Dwell Made Presents: DIY Mini Copper Desk With Leather Sling

In this episode of Dwell Made, Jamie Guan of HomeMade Modern makes a desk out of copper pipes. The desk is paired with a leather sling, which adds another level of functionality as a laptop storage.

Key Products

Copper Pipes

Minwax Polycrylic

Ridgid Tubing Cutter

Serengeti Leather

Step 1: Cut Copper Pipes

I measured the copper pipes to the appropriate lengths and cut them using my tubing cutter.

Step 2: Clean Copper Pipes

I cleaned the copper pipes by rubbing scotch brite on them. Steel wool can also be used to clean copper pipes. 

Step 3: Cut, Sand, and Seal Plywood

I cut a piece of plywood at 13" x 13" to serve as the desktop. I sanded and finished the plywood with a coat of Minwax polycrylic.

Step 4: Cut Leather for Sling

I cut a piece of leather at 35" x 11.5" for the sling.

For one of the sides, I cut out two notches to make space for the vertical bars that made up the copper structure. 

To add more functionality to the sling, I made a pocket, but this step is completely optional.

Step 5: Hammer on Snaps

I positioned the snaps on the leather and hammered them in place using a snap fastener kit. Screw posts can be used as an alternative to snaps. 

Step 6: Stitch Pocket onto Sling

I used an over-stitch tool to create a stitch pattern along the sides of the pocket. I then positioned the pocket where I wanted it on the leather sling and began punching out holes. I stitched the two pieces together using a waxed thread.

Step 7: Assemble and Glue Copper Pipes Together

I did a dry fit before gluing the copper pipes together using gorilla glue. I found it helpful to divide the gluing process into different segments to make sure the structure was straight.

 Once the segments dried, I glued the entire structure together.

Step 8: Screw on Desktop and Attach Sling

I used ½" copper tube straps to hold the bottom of the plywood to the copper structure.

 I then screwed it in place using ¼" screws.

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