Comment by elzr | Hacker News Reader

Comment by elzr | Hacker News Reader

Parent Full thread

It's veneer, I guess. I'm not very familiar with carpentry vocabulary but here in Mexico they call the technique "tambor" (drum): sheets of cedar enclosing a simple skeleton of cheap wood. Solid wood would have been more expensive and too heavy (this one's heavy enough!).

Nothing yet that I would have done differently about this desk: it's barely my second day with it and I'm just happily overwhelmed by the response its getting from the interwebs.

That said, if I had to design a desk all over again, I would probably do a standing desk. That NYT article on sitting as a lethal activity was definitely the last straw for committing to a future with less sitting.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/magazine/mag-17sitting-t.h...

The problem is that I haven't yet the slightest clue into how to make an elegant standing desk, all the designs I've seen are pretty terrible.

Thanks for your kind remark :)

i thought about getting a standing desk as well. what do you don't like on standing desks like the steelcase activa lift [1]? (other than the quite outrageous price ;)) what would you change?

[1]: http://www.steelcase.eu/en/products/category/desks-tables/sy...

For one thing, of course I would add a slot and back drawer, like my current desk ;) And I'm much more fond of wood than steel.

I'm guessing the sloping common in old standing desks [1] is a good idea. Legroom requirements are very different too and that would be interesting, I would probably continue the back drawer all the way to the front... keeping it open of course (I don't like lids or movable parts).

[1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:031030-F-2828D-166_screen....

I also think some sort of (metal?) foot bar would be a good idea. Perhaps even have two foot bars? One for resting a leg when you're standing, one higher and further back for when you're sitting on a high stool, as if to simulate a higher floor?

The main perplexity I've been wrestling with is how to have it be both standing and sitting without moving parts. Total pipe dream... or maybe that second rest bar is part of the answer?

It also seems like displays need to be somewhat higher than on a sitting desk. But it's hard to have several levels and still keep it elegant...

Anyway, I'm getting excited already! Perhaps I'll sell this desk and make another one before the end of the year. :)

Do you ship to the US? :)

Reply on news.ycombinator.com