--- title: 'Building a Desk using Cheap Wood (DIY)' source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=-pfTroYWnuQ' video_id: '-pfTroYWnuQ' date: 2026-06-30 duration_sec: 991 --- # Building a Desk using Cheap Wood (DIY) > Source: [Building a Desk using Cheap Wood (DIY)](https://youtube.com/watch?v=-pfTroYWnuQ) ## Summary The video documents the process of building a custom rustic desk from scratch using cheap pine wood. The creators focus on achieving a sturdy, aged look through careful material selection, sanding, staining, and painting techniques. ### Key Points - **Material Choice** [00:14] — Pine was chosen because it's the cheapest option for large solid wood pieces, fitting the rustic look they wanted. - **Table Dimensions** [01:30] — The table is 83 cm wide and 210 cm long. - **Sandpaper Grits Used** [02:44] — They used 40 grit, 80 grit, and 120 grit sandpaper, with a final pass using 240 grit to remove scratches. - **Staining and Painting Technique** [06:02] — They applied a full coat of Mediterranean stain and then added black paint to corners and edges, smudging it into cracks to create an aged look. - **Sanding for Worn Look** [09:17] — After the paint dried, they sanded it back with 120 and 240 grit to reveal a naturally worn appearance. ## Transcript So we just finished clearing out the living room to start over from scratch and build most of the furniture ourselves starting with the desktop Sheep simple and sturdy custom-built table is what we're going for here and For material we went with pine simply because it's the cheapest option for big pieces of solid wood since that was the look where we're going for It's hard to find the ones that are really straight. I think these are pretty good This is probably the worst one and We pretty much went through all the boards they had where we bought these But since we're going for a rustic look on this table a little bit of warping and natural cracks like this It's just going to add to the look that we want Also going to have to cut the boards a tiny bit just to get rid of these slits just because the edges are slightly rounded So before we do that, I'm just going to mark them up and label them so I know which order we had them laid out So So it's not looking too straight, but hopefully You just gonna have to be really careful when we glue these together So this table is 83 centimeters wide and 210 centimeters long as soon as we're cleaning up dense a little bit after we glue it together Yeah, then before right We got everything under control here Oh Yeah, number one is definitely the worst one. Why do I feel like I'm twisting this without anything happening? Trying to get rid of the smartest possible it looks looks okay, I think And now we wait It's still very skewed very twisted and uneven but We bought a lot of sandpaper, so we should be fine three bells of each 40 grit 80 grit and 120 grit But It feels pretty pretty then I'd say But it's I think it's about time that we take it back up and place it on the legs and Then see whether it's leveled enough Or if we need to do some adjustments It's pretty much straight like a lot straight and I thought it wouldn't be so So so before we do the staining and all that fun stuff we'll go over the table once more with an 80 grit 120 grit and then we might finish up with a 240 grit paper Just to get rid of all these really rough scratches from the from the 40 grit paper Finishing it off now with the 240 grit Almost forgot this and just gonna trim this off I just want to get rid of these edges that poking out not gonna care too much if it's completely straight or not just Kind of do by hand Finally done signing the table. It's time to do the fun stuff. It's time to stain it and Paint it add some details to make it look more and old So we're just gonna try a few different techniques and see where it lands and see where we when we're happy with it You Don't with the first coat So there we go done signing it again Like all day it does stuff time for the next coat. We're gonna try the Mediterranean and The charcoal color both from sorry again Whoa, this is dark It's real dark Whoa I would say we go for a Full coat of the Mediterranean We're gonna leave this spot just to see how it looks with all tree stains on top of each other over there and see whatever happens Tables now nice and dry We're gonna add in a few more details to the table before we add the black paint We're gonna add a black paint to the corners also a little bit in the middle and around the edges Okay, so we're just gonna start by smudging this all into the small cracks and Dense in the table The cracks in a pine are very bright This also helps to make it look less brand new a Lot more contrast and difference in color right now So much better We're gonna leave around on spots like this as well and then start to sand it down a little bit There's almost like creating shadows I guess in this bunch. It's so subtle There we go pretty much done. It looks really weird right now I think some of you might even cringe because some of you think that we just ruined the table and Hopefully we did not but just bear with us and Well, you might even cringe when we're done with it, so whatever but yeah, I think it looks great I think as soon as we sand most of this away is gonna look great makes it a lot darker and More towards the The color we were looking for the reason why we painted more on the edges and the corners because we're gonna sand and remove make it look a bit more worn towards the middle of the table and then leave some of the black You see I'm gonna remove a lot of black hair to about that way Make it look naturally worn. Hopefully. No, that's to go at least a few hours certain Just gonna wait a few hours for it to to dry up So we're just gonna Wait a few hours for it to dry up. It's gonna be good. I think it's gonna be good So let's start with a 120 grit I Got through the paint and the stain pretty fast So I'm gonna swap to the 240 grit and then Just get a little bit more and then wipe it all off and see where we are Maybe I should not have used one 20 grit looks like I can't get rid of this scratches from the 120 grit Did I just Look really bad We'll sort it out. We'll get rid of the scratches It's starting to look old Okay, let's clean this up and And some more stain I Think that is Pretty much it one was in Let's let's place this here just in case That's nothing off Burning paint and wood stain. Hello healthy Okay Okay, I think that's enough that this looks a little bit weird enough playing around let's put on the It hair coat I Don't remember if it said thick layers within layers I Didn't layers That's it, now we wait 3 hours for the next layer. The second layer is done, one more to go. That should be enough. Almost forgot to paint the bottom side of the table. Just to clear things up, cover this in black. It would prefer to stain it, but it's not worth it. So, we're all done, let's set it up and show you guys what it looked like. That's it, let us know in the comments what you thought about the table for the video. If you liked it, give it a thumbs up and don't forget to subscribe if you want to see more videos like this.