Thank you! Am about to pick up a used desk like this and am now more excited about getting it, since I wasn't sure how the manual operation worked. Appreciate it!
That desk looks absolutely perfect for what I need! I wan't a standing desk, but the motorized ones may fail after some time, and the manual crank's ruin the desk over time as well, this should be how all manual standing desks are! It's unfortunate that they don't sell this desk anymore , it's exactly what I needed . :'(
Im in search of an adjustable desk right now and i am mad jealous of this. Gas spring adjustable desk is an amazing best of both worlds between hand cranked and electrical desks. It is really, terribly sad i cannot even find anyone selling this in my country.
Great video! I might have found a few of these same desks at an office liquidation place nearby and I'm thinking about picking one up. Is your desk and the crank mechanism still holding up alright? It's just hard to believe this kind of model didn't make a bigger impact in the sit/stand desk market.
Thanks!! Yeah man, the desk and crank mechanism are holding up great. All the inner mechanics (i.e. gears and spring) are all industrial grade, so I'm pretty sure I'm going to get a lot of years out of it. I truly do wish I bought two. One of the legs of the desk is date stamped 2006...my guess is during that time sit/stand desks weren't very popular, thus it was discontinued. From what I understand, Ergotech no longer makes their own desks. They now outsource them...and they are all electronic.
This is actually a Pneumatic desk, not manual (crank) but still, yours seems Super Awesome! To anyone reading this....Whatever you do. Do Not Get The Pneumatic Standing Desk from O.D. because unlike the one @Myxo14 is using, which seems to be very strong, the one from O.D. is not so strong. Matter fact, I have way less stuff than Myxo14 has on his desk, and when I go to stand up with the lever depressed, I almost need to get up under the desk to help lift it on up. I mean, I'm practically lifting My 24" All in one Desktop, a bluray disc burner, my drawing tablet, keyboard and mouse, that's it...no where NEAR what he has in this video and mine will barely move. If I had it to do all over again, I would just get a dual motor Electric and be good for life. or, i'd consider getting the one he uses here, if they were still making them, I can see the legs on his and now I understand why his can lift up so much.
I'm thinking about doing the same thing with the Karlby or Barkaboda but I'm worried that the countertops are not solid enough. Is the Karlby dense all over so you can screw into it anywhere? Or is it just dense in certain places like the Linnmon tabletops, which only have reinforcements near where the legs screw into it? Would you say that the Karlby is more solid than the Galant / Bekant tabletops?
The karlby is very solid, having owned it for 5/6 years, it has not warped or sagged. I drilled holes across the entire length of the desk to attach my cable management raceway (I had to drill pilot holes cause it was too dense to manually screw them in), so I imagine it's dense all over, but I can't confirm for sure.
i think i like this kind more than electric desk. altho having an industrial spring tensioned near my legs makes me nervous. where could i find one of these online?
i had a desk like this that ikea made in the 90s they sold it for only 700 cad... i can't find a desk like this anywhere, if you have any more information about the model number so i can locate one used would be awesome.
I am buying an Ikea Karlby countertop soon myself for a similar desk setup, love the look of it in nearly all setups. Did you stain your desk or do any type of coloring to it after you received it from Ikea? Or did it come in that nice color?
Hi, Thanks for the vid! Can you open the black cover and show the inside workings of this stand? Maybe we can DIY it ourselves since its hard to find in the market. interested in the spring set up. thanks.
This seems awesome, but help me out here; I can't find a base like this anywhere, or at least not one with a paddle like yours. You mentioned you had a few recommendations in the video, but what are they?
Great video, very much needed. I'm based in the UK and was now looking to buy something similar. I did find some frames with a similar mechanism, but it usually says that the gas spring load lifting capacity is on average 30kg. That's not including the desktop and a good desktop usually weighs close to 20kg, so that only leaves you 10kg to play with. I was wondering if maybe yours had a bigger lifting capacity, because it looks like you got a decent heavy worktop on the top, plus a double set of monitors and all that. Any advice on a desk with a similar mechanism but considerably larger load capacity? Thanks :)
I'm not sure what the weight capacity of my desk is, but I'm sure I'm way over it. In the past 3 years since I've made this video, I haven't seen anything similar to the legs I'm using. With electric sit stand desks becoming more mainstream, I think those types of desks what you're going to find on the market now.
I have the same speakers :D Had them for years and they're awesome (despite their power issues, but nothing a good knock or turning on and off doesn't fix).
