Desk Mod - Cable Management Edition!

[fayainz]

So I decided to finally clean up the mess of cables under my desk. I looked online at various methods that people have used and I stumbled across this awesome DIY site http://www.instructables.com/ - recommended you check it out if you are into that kind of thing.

So I found there are like a TON of different ways to tackle this problem, the most common one I found is to use a pegboard and mount all your kit to it, like so:

This didn't really appeal to me, while it does remove visible clutter, under the desk still looks messy and personally I think it can interfere with my knee's/legs under the desk. (yes I'm tall and have long legs )

So I did some thinking and then some more thinking and I came to the conclusion that the solution I want needs to be two things:

1.) It must hide all visible cable clutter from below my desk and keep all cables off the floor.
2.) It needs to be accessible to make adjustments on the fly

So let's check out what we are dealing with:




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[fayainz]

PLANNING

So with that in mind I started sketching up some idea's, (Google SketchUp ftw)




So this was the final sketch of what I wanted to do using trunking, and Mounting it to the back of my desk along with mounting a power strip to keep cables off the ground.
This option suited my desk the best since I have a backboard on the desk.
In order to do this you need the following consumables:

3mm screws
2.5mm drill bit
PVC trunking (3m)
Double sided tape (optional)
Multiplug (if you don't already have one)

That should set you back under R100 making this a relatively cheap excercise. I purchased a new multiplug over and above this that has mounting holes for an aditional R80 from Builders Warehouse.

MEASUREMENTS

Measure out the desk and cut the trunking into the required pieces.



I decided to cut the trunking as follows instead of at a 45 degree angle, you will see why below.

 

[fayainz]

DRILLING AND FITTING

Drill the holes in the trunking as well as the desk, I made sure not to drill to deep since the backboard of the desk is only 3cm deep.
Drill to a depth of about 10-15mm using a 2.5mm drillbit, and fit the trunking using the 3mm screws to make for a snug fit.





Drilled and installed the vertical trunking:
You will notice the cutouts along the trunking, this was to accomodate for cables such as speakers, keyboard/mouse & USB devices, power cables etc.







So far so good

 

[fayainz]

MOUNTING THE MULTIPLUG

Drill the holes for the multiplug, the particular one I bought included mounting screws (bonus).
Didn't quite get it perfectly straight **raises fist**





You can see the cutout's made in the trunking in the above image. It's quite simply just cutting out a wedge from the side of the trunking.

CABLE ROUTING

So I ran into some trouble, luckily which I had planned for. You will see below I have used two-sided tape to stick down a couple of cables, mostly the power cables.
The main reason is when routed via the trunking they do not reach, and also using the Y-splitter power cable for PC + Monitor doesn't quite fit in the trunking.
The same apply's for my speakers power cable which has to travel from the Sub on the right, across to the multiplug. HDMI cables are also a bitch to route since they are not as flexible as other cables.
I am sourcing longer cables to route them through the trunking, so all of the cables held with double sided tape are only there temporarily.

 

[fayainz]

RESULTS SO FAR

While this is only step 1 of my project, it is already a vast improvement over the deathtrap that was at my feet.
Here is a side view to show the clearance of the trunking, even with the desk pushed right up against a wall there will be no protruding objects.



Here's the new look minus all the crappy cables.











So far I've met my initial goals, the cables are neater and the desk is accessable. Simply unplugging the multiplug from the wall and pulling the desk back lets me get behind there without cables snagging or getting damaged.

 

[fayainz]

STILL TO DO

This was only the first step in my little clean up project.

I'm a bit of a perfectionist so I will be removing the double sided tape when I get the longer cables.

I also want to get the velcro cable ties for the cables behind my case, I used normal cable ties for the moment, but the Velcro ones are far better since you can remove them without having cut the cable tie and replacing it.

I also want to get my case off the floor onto something with wheels, to make it more mobile for cleaning or just general maintenance. I am considering getting the Antec Lan Board:
R219 from iKonicIT or R232 from Zaps.

I would like something similar for my Sub, perhaps a little more sturdy.

