Organizational Cactus
This is the organizational cactus. It is a desk organizer/ bookshelf I made in the wood working shop for Hackathon. I chose to make a organizer for my books and other trinkets I keep on my desk because I was running out of actual desk space with how many things I had. So I designed this desk organizer to serve the purpose of holding all of my things and tidying up my desk. It is made from plywood, and lightly spray painted to have a rustic and minimal look. It also has the appearance of floating shelves but actually has supports in the back. I wanted to challenge myself with this project and do something out of my comfort zone. Normally I don't do woodworking projects but I thought I would give it a try and learn a new skill, and my new shelf holds up great! It holds books on two different levels of the shelf, and then holds other materials I use everyday on the other shelves. This entire process was meaningful to me because as a kid I always loved DIY projects but never had the tools to make things out of wood, so I never did. I finally got the chance to build something, learn a new skill, and gained a great desk organizer for the rest of my college career and beyond.
These photo grid includes an image of my shelf with nothing on it, a picture in its natural setting, and stock photo
Me In Action
When creating this project I first drew out a sketch of my design on procreate, and labeled all of the measurements. When I got to the lab I immediately began cutting the wood into the proper measurements after labeling the wood and measuring it. I used a table saw, and circle saw to cut my pieces of wood, and uses sanders to make sure the wood was smooth and ready to assemble. I began assembling the pieces, and used clamps, wood glue and the brad nailer to hold everything together. When the structure was moderately dry, I coated it with primer and a light coat of white spray paint. I let that dry for 48 hours and then assembled it on my dresser with all of my books and trinkets. Overall, the process went smooth, and the finished product is great. I also used minimal tools. The biggest challenge I did face though, was holding some of the shelves on while the glue dried because the clamps didn't hold all of my organizer together and the shelves would fall.
This is the original design sketch
Videos of me during the process after I cut the wood and began to assemble