Yeah, I've had mine forever. These speakers are notorious for power issues. A capacitor blew in one of mine, so I replaced the caps in both speakers with bigger ones...made a HUGE improvement in sound quality...and no more snap crackle pop.
Hi Myxo! This was brilliant to watch. How did you fit the Ikea Karlby onto the frame? Did you have to drill holes? Or did the Karlby come with holes pre-drilled in the exact spot for the desk to be fitted to? Basically, how does the countertop attach/fit the height adjustable desk mechanism.
+J Khalaf Thanks man! I had to drill my own holes for the karlby to fit on to the legs. The walnut finish is about 1/3 of an inch which runs around the top and sides...the center and exposed bottom is particle board, so it was easy to drill through. Overall, the whole process was fairly easy to do.
The Karlby is my favorite desk I've owned! I've been using it for around 2 years I think. I made this video around the time I got it. It still looks as good as new. If you check out some of my newer videos, you'll see it looks pretty much the same.
Thanks a lot !! Do you happen to know if you used a 60 “ or 72 “ inch frame for the 74” inch table top you used ? Or may be the frames are identical but their original tops differ in size ? I am planning to buy a used 30”x60 “ desk and change the top with Ikea’s 74 “ inch table top.
The frame i'm using is only 45", so you should be fine. I don't have any problems with stability (and the computer on the right side of the desk is VERY heavy).
Dude you have a really nice desk. I want to use Karlby countertop too. What can you say about the durability of the tabletop. And how did u attached it to the desk stand? Can you just use regurar screws or special ones?
Thanks 🙏🏾...after three years of use, the desk still looks good as new. I have no issues with it. I used regular wood screws to attach the legs to the desk...no issues there either. Drilling pilot holes for the screws first is highly recommended!
How much did you pay for this? A quick search shows a lot of different brands trying to capitalize on this niche and they're not shy about charging a premium for one. I'm currently looking at one for a workbench. Don't really want to spend north of $300-400.
Great looking desk. Yours seem to be the best solution. Why have unnecessary electronic and a motor that will break down? And the crank is a bad idea. Thanks for the informative video.
Can you tell me what you paid for this used desk, minus the top you added? The only place in the US I found, is selling a 60x30 of this same used desk for $299 + $130 for shipping to my state. Seems a bit much....
+P G I think I paid $125 cdn (I paid cash, so I don't really remember, but I didn't pay anymore than that)...that was after some bargaining. $400 usd is way too much to spend imo for a used desk.
Myxo14 wow dude! That was a bargain and I agree, main reason why I haven't pulled the trigger on purchasing at that price. Honestly for 400~, I'm starting to scout out a memory retaining motorized desk.
Myxo14, how's the stability of the desk (front to back, left to right)? Also, what's to lowest and highest elevation? Tried to gauge from the video but I have no clue how tall you are. ..lol. thanks.
Left to right there are no stability issues. Front to back does wobble a little bit when raising it cause the Karlby is a shallow desk, so I placed more depth of the desk towards me rather than the back of the wall (if that makes sense). While the legs of the desk press up to the back wall, the desk top is a few inches away from the wall. With that said, there is a bit of wobble at full elevation, but it's certainly not unsafe or a cause of concern. I've never measured the lowest and highest elevation, but i'm 6 feet tall. If it went a couple inches higher, it would be perfect but I don't have any issues with it.
If you have a moment, would you mind putting together a short video of the wobble from left to right and front to back at the minimum and maximum heights? I can't find any other videos on this type of desk except for yours. Also, how long are the feet and how wide are they apart? I'm very near pulling the trigger on one of these and want to make sure I'll be happy with it. I'm waffling between this and the Jarvis. If this unit has less wobble than the Jarvis then I want to get this one.
Nice one! -- It would be great if you -by any chance- tear down the whole system, show the units used and put them together. That way everything is displayed, and new ideas would arise …;-))
It is actually a large spring. The top of the enclosure housing the spring comes off in the event of any maintenance needed. I wanted to show this in the video, but once I started to take the housing off, the paint started to scratch (I spray painted the legs black).
Guys - call your local second hand shop and just ask for those desks, especially if they trade office stuff- Got a couple answers in just one hour and my city is not the biggest. Hope this helps
If you want to DIY, the crank style is much easier to source parts and make. I seen a video here showing it. But for $279 you can get the 72" without drawers or 320 with 2 drawers from Home Depot HUsky brand.
