> The hollow-core doors wouldn't have supported the weight—they would have cracked in places under the strain.
Having used my own hollow core desks going back to 1985 or so (with an original IBM PC sitting on such a desk)... I have yet to see a reasonable load they would crack under. You run a 1x1 beam along the back and sides for support, and they'll hold 2 computer cases and 2 CRT monitors (smaller ones, but consider that LED monitors weight a LOT less than CRTs did) with no issue whatsoever.
> moving a exterior door through an interior door frame with legs permanently attached is a tricky task
Having literally _just_ built a shop table out of a solid core door and 3/4" plywood (for the bottom shelf) with 4x4 legs, this isn't an issue. You build it so that the legs are bolted to the top (or, more specifically, 2x4s attached to the top with L-brackets) and then take them off (a couple minutes of work), move the desk, and them put them back on (a bit more than a couple minutes, but still not bad).
I built my workbench in my garage and them moved it down to the basement shop (because it doesn't have walls yet and the sawdust from cutting would have made a mess), finishing the task just this past weekend.
Side note... if you follow a similar route, I recommend a 28" wide door. I originally bought a 32" and had to cut it down after realizing it would be uncomfortable reaching over it to the pegboard on the wall to retrieve items.
It cost me somewhere in the range of $400 to complete the workbench, I believe (I'm not positive on that). If you add in the time to build it (if you have to pay someone), it most certainly would have been cheaper to buy a desk (I agree with him here).
I also came here to comment on the hollow core doors "breaking". Back in the late '80s I made myself a hollow core door desk. I didn't use a 1x1 beam either.
Hollow core doors are what is called "torsion box" design, and they are stupidly strong for their weight. I used a hollow core door supported on one end on a filing cabinet (which really was a bit high, even for me), and on the other end by a cheap sawhorse I built using 2x4s and some metal brackets.
I can remember having at least two largish monitors (17" CRTs), and associated computers on them, and they never seemed to have any problem carrying the weight. Used them for probably a decade, before I switched to a more mobile chic and disassembled the desk for scrap.
Similar: My grandfather, back in the early '80s, got a line on some scrap hollow core doors with a nice birch veneer. He turned them into some great 2.5'x6' bookshelves, and I loved those things! The sides, shelves, and back were still hollow core doors, so fairly thick. The would hold a full complement of books, no problem. But I could carry both of them at once. I could put a palm in the middle of the top shelf and lift one up with each hand.
Don't underestimate the strength of a torsion box!
hollow core doors are not all equal; some are almost entirely hollow, while others have several cross-members along their height (length when used as a table). There are plenty that are just a frame plus a single cross-member at handle height, and those will not hold any significant weight away from the center when used as a desk.
You build it so that the legs are bolted to the top (or, more specifically, 2x4s attached to the top with L-brackets) and then take them off
Yes, you could, or even should do this. But that's now that happened. This person is explaining what he saw, not explaining how something should be ideally done.
> "Having used my own hollow core desks going back to 1985 or so (with an original IBM PC sitting on such a desk)... I have yet to see a reasonable load they would crack under."
yup. part of the founding tale of idealab, the pasadena startup incubator, is the use of hollow-core doors on filing cabinets as desks. they have maybe 150 such desks in use there. i've used them and they're more than adequate for that purpose.
> The hollow-core doors wouldn't have supported the weight—they would have cracked in places under the strain.
Having used my own hollow core desks going back to 1985 or so (with an original IBM PC sitting on such a desk)... I have yet to see a reasonable load they would crack under. You run a 1x1 beam along the back and sides for support, and they'll hold 2 computer cases and 2 CRT monitors (smaller ones, but consider that LED monitors weight a LOT less than CRTs did) with no issue whatsoever.
> moving a exterior door through an interior door frame with legs permanently attached is a tricky task
Having literally _just_ built a shop table out of a solid core door and 3/4" plywood (for the bottom shelf) with 4x4 legs, this isn't an issue. You build it so that the legs are bolted to the top (or, more specifically, 2x4s attached to the top with L-brackets) and then take them off (a couple minutes of work), move the desk, and them put them back on (a bit more than a couple minutes, but still not bad).
I built my workbench in my garage and them moved it down to the basement shop (because it doesn't have walls yet and the sawdust from cutting would have made a mess), finishing the task just this past weekend.
Side note... if you follow a similar route, I recommend a 28" wide door. I originally bought a 32" and had to cut it down after realizing it would be uncomfortable reaching over it to the pegboard on the wall to retrieve items.
It cost me somewhere in the range of $400 to complete the workbench, I believe (I'm not positive on that). If you add in the time to build it (if you have to pay someone), it most certainly would have been cheaper to buy a desk (I agree with him here).