I always wanted to have one of those cool workspaces you see in the stock photos (like the one on my site). But if I’m on my laptop, I’m usually downstairs and slouching on my sofa, in front on a TV… But I still wanted to try to make a decent workspace in the guest room so maybe someone will use it.
I went to my favorite wood shop, Austin Hardwoods, in Santa Ana. I looked through a bunch of black walnut, teak and other woods. I was thinking of how I’d have to glue some boards together without owning a jointer or planner or even knowing how to use either tool. I was a little discouraged, but on my way out, I found this board.
It’s Burmese Padauk – at least that’s what the sticker says. I’ve never heard of it before so I Googled it and liked what I saw. This piece was pretty expensive and I’m not sure how it looks to most people, but I envisioned it looking great. There was something that told me to buy it, so I listened – something I’ve been trying to do more of too.
I used a hand planner that caused more problems. I’m not very skilled with these and it took out some big chunks of wood here and there. So, I sanded it a lot. I think something like 100/120/180/220/400 grit sandpaper.
I decided to try this Sam Maloof finish. People say you can make the same thing for less using a 1/3 of this, a 1/3 of that and 1/3 of something else I forgot. It’s a little pricy too, but this quickly became my favorite finish I’ve used. It gave the wood a nice color, brought out the grain, and provided a layer of protection that’s very flat.
I also rubbed it down with Renaissance wax that has great reviews on Amazon. I haven’t been blown away by this stuff, but I haven’t used it on much else either.
I’m very pleased with how it turned out though:
And the workspace pics are never complete without a Mac:
