wardrobe to computer workstation

john was in need of a nice computer wardrobe, and was very frustrated that all the solutions were either too small and shoddy or way too expensive. after some inspiration from this site, he hacks the leksvik 3 door wardrobe into a computer workstation.

he says, "i permanently mounted the main bay shelf at approx 30 inch height and placed horizontal supports under it to give it good support to hold the monitor and be the main work area. i then mounted an adjustable keyboard tray to finish off the main bay.

the smaller bay had 4 shelves in it. i wanted this bay for peripherals, and wanted pull out shelves for easy access. this was accomplished by installing 3 of the shelves permanently with drawer slides i purchased at a local home improvement big box. i ripped the 3 shelves down 2 inches in width, saving 1" of the width rip for an offset that i mounted to the rightmost side of the wardrobe, and then mounted the drawer slides to that offset which allowed the sliding shelves to clear the doors when they are open.

i used a hole saw to cut 1.5"d holes behind each peripheral shelf, and two in the main bay, one above the work surface and one below it. i cabled in power and USB to each peripheral shelf and was ready to go.

all told the cost was about $70 in random hardware including the keyboard tray for the mod. assembly was a snap. the main unit took about an hour to set up, and the mods took about another 2-3.

i ran into some difficulty with the slide offsets splitting from the wood screws. the reclaimed pine is very sensitive, and i found that countersinking for the screw head is mandatory and solves the splitting problem. tools i used were my trusty dewalt cordless screwdriver, table saw for ripping the shelves down, and a miter saw for cross cutting the the main work shelf supports.

this could all be done with just a manual screwdriver and a hand or hand power saw, but be sure to take appropriate measures to minimize chipout of the shelves if you do."