Desk Setup - IKEA

NotAnAudiophile on 15/07/2020 - 00:08
Last edited 21/07/2020 - 23:49

So I've been looking at a lot of youtube desk setups, the youtuber's special seems to be IKEA Karlby worktop plus a couple of Alex shelves as legs, but I found a Rasunda (real wood vs Karlby which is veneer). Probably as a whole much higher quality than 'gaming' desks, and strong enough for monitor arms. Your views?

Update : Completed the desk with the Rasunda, and had to buy an additional Alex cabinet to hold it up. Returned my previous Linmon and Trestle holding it. The Rasunda is extremely heavy!

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Comments

  • SydStrand on 15/07/2020 - 01:06

    Karlby is strong enough for monitor clamps, and doesn't need to be sanded and treated first.

    • Mechz on 15/07/2020 - 08:09

      Treated for what? Spillage? o_0

    • DannyC on 15/07/2020 - 09:36
      -1

      The RÅSUNDA is IKEA's kitchen workbench series so it's all good, no need for treatment.

      • NotAnAudiophile on 15/07/2020 - 11:47

        No treatment but in the instructions it says it needs to be sanded and oil applied. The great thing about true wood tops is you can sand it, put wood filler on it and blend it in, neither of which is possible with laminate or veneer to a certain extent.

        • SydStrand on 15/07/2020 - 12:32

          No treatment but in the instructions it says it needs to be sanded and oil applied.

          That's what treating is.

          The great thing about true wood tops is you can sand it, put wood filler on it and blend it in, neither of which is possible with laminate or veneer to a certain extent.

          The Karlby's timber veneer is thick enough for sanding. It's advertised as such, and designed as a kitchen counter, so the risk of you damaging the veneer so often and deeply that you risk sanding down to the particleboar layer is non-existent.

          Also, didn't you make a thread about your Ikea Linnmon desk, and I mentioned that it was an inferior r/battlestations cliche?

      • SydStrand on 15/07/2020 - 12:32

        Nope. It's not oiled or sanded.

  • Rilo 117 on 15/07/2020 - 07:23

    I'm interested in this setup also, my plan was have a large space to study/spread out.

    I didn't consider the strength of the wood for the monitor clamps, I was considering going with something from Bunninings, but it's "thinner" in comparison it's 26mm VS. Karlby's 38mm.

    I was going to have some kind of support leg in the middle back, to stop it from bowing as well.

    • Mechz on 15/07/2020 - 08:12

      I used to have the bunnings top and ran 2x24" plus large tower and laptops and tools etc with no sag just using 2 saw-horses from ikea (not sure if they still have the $15 ones I got).

  • neo on 15/07/2020 - 09:33

    Have you got a link to the Alex legs from IKEA?

  • DannyC on 15/07/2020 - 09:34
    +2

    The RÅSUNDA looks good. Plus it is on special which I hardly see at IKEA, $299 VS $450. Go the RÅSUNDA with the Alex shelving, and the pillar support in the middle to support it. It'd be hella heavy. Either way the Karlby is fairly strong as well.

    • Rilo 117 on 15/07/2020 - 09:40

      Saeljan also from IKEA could be of interest, it's new, $99, and is the same dimensions.

      • NotAnAudiophile on 15/07/2020 - 11:42

        I saw the Saljan at ikea, it is laminate which is probably the worst for spillages and stuff, and explains the price. It is considerably less dense than the veneer or real wood stuff.

  • soan papdi on 15/07/2020 - 09:37

    Have you used this setup before? The reason I ask is that the height cannot be adjusted, say you get a new office chair in a few years.

  • netjock on 15/07/2020 - 09:43

    Worktop looks to be $249 and shelf / cabinets are $120 each. So almost $500. You could get a good standing desk for that price.

  • OpenHand on 15/07/2020 - 09:47
    +1

    Hey bud, I just built a desk with Rasunda so I can help you out.

    I have a 10kg+ monitor on an arm mounted with no issues.

    I got some legs from online rather than Ikea however.

    If you have any questions let me know - I'll post up some pics and advice shortly.

    • Rilo 117 on 15/07/2020 - 10:07

      I'd be keen to see setup pics or link to the legs too, cheers mate

      • OpenHand on 15/07/2020 - 10:34

        Posted below - bit lengthy sorry!

    • OpenHand on 15/07/2020 - 10:34
      +6

      Okay, here are some pictures.

      It's my WFH set up during the day and gaming station at night.

      $249 is a good deal for a solid oak table. Note, the wood comes from Poland… just in case you care about buying stuf local.

