pull out keyboard drawers

[ninjadoc]

I'm building a computer desk and had a few questions about my fellow geekhackers' desks.

Any idea how big your desk is?

What size is your keyboard drawer?

How big would you want your keyboard drawer to be?

Do you use your mouse in the drawer or have it on your desk?

Do you have or wish you had drawers on your computer desk?

[SpAmRaY]

I would rather my keyboard and mouse be on top of my desk.

[esoomenona]

I would rather my keyboard and mouse be on top of my desk.

That's not always necessarily a good thing. If your desk is too high, having a keyboard drawer can be more ergonomical. I had one purchased for me from work. It's articulating and such. I haven't had the time to get it installed though yet, and I wish I had the time, because typing at work hurts my shoulders due to the desk being too high, and that's even with me being as tall as I am.

[Findecanor]

I have never used a keyboard drawer. I want room for my knees under the desk and not have to reach too far for my coffee mug and notebook.

I would rather have a recessed area of the desk for the keyboard and mouse than a drawer in front of the desk with the desk (and screen) being further away.
The keyboard would then not have to be recessed as much as it would have been on a keyboard tray, and vice versa: the desk you place other things on would not have to be so high. Plus, you wouldn't have to pull on the wires.

Then add a shelf along the back of the desk for the computer screen(s) to sit on. Most stock monitor stands are not high enough and the shelf would also provide more storage space for other office paraphernalia.

Another idea would be to have a keyboard cover slide out from underneath the shelf covering the keyboard recess to give you a writing area when you need to use pen and paper.

[Puddsy]

I have one and I don't even

I keep some keycaps in there, though,

[fohat.digs]

I would start by asking myself questions about myself:

1. Am I small, medium, or large overall?
2. Are my hands, in particular, small, medium, or large?
3. Do I use small, medium, or large keyboards?

The simple answer is to build to accommodate everything large, but that may not be best for you personally.

But one thing is certain: keyboard-mouse-keyboard-mouse motions should be short and sweet.

[kurplop]

Findecanor makes some good points against having a keyboard drawer (tray?). To mitigate the problems when I made my various trays, I first made a desk that was relatively shallow front to back. I also made a convex curve on the front edge to further keep the extended tray somewhat close to the monitors while allowing accessible desktop space for other things.

I differ on the need for the monitor to be raised however. In fact, with the large monitors many of us are using now, the top of the screen could easily be too high. Naturally, a smaller screen would benefit being perched atop a shelf.

Because I use a trackball, it's a no brainer to put it on the tray. I often wonder if the small mouse pads on commercial trays are big enough.

I think the greatest benefit in having a keyboard tray is the tilting function that many have. Not only can you easily experiment to find the most comfortable angle for you but also change it a little, from time to time, to lower the risk of RSI.

The biggest advantage of building your own desk is that you can make it to suit your needs and body proportions. Start with the standards and understand why they are standards, then feel free to deviate from them to suit your own needs. If you decide against the drawer, just make sure that your desktop is low enough or that your chair is high enough.