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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.
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Comments
I know this thread is old,
I know this thread is old, but I was just wondering what GeekDesk frame you used - small or large?
I don't remember small or
I don't remember small or large options back when I bought my frame. It looks like the frame is not sold separately anymore. I'd guess mine is a large.
It is sold as frame-only as
It is sold as frame-only as well: http://www.geekdesk.com/default.asp?contentID=629
Ah OK. That frame in the
Ah OK. That frame in the picture looks very small. Mine must definitely be a large, since mine is nearly double the width.
For reference for
For reference for others--
Small: http://www.geekdesk.com/images/deskimages/v26.jpg
Large: http://www.geekdesk.com/images/deskimages/v27.jpg
From their FAQ:
I'm so glad I came across
I'm so glad I came across this. I was thinking of buying the frame alone + the Vika Byske (http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/50106773/) tabletop but seeing your setup, I'm tempted to try out the L.
First off - I love this idea,
First off - I love this idea, and thanks for sharing it!
Can you give any details about the two shelves underneath the desk. One appears to hold a laptop docking station and the other is your tower. Do those shelves come with the lifting desk? I didn't see them on the GeekDesk website. Did you add them separately?
Cheers!
Those shelves under the desk
Those shelves under the desk are offered by Ikea as a Galant desk accessory. They don't work perfectly with the GeekDesk frame. Notice in Keith's picture that his mid-tower is not sitting centered on the shelf. I have one of these shelves, but I don't use it at all ever since moving to the GeekDesk frame.
David, Nicely done. Would
David,
Nicely done. Would like to do it myself and was just looking under my IKEA Galant desk and wondering how do the legs come off? I don't immediately see any place to disengage the leg so I can replace the Galant legs with the Geek Desk frame. How do you remove the legs?
Thank you,
John
The whole Ikea frame+legs are
The whole Ikea frame+legs are replaced by the GeekDesk frame. So, you only need a desktop platter from Ikea.
Thanks for all your help,
Thanks for all your help, still need to do some cable management and put the office back together.
Keith
Hi Keith-- is that the
Hi Keith-- is that the Summera computer holder? http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/30090438
Hi David, Thank you for
Here is a picture of my desk
Here is a picture of my desk from below. It is not the best picture, but it shows the old holes for the Ikea frame, which is no longer in use. And it shows the general alignment of the desk surface onto the new GeekDesk frame.
Good stuff, thanks a lot for
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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