When my wife and I were married, she brought into the marriage an Ethan Allen computer desk. This desk was obviously from the days when computers were new and people didn't spend countless hours setting in front of them. When it was time to move my Star Wars room into a larger room in the house, I decided it was time to get a new desk. I didn't want to pay $200 - $300 for the size desk I wanted so I made one.

This is a mock up of what the table top will look like when I am done. It is always good to draw or design what you are going to do before you start. You know the old cliche "If you fail to plan then you plan to fail"? Well you may not fail over all but you may spend a lot more money on supplies you don't end up using.

This is a 32" x 80" solid-core standard sized door from Lowe's. Cost: $47. Sand with a medium grit sandpaper till it is smooth.

Apply a coat of primer to the table (my primer is white), let it dry and then lightly sand again. When you brush on primer, it can leave brush marks and an uneven surface. Sanding the primer will give you an even surface.

Choose a base color. I have a number of pictures of the corridor from the Death Star but I later discovered that the FX Vader I bought on E-bay came with a piece of the corridor that matched the color in my photos. I took the corridor to Lowe's where they can color match and after a few strange looks from the employees I was off to paint my door.

Apply as many coats as you think you need till it is a uniform color and then let it dry.

The painted door in its Imperial color.

This is a template I made of the Imperial symbol. I made the template by finding a vector-based image of the symbol on-line (found mine here: Vector Logos), blowing it up to the size I want in PhotoShop and then taking it to Kinko's to have it printed. My symbol is 28" x 28". I bought 2 piece of white poster board (each measure 22" x 30") and taped them together to make it big enough for me to attach the print out. I used an adhesive spray and lightly sprayed the print out and the poster board. Take the sprayed print out and poster board and put them together making sure to get out all the air bubbles.

Cut the the template out, place it on the table (mine is centered) and trace.

I will be painting my symbol black (see mock up at the top). I started by outlining what I would be painting black to give me a guide to go by.

The desktop has its new logo. For a little flavor, I added bold strips to both sides of the logo by marking it off with painter's tape.

To protect the design on the top, I bought a can of spray polyurethan. To apply it, I sprayed a number of thin layers and let it dry for 15 minutes between applications (basically follow the directions on the back of the can).

Now for a set of legs. I bought these at the Containers store on sale for $10 a piece. I believe they normal run for about $15. Let me warn you that they make a pretty tall desk so you may have to cut them.

The legs are simple to install. I wanted the legs to be attached about 4" from each edge so I used a 2"x4" block of wood to measure. Mark the holes with a pencil and drill pilot holes. Be sure to use a drill bit much smaller than the screws provided with the legs. I suggest using a manuel screw driver to screw them in so you don't strip the holes.

It is now ready to hold your computer and be smothered in Star Wars paraphernalia.

After using the desk a while, I decided it was too tall to comfortably use the mouse and keyboard and they covered the Imperial symbol so it was time to add a keyboard drawer. I bought a 36" x 14" board and cut it down to 32" to fit the length of my keyboard and mouse pad. I sanded, primed and painted the board the same color as my desk. I also purchased a set 16" keyboard slides (made by Knape & Vogt) from Lowe's and painted the outside of the rails a flat black.

I flipped the desk over so I would have a easier time laying out measurements. First, I used a tape measure to find the center of the desk. The board for the drawer is 32" so from the middle I measure 16" from both sides and made a mark. I then layed the board between the 16" marks on both ends and traced the board. The instructions on the keyboard slides give you instructions for turning the keyboard mounting brackets facing inwards or outward so I chose inwards to be a little different. You will need to work off the instructions for your set for the exact measurements since it will be relative to the manufacturer.

I trust instructions but I don't trust my ability to interpret them so before I started drilling pilot holes for the screws, I taped everything together with making tape and layed the board on top to make sure my measurements were correct.

Satisfied that everything will go together correctly, I drilled small pilot holes for the screws. Be sure to drill pilot holes in everything. A pilot hole is done by drilling a hole about half the size of the screw you are going to use before inserting the screw itself. This keeps the wood from splitting when you are inserting the screw. Once your holes are drilled, add your brackets and screw them down. You might want to leave them a little loose so you can attach the keyboard slides more easily.

With the brackets in place, I now turn my attention to the inner slide and the painted board. The keyboard slide is made of two pieces that slide together. Take the outer slide off. This is usually done by pressing a button embedded in the inner slide. You can now attach the inner slide to the board. You will want to follow your instructions on this one too. My keyboard slides screw in from the bottom as shown above. I lined the edge of the slide with the edge of the drawer. Make sure the screws that come with your slides aren't too long for the board. I had to add a washer to each screw to make sure it wasn't going to go all the way through.

Put the inner and outer slide back together and flip the desk back over. My keyboard drawer is adjusted by removing screws in each of the brackets. I didn't want to upset my spray paint job, so I used cotter pins in the screw holes to decide how high I wanted to the drawer to be. Once I made my decision, I added the screws connecting the brackets to the outer slides and tightend the screws attaching the brackets to the desk (mentioned above).

All done and ready for gaming or surfing for more Star Wars toys.