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Ikea Galant — GeekDesk standing desk retrofit
Wed, 2010-02-17 08:17 — david
Last night I retrofitted my Ikea Galant corner desk with the GeekDesk adjustable height desk frame, enabling me to switch from sitting at my desk to standing at my desk in 18 seconds. Total cost of the retrofit: $634, plus 2 hours of labor.
Ikea Galant on a GeekDesk adjustable height frame
The material quality and craftsmanship of the package is high. The frame is substantial, with a clean design. The range of height is good enough for this 6'4" engineer. When fully extended to a standing height, desk stability is excellent, due to the oversized desk legs, and most torsion being prevented by the substantial frame. The electric motor is quiet enough, and does not disrupt the other electronics in the room.
Assembly was possible with hand tools only, and was facilitated by many screws having been pre-threaded into the right place. This quality move took a lot of the guess-work out of assembly.
The large power supply / transformer came with oil spattered all over its black case, which was strange, but cleaned up OK.
Ikea Galant on original frame — purchased in Germany
The enclosed Instructions for Assembly and Use contained some illustrations that were too small to decipher, and some zoomed-in call-outs would be helpful as a future improvement. It also contained the usual amount of silliness, which provided ample entertainment during assembly. For example:
- "The surface height is infinitely adjustable."
(AMAZING!! I thought a workable space elevator would require carbon-fiber nanotubes.) - "When moving the desk after it has been assembled, the desk top needs to be removed."
(Um, I just put it together. I am not about to take it apart.) - "The desk is only to be maintained with a wrung cloth."
(When considering that this product is metallic with many mechanical and electrical components, my wrung cloth skills suddenly seem to be in need of serious improvement.)
The following sequence of pictures show the range of motion, as the desk transitions from sitting height to standing height.
From sitting to standing in 18 seconds (click to enlarge)
In the final analysis, this electric desk frame looks like a quality purchase, and a good move on my road to an improved working posture and circulation.
Comments
Great retrofit! I bought the
How is the desk extension
Here is a better picture that
Here is a better picture that shows how the extension piece is supported using pieces of the frame borrowed from the part of the desk now supported by the GeekDesk frame.
Hi David, That's a nice
Nice project! I am just
That's the correct link to
That's the correct link to the Ikea Galant desk I used. The holes on the bottom do not line up at all, but the wood screws that come with the frame have no trouble biting and screwing directly into the Ikea desktop, without the screws going too far and poking through the desk surface, and without stripping out the desk material (I did not use any power tool).
I did not paint my GeekDesk frame, because it is already painted with a metallic grey.
Hi David, I love the desk
Roger, I used their Original
Roger, I used their Original Frame. The only tools I needed for the project were a Phillips screwdriver, and the Allan wrenches that came with the Ikea desk. I did not need to use any handy skills. I was a little worried about stripping a screw in the underside of the desk, because I expected the Ikea desk to be cheap glueboard or particle board hiding under a veneer, like most of these things are. It did not happen, but if it did, I would have had to flip the desk upside down and set the screw into a pool of super glue, to fill in any stripped out cavities. Basic model building skills apply.
Thanks very much David for
The Geek Desk frame includes
The Geek Desk frame includes all the framing and screws you will require. I have a little bit of extra framing, because I also bought a side desk and legs originally, because I have had this desk for years. But if you are not going with the side desk, you will only need the big tabletop. Ikea sells it all separately, which is perfect.
Herzlichen Glückwunsch zu
Looks good!
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