I originally made the Bitbot Desk for myself, but not long after it was finished, I met Becky at Weird and Wonderful Wood where I was exhibiting as I do every year, and she fell in love with it. I said I could make one for her but she wasn’t having it, so I had to let it go.
I write this from a second Bitbot Desk which came shortly after. (This one really is mine).
Thank you, Becky!!!
About the top and sides
You will find teak, ash, oak, mahogany, sycamore, pine, cedar, iroko, utile, sapele, cherry, maple and eye bird’s maple, birch, london plane, walnut and (hu)man-made boards. All of the components show their real colours and none are dyed.
It isn’t just a lot of sticks glued to each other. That doesn’t work. Trust me…
Each component has two holes made very accurately with my homemade jig and there are two threaded bars that run along and inside the length of the top, tightening the different pieces like a sandwich. By this time the top will consist in about a hundred pieces which are glued on a substrate (or base) giving a very firm construction.
The sides of the desk don’t have the substrate but they are framed and still attached using the threaded bar. This way the patterns can be seen from both the inside and outside.
It is sanded both by machine and by hand until I’m happy with it. And that’s a hell of a lot of sanding…
The natural oil which is applied by hand does the rest. It looks fantastic, it is an extremely tactile piece and focal point. Believe me when I tell you, it is beautiful.
Pictures of the finished BitBot Desk here!
You can have this piece in any size and with different settings. You may want more or less drawers, no doors, different handles, different woods. Up to you.