this task, we are going to keep our criteria as simple as possible.
Large
First of all, it is going to be a long gaming desk with enormous monitors. So, it is better to get the one that is large and has around 60 inches tabletop. However, considering the computer you have and accessories you use along, which again has infinite possibilities, you may look to vary this space and take it up or bring the value down a bit to best suit space and PC you are using.
Cheap
The reason why many people want to learn how to build a small spaces gaming desk with keyboard tray is that they want to cut down on the cost. These individuals are willing to get things for cheap and considering that we are also using material that is available to you at a reasonable price. The stuff we are using here can be found easily at IKEA or Amazon or other stores around you. You might have a few things lying in your house too that you can use for building your custom PC.
Easy
We are not professional craftsmen, nor we possess any expert level knowledge of woodworks. So, we have to keep it simple and easy. The PC gaming desk we are going to build can be easily crafted by anyone willing to take a chance and put in some effort.
Colors
It depends on who will use the glass or folding computer desk; It’s a boy, girl or children. Here are some of the colors name which most gamers are using.
- White
- Black,
- Brown
- Grey
- Silver
- Red
- Blue
- and pink.
Ergonomic
Take a look at the writing desks available in the market. Sleek? Right? Now consider the computer and gaming desks around you. They are more ergonomic and inclined towards performance. But we are willing to mix the two types of counters and add the sleek looks of writing tables to the ergonomics and usefulness of the computer desks.
Stuff that we need
So, we decided upon the criteria of our desk and how we are going to build it. We need to consider that it is easy to make, has the usefulness of a computer desk, looks sleek, and can be created for as low as possible. Now, we need to start gathering the material and here is what we are going to use.
A surface
Get your hands on a good cover. There are a lot of individuals that might go for using the wooden door slabs. Apart from that, you can always consider the furniture available to you on cheap stores and digging deep into IKEA and Craigslist you might be able to find some good pieces between $50 to $150.
Do note that, as we stated, everyone is going to build his or her desk according to some specific requirements. These can be in terms of space that you have for the table and the area that you require for keeping your gaming desk. There is no point of getting 80 inches or a 72 inches slab if you are only going to expect 50 to 60 inches for the tabletop. But also consider the fact that you can always cut down 52 inches to 50 inches slab, but you won’t be able to add 2 inches to a 48 inches wooden piece and make it 50 (at least not without getting yourself in some trouble).
Moreover, you may also consider having a look at the surface and grain of the real solid wood. Once you get the door, there are three things, sanding, staining, and finishing. Now, going for the door, you may start thinking of the place where a handle lies. Well, it is easy to take out, and once you are left with the hole, you can either use it at the back side for cable management or hide it under a mat.
4 or 5 legs
Now, you are going to choose the legs which can be 4 or 5 depending on your drawers and their placement. Again, the craigslist and Ikea are good bets as you can find cheap and used antique furniture for sale. Do not take the other places out of the account from where you can get stuff. Maybe a used table from your neighbors might be a useless piece at your relative’s home or office. They are also cheap and can be found for anywhere between $5 to $15.
Some people are willing to pay a little extra for the adjustable legs. Well, it is a great bet because it adds up to ergonomics of your table and you can adjust it on various heights to make it more useful.
Getting drawers
I would never like to have a desk without a few drawers. Especially, if it is a gaming desk, with all the storage accessories including the headphones, external drives, flashes, and all necessary stuff at disposal, going without a few drawers is useless. Here, the filing cabinets and drawer sets that can match up to the height of your desk can come to your aid (we will talk about getting ideal drawers according to desk heights later in this article in step 2).
Secondhand markets are your friends for getting cheap furniture but be sure that you are buying good stuff at a low price. However, if you have some good bucks to spend, we would suggest you go and look at some new pieces.
What else?
So, the basics are all done, but we still need some stuff here to continue setup. The anti-sag stiffeners are recommended, especially for individuals that are looking to make bigger desks. They add up reinforcement to your tables as the bigger wooden pieces tend to sink under their weight.