      It's also better quality than similar tabletops sold at Bunnings. I had a look and many of their offerings are not really sustainable and pretty rough - e.g. lots more prep needed to be done, and quality control was shite. Lots of split benchtops for sale.

      I found other timber shops sold similar pieces to Ikea, but pricing was usually about double or more. Some guys on Gumtree offer sell prepped benchtops but they take 6 weeks+ and cost $600 minimum.

      Regarding prepping the benchtop, it's not ready to go out of the box. Note it's heavy (32kg or something) so you'll need someone at least when you get home to help you handle it. I decided to coat it with a water-based Polyurethane, as I've had issues with other desks and types of varnishes staining from spills or just water.

      I got some Cabothane (it's the Cabot brand Poly, any kind will do really) in a Satin finish… wanted Matte but it was sold out. 500ml was exactly enough for two tables - my Dad liked mine so much he went and did the same thing exactly. So 250ml will sort you out. You will need: A paintbrush that fits in the tin you get, 240 grit sandpaper, and 1500 or finer grit sandpaper. As well as something to stir the Poly in the tin. I used an old ruler.

      I put my benchtop on a smaller table with some felt blanket thing over it, so it didn't get scratched or marked and I could easily paint around it.

      Gently sand the benchtop with the 240 grit just to give the poly something to adhere to. Wipe all the dust off with a dry cloth or sponge. Apply the first coat. It's easy as to do, pretty forgiving, just go over it bit by bit, not too thick, spread it out as you go so there's no chunky spots. Watch out for the edges and sides as you'll get drips very easily. You'll figure it out. The short edges are trickiest so just pay extra attention not to let the drips dry on there.

      Water based poly dries in about 2 hours depending on your climate. First coat will dry a bit quicker as it soaks into the wood more. After each coat, you can wash the brush out in the sink (water based) and then wrap it in some plastic to keep it from drying out and getting sticky. Once the benchtop is dry to the touch (be safe and leave it at 2 hours minimum), gently sand again and coat it again. You can do one surface and all the sides at the same time. Three coats at least. Then leave it overnight, flip it and do the other side the next day, same way. If you have extra left, there's nothing wrong with giving the top side an extra coat or two if you want. Too many and it might look plasticky.

      All done right, time to put on the legs eh! Well, not quite. You can put on the legs whenever, but not advertised almost anywhere is that Poly also has a 'curing' time as well as a drying time.

      As it's a resin kind of thing, it reacts with oxygen to really harden and set. If you put all your shit on top of the desk that day, you'll have to move them a little each day for a week or so, as the Poly is still curing and therefore sticks to things sitting on it. There was advice all over the net saying waiting a week to a month, but I found after 3 days it had cured enough to put my gear on there, and I just made sure I shifted stuff a little once a day. Now, before you cover it with stuff, I suggest one last gentle sand with the fine grit sandpaper, just to smooth out the surface. It won't leave any marks, it just takes a bit off the top and makes it much more pleasant to work on.

      Okay, that was long and boring but I'd never done it before and couldn't find good info online, so I thought it would help. I'm not a handy guy at all, but it turned out really well and was pretty easy if you have space to do it.

      Legs: Artiss Trapezoid Legs. They were $140 on Catch when I bought them, now $150. Really nice quality actually, look cool, not the standard Alex drawers which I found realllllyyy chunky. Magnetic if that matters to you. They also make square legs but they are too wide for the Rasunda. The cross legs fit perfectly I think. They don't come with screws, so you need a screw driver, a slim drillhead to put pilot holes in, and twelve '12g' 25mm or 35mm screws to attach them. Very easy though. Just try not to screw on a seam of the wood as you might crack it accidentally with such chunky screws. I had to move my legs around a bit to find the right spot to put them.

      Additional stuff:

      The Ikea 'SIGNUM' cable management thing is really cool. Together with a 'FIXA' cable management set, you can't tell that I have about 15 cables coming off my monitor and PC. I recommend both.

      My monitor arm is a North Bayou F100A 'new edition' from Amazon, often on sale here. I actually had to buy longer cables to properly manage them, as to route them through the arm you need a fair bit of length. That cost me another $60 or so.

      My monitor is that AOC 49" which is huge and weighs over 10kg, so I needed the big arm.

      I did buy one of the $5 adjustable IKEA legs to put right near where my monitor arm is clamped to, as I was worried about the weight. However, so far, not a single bit of bending or movement in the table or legs at all. It's fairly non-intrusive, but I could have gone without. If you monitor is lighter, this desk will have no problem holding it up.

