OK, so it's time for me to update this thread. It's been a "feeler" type thread for far too long. I'm now fully advertising my services in this regard.
I build custom furniture in my spare time. Desks, tables (patio, coffee, dining room, etc.), stands, drawers, etc. etc. I'm not ultra professional yet, but my work has been steadily improving over the past few years and every build is better than the one before. So far I've built small stands just to lift a PC off the floor, all the way up to massive 2.6m desks with risers and lifts and cable trays and drawers to house a computer system and a full AV setup, and more.
I've also done speaker builds (speaker boxes from scratch - design, optimise the sound profile, and build, as well as seal and install crossovers and drivers, etc.), speaker stands, re-built destroyed plinths, etc.
I started with this:
This was just a PC stand to lift a PC off a floor to desk level. This also cemented my favourite way to build - steel base with wooden top. It's strong, it's modern and it's not too expensive. It also works, and it's stable.
This style (black steel base, stained and varnished/sealed pine top) continued for a few builds. I did several desks in that style, as well as a tall and narrow stand for under a TV, and a few other builds, all in a similar style. I also started expanding, and one of my more fun builds was refurbishing a set of plinths for under a set of speakers for a customer. He bought a very nice set of speakers from a guy, but the guy ruined the plinths. Full description later in this same thread, but in short, the before and afters are here. Before:
After:
Alongside this I also started working with different materials, mostly on request from clients. These included a Carb member who had a desk built by some backyard guy to totally stuffed up an otherwise very nice piece of wood. He reclaimed the wood, had a tabletop made and sent it to me to rebuild a desk for him. I told him the drawers and steel from the base was unusable (unfortunately) and it was TERRIBLE. The top itself was covered in holes and damage from the previous builder, and I fixed it with a lot of elbow grease, combined with a very nice black epoxy to fill the holes. The result was very nice:
I also expanded into using composite woods for tops, including 16mm melamine boards, which is usually only reserved for building kitchen cupboards. However, the large size of the sheets mean you can build large desks. And I mean LARGE, like this monstrosity, also for a Carbonite member. He loved this so much, he moved it down to Cape Town with him. It's built like a tank and I made it purely with the intention of holding weight (and allowing his inverter to fit underneath it).
16mm melamine isn't the only composite that works, though, and Postform tops can also make really nice desktops. This is the same stuff used for kitchen countertops, and that's actually their primary goal. They make fantastic desktops because they're fairly affordable, come in decent sizes, and they look good. That's evident in this build, also for a Carbonite member:
This was my first all-white build, and while I had my doubts, the customer insisted and it really turned out fantastic.
I've also delved into the solid wood side of things. This was another Carbie who approached me with a few solid boards, cut from old railway sleepers. This was a VERY interesting build where I learned a ton, but I loved every second of it. From plugging the screw holes, to filling in gaps and cracks and holes with epoxy, to learning how deep the tar penetrated into the wood, its was all over a crapload of fun. And I believe the end result looks STUNNING:
So yes, this is a quick showcase of what I've done, what I can do and what I want to do. I wanted to replace the first post here so people don't have to dig through the thread anymore to find pictures, it's now all on the first post.
So, if you want something, hit me up. I now my location says Pretoria on here, and Modimolle on my profile, but I charge minimal fees for delivery around Pretoria, if you need it. Otherwise, I have two driveways at my place and the N1 to here is an easy road to travel, so picking up is also not a train smash.
I build custom furniture in my spare time. Desks, tables (patio, coffee, dining room, etc.), stands, drawers, etc. etc. I'm not ultra professional yet, but my work has been steadily improving over the past few years and every build is better than the one before. So far I've built small stands just to lift a PC off the floor, all the way up to massive 2.6m desks with risers and lifts and cable trays and drawers to house a computer system and a full AV setup, and more.
I've also done speaker builds (speaker boxes from scratch - design, optimise the sound profile, and build, as well as seal and install crossovers and drivers, etc.), speaker stands, re-built destroyed plinths, etc.
I started with this:
This was just a PC stand to lift a PC off a floor to desk level. This also cemented my favourite way to build - steel base with wooden top. It's strong, it's modern and it's not too expensive. It also works, and it's stable.
This style (black steel base, stained and varnished/sealed pine top) continued for a few builds. I did several desks in that style, as well as a tall and narrow stand for under a TV, and a few other builds, all in a similar style. I also started expanding, and one of my more fun builds was refurbishing a set of plinths for under a set of speakers for a customer. He bought a very nice set of speakers from a guy, but the guy ruined the plinths. Full description later in this same thread, but in short, the before and afters are here. Before:
After:
Alongside this I also started working with different materials, mostly on request from clients. These included a Carb member who had a desk built by some backyard guy to totally stuffed up an otherwise very nice piece of wood. He reclaimed the wood, had a tabletop made and sent it to me to rebuild a desk for him. I told him the drawers and steel from the base was unusable (unfortunately) and it was TERRIBLE. The top itself was covered in holes and damage from the previous builder, and I fixed it with a lot of elbow grease, combined with a very nice black epoxy to fill the holes. The result was very nice:
I also expanded into using composite woods for tops, including 16mm melamine boards, which is usually only reserved for building kitchen cupboards. However, the large size of the sheets mean you can build large desks. And I mean LARGE, like this monstrosity, also for a Carbonite member. He loved this so much, he moved it down to Cape Town with him. It's built like a tank and I made it purely with the intention of holding weight (and allowing his inverter to fit underneath it).
16mm melamine isn't the only composite that works, though, and Postform tops can also make really nice desktops. This is the same stuff used for kitchen countertops, and that's actually their primary goal. They make fantastic desktops because they're fairly affordable, come in decent sizes, and they look good. That's evident in this build, also for a Carbonite member:
This was my first all-white build, and while I had my doubts, the customer insisted and it really turned out fantastic.
I've also delved into the solid wood side of things. This was another Carbie who approached me with a few solid boards, cut from old railway sleepers. This was a VERY interesting build where I learned a ton, but I loved every second of it. From plugging the screw holes, to filling in gaps and cracks and holes with epoxy, to learning how deep the tar penetrated into the wood, its was all over a crapload of fun. And I believe the end result looks STUNNING:
So yes, this is a quick showcase of what I've done, what I can do and what I want to do. I wanted to replace the first post here so people don't have to dig through the thread anymore to find pictures, it's now all on the first post.
So, if you want something, hit me up. I now my location says Pretoria on here, and Modimolle on my profile, but I charge minimal fees for delivery around Pretoria, if you need it. Otherwise, I have two driveways at my place and the N1 to here is an easy road to travel, so picking up is also not a train smash.
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