If you are purchasing an unfinished door, you might have to go with wood stain and semi-gloss polyurethane for finishing and additional touches.
Some add-ons to your table can be the stands for individuals that do not have monitors with a height adjustment feature. Moreover, you can have mousepad and keyboard mat as well. We suggest you get some cable management as it helps a lot to keep your hanging cables in order and easily manageable.
And at last, the essential tools include a drill with a drive bit and a screwdriver.
Let’s Start Building Gaming Computer Desk
It is time now that we finally begin building our desk. Make sure that you have all the essential parts. We will do this job in 7 steps.
Step 1
If you have bought a finished door, you might want to skip to the next level. However, for the individuals that purchased cheap and unfinished doors as tabletops, start by sanding them. Stain them and add the finishing touches to it. The process is time taking, but it isn’t too much of technical work. Take help from people around you and if you are unaware of how to do it then some youtube tutorials ideas can be of great help. The task will take a couple of hours from your side plus a couple of days so that the coat gets all dried up.
Step 2
As you wait for the doors to dry up, you can proceed further and do some other tasks. Grab a chair and adjust it so that your feet are flat on the ground with your knees and elbows making nearly 90-degree angle. Make sure that you are sitting comfortably because you are building a desktop gaming desk and you are likely to spend at least a few hours each day in that position. So, it has to be comfortable. Once you got the position right, start measuring from the ground to the armrest. Then subtract the thickness of your tabletop (which in this case is the door) from the measurement (generally you have one to one and a half inch thick tabletops). Now, the size that you are left with is what the height of your table legs should be.
Also, you can use this measurement for your cabinets and drawers. This is the ideal height to fill up space with your cabinets and drawers. So, purchase the stuff accordingly.
Step 3
Now, the slab is ready, and we are flipping it upside down to make a blueprint of our build. One leg in each of the four corners, with an additional one at the center back for support, is a wise move. Make sure that if you are adding the cabinets and drawers, they won’t be disturbed by the new leg. If the leg is coming in the way, it is better to avoid adding it as in that case you can either go with the drawers and cabinet or with the extra leg for support (but with anti-sag braces, we can always go for drawers).
Use the anti-sag braces and put them at the center of the table. If they are also interrupting with your drawers, you might look towards finding a place for them slightly away from the center. Now, add the cable management stand or tray to any space that you have (easily accessible and manageable).
Step 4
So, we have discussed our blueprint and how is the time we start digging the holes. Drill the holes for all the accessories that you want to attach. Make sure that you take the right measurements and drill the holes appropriately. You might want to use a marker for marking and precise drilling. In case that you plan on adding screws straight away, you may end up cracking and splitting wood. Use elbow grease and drill as the driver to go at a fast pace. Attach everything apart from the legs themselves.
Step 5
Now, take the table to the inside of the house and place it where you want your table to be. Then, attach the legs to it. Adding legs before moving might make it troublesome for you to transfer it from one place to the other.
Step 6
Now, take the table to the inside of the house and place it where you want your table to be. Then, attach the legs to it. Adding legs prior to moving might make it troublesome for you to transfer it from one place to the other.
Step 7
Once you have double checked the stability and durability of your desk, start placing your gaming computer over it. Your homemade PC gaming desk is complete now, and all you have to do is to bring your dual monitor computer and accessories, set it up nicely, put the cables at the right place, and begin your gaming.
Final words
So, this is probably the easiest and simplest solution to how to build the cool gaming desk for the low price. Do note that there are countless possibilities and add-ons as you are making your computer desk. You can use the keyboard and mouse tray that are available in the market and can be attached to the underside of your table using screws to add up to the ergonomics of what you have built. You can always go with some extra legs and wooden slabs to add up stuff to your table.
The best thing about building your DIY gaming desk this way is that you can customize it easily to fit your skills and ideas available. If you got the time and are willing to try out something, we recommend you to work on this template.