I am also considering installing a 1 meter LED strip light behind the desk, and connecting it via a 3pin or molex connector to a backplate. They typically come with external power supplys/plugs but if I can run it off my PC's PSU why not.

To connect the LED strip to the PC for power, I ideally need something like this:

The main reason is if it is connected to one of the motherboard headers, that would not be inline with keeping the case mobile. With the above connector it can easily be disconnected from the case. Also another idea is to then connect that internally to a Fan bus or controller to control brightness of the lighting.

Here is a pic of the basic idea I would like to achieve for the look of the lighting:

A soft white light giving some illumination behind the desk, I think it looks pretty awesome!

I would like to hear what you guys think of my current cable management idea, comments, criticism, or any ideas going forward!

 

[fayainz]

New Stuff! - Updated 14/04/2012

So I received a few delivery's this week, mainly my LED strip light and new cables and installed them.
I STILL need to find a longer power cable for my speakers, but other than that the two way tape is mostly gone! /yay

With the Y-splitter gone my power cables are finally routed via the trunking, makes a nice difference.

For anyone interested, the LED strip I went with is from a local supplier in Cape Town, http://www.led-lights.co.za/ who sell a well known brand, Lumi. It goes for R89 a meter for the Eco White version that I purchased.

At 12V and 250mA it really takes minimal power and will hopefully produce a nice effect.



LED light strip mounted to the back. I soldered on a normal rocker switch and mounted it to the underside of the desk to have easy access to switch it on/off.



Looks good so far.



Side view:



Viola, some nice ambient lighting.

 

[fayainz]

reserved for future use...

 

[Fivel]

Very nice work, you have inspired me to do something about my mess at home!

 

[phoenix]

Fayainz, you are an inspiration!

I am going to look into Google Sketchup and see how it might help me with future projects - such as when I try to tidy my rat's nest again.

Usually I scribble these things on bits of paper.

Thank you for posting this project.

 

[fayainz]

Fayainz, you are an inspiration!

I am going to look into Google Sketchup and see how it might help me with future projects - such as when I try to tidy my rat's nest again.

Usually I scribble these things on bits of paper.

Thank you for posting this project.

Thanks dude and you're welcome. Google SketchUp is a really quick, easy and powerful tool to have. Plus you can measure out exact measurements for accurate visualization.

I'll update when I move onto the next steps sometime later this week or next.

 

[Wenzdayz]

Nice Fayainz! i need to think of something else to clean up our gaming room!

 

[fayainz]

Burn it to the ground and start over?

I considered this..

 

[James]

Wow! Nice job. I tried to do something similar, but I just wound up using screw in hooks and a lot of cable ties. Much cruder solution, but it keeps the cables off the floor so i can sweep up the dust bunnies.

 

[Wenzdayz]

Burn it to the ground and start over?

I considered this..

not an option unfortunately. our gaming room also has to double as a study...i think we will need to custom build a desk solution for our 2 pc's...

 

[czc]

Wow! Nice job. I tried to do something similar, but I just wound up using screw in hooks and a lot of cable ties. Much cruder solution, but it keeps the cables off the floor so i can sweep up the dust bunnies.

I considered hooks, but chickened out. Didn't want to screw anything into my table, even if it is at the back.

 

[fayainz]

not an option unfortunately. our gaming room also has to double as a study...i think we will need to custom build a desk solution for our 2 pc's...

I would love to build a custom desk but I just don't have the woodworking skills

 

[Wenzdayz]

I would love to build a custom desk but I just don't have the woodworking skills

surely it cant be that hard... builders warehouse can cut the wood in the sizes you need. alll you need to be able to do is dril straight.

 

[fayainz]

I don't think it would be too difficult to build a desk, I would want to start on something smaller like book shelves until I am comfortable and confident enough to tackle a desk. This caught my attention http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Build-a-Polished-Concrete-Desk/ minus the concrete slab ontop.

 

[GReeN_ORB]

Awesome stuff man, even in the preliminary stages it looks great!

Frankly, the only thing I'd really consider doing differently is slightly bigger diameter trunking (for the pesky y-splitter power cable) and painting the trunking black before attaching it.

Aside from that, I'm probably gonna copy your method exactly when I move out