      I had trouble finding a shelf to sit underneath that would fit what I needed: My ITX PC, amp (not pictured), and ideally my switch - as well as a set of drawers to fit all my work gear. I ended up going for the Ikea 'Kornsjo' after measuring everything a million times. It sits easily under the table and suits the metal legs. I got some Officeworks metal drawers to put on the lower shelf.

      Some general tip, apparently a 73cm-ish desk height is ideal for a 6 foot person. So, with the tabletop being 3.8cm, 70cm or 71cm legs are best… this is pretty much standard but handy to know anyway.

      So, the table and legs were $249 and $140. The extra hardware probably came out to $30 or $40. The Ikea bits $100~. Monitor arm $80~ or so. Cables $60. Altogether pretty good and this desk will last me much longer than my old one which had sagged and warped badly after 5 years.

      • Rilo 117 on 15/07/2020 - 11:53

        Thanks for sharing! looks great! The pegboard looks great as well.

        I've seen these types of legs before but square at Bunnings, but like the trapezoid style better.

        Do you find the height? I'm rather tall 6"5, and worry about sitting down too much with back issues, and don't find i'm able to focus the same at standing desks.

        • OpenHand on 15/07/2020 - 12:08
          +1

          Yeah, bunnings have Trapezoid ones too but I think they are too deep for the Ikea benchtops (only 63cm deep or so). Actually, I would have preferred a deeper table, even 10cm more, but it's enough for what I'm working on.

          The pegboard is cool. All the youtubers and /r/battlestations guys have them now but honestly works really nice and looks neat enough.

          Regarding height, it's pretty much perfect for me, but I am right on 6" and lucky that 73.5cm~ is sort of the recommended desk height and this is close enough. I looked up some guides like this to check.

          Based on your height, they are saying 78.5cm. So, with the legs (71cm) + the benchtop (3.8cm) we are at almost 75cm. You could screw a plank of wood between the legs and the table without too much trouble to beef it up a few cm. Or raise the legs from the bottom although I imagine this is less stable and might look messier depending how you do it.

          The reason for the recommended height is you want your feet flat on the floor, and your arms pretty much flat on the desk when in front of you.

          I have used and really dislike standing desks so I am off that train completely. This desk is very comfortable, I guess my advice would be try and get closer to the 78.5cm height if possible, and if you can, spend some money on a decent chair.

          I went for a Sayl Herman Miller chair which is a nicer one but maybe not suitable for someone really tall. If you are in Melbourne check out 'Sustainable Office Furniture' - right now they are out of all the HM stuff, but they often have really nice chairs secondhand for half the price of new.

          As always, best advice is to get up from time to time if you can and have a stroll around.

      • fenric on 18/07/2020 - 21:29

        Thanks for the info on desk height. I was pondering that one myself as I am planning a similar build to the OP.
        A lot of people lift the benchtop off the alex drawers with furniture legs mounded on the top of the drawers. Looks neat and gives you variable amounts of lift depending on the legs you choose.
        I'm 6 foot also, so looks like I probably wont need them.

        • OpenHand on 19/07/2020 - 12:56

          Yeah you should be fine with the normal height of the desk + legs.

          The drawers are definitely easier to raise, as you said, if you need to do it. Most legs are standard height, and the adjustable ones sold at Ikea get more wobbly the more you extend them so it's not ideal.

  • [Deactivated] on 15/07/2020 - 11:04
    -4

    lol?

  • NotAnAudiophile on 05/08/2020 - 22:00

    Further update : mounted a 34” ultrawide and 27” on to the rasunda top, braced by sample wood pieces, using the north bayou F80 clamps x 2. The whole thing is solid as a rock. Happy I got the oak, someone tested the strength of pure oak and it was more than 250kg load on 1 spot before failure !

  • Bigredkeg on 13/08/2020 - 07:56

    I also recently purchased the rasunda on special. Curious how you treated yours and how it turned out ? :)

    • NotAnAudiophile on 13/08/2020 - 13:01

      I'm a lazy bum, just hand sanded each side twice with 220 grit, then put on 2 layers of Ikea oil. Loving how with real wood, i can sand out/pop any dents easily.

      • Bigredkeg on 13/08/2020 - 14:19

        How'd it turn out with just the ikea oil? Matte / shiny ? Any pics I could see ? Would love to get a feel for what I need to do.

        • NotAnAudiophile on 13/08/2020 - 14:21

          just slightly darker, no real difference in the texture, mainly just matte with the wood feel. Given its real wood I'd probably refinish it as the years go by, anticipating it will last a long time, its strength is incredible, its so dense!

      • SydStrand on 17/10/2020 - 20:18

        So much for 'no treatment.'

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