The Upstanding Desk | Hacker News Reader

The Upstanding Desk

kickstarter.com

38 pointsgrosales45 comments

I recently put together a great sit stand desk at home for considerably less than other alternatives. The desk looks good and functions perfectly.

Product list:

* desk base unit ($479): http://heightadjustableworktable.com/index.php/manual-modtab...

* table top ($79.99 - I treated the table top with polyurethane): http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/50106773/

* monitor stand ($21.26): http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_id=108&cp_id=10828&cs_id=...

* mat for standing ($53.99 - optional but highly recommended): http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003BYRDK2/ref=oh_details_o...

Total: $580.25 (with mat: $634.24)

Here's a picture of the finished product: http://imgur.com/UW8CvWz

The $200 price point seems a bit steep. I have the feeling I could build something similar for half the price using standard Ikea parts.

You could give them $25 and get the specs to make your own. Based on the design in the video, it looks like it would be fairly easy if you already own a jigsaw.

--EDIT-- After messaging the team, they say a router, some wood, and some elbow grease is all that should be required.

You definitely could. In fact my Ikea standing desk is essentially the same thing. Lack end table with a shelf as a keyboard tray and an extra monitor riser on top. Set me back less than $25.

It looks like it doesn't take more than a 4x8 sheet of plywood. Could this be cut with an inexpensive router? If so, the materials and router would probably be like $40 + $80 = $120?

Add $10 for a router bit, but you are exactly right. This could be done by anyone with access to the tools and equipment. And that's ok. Not all ideas/products need to be so complicated that an assembly line needs to produce. Sometimes people just don't want to put in the work to make their own, or can't. I believe there is still a market for this product. They need to pitch this to large occupational health groups. As the creators said, proper standing desks available to most organizations are incredibly expensive and therefore probably not adopted as much as they should be. If you can provide a cheaper option, you will likely find a very successful niche market.

I have been thinking a lot lately about the future of manufacturing and easily manufactured consumer goods.

Why not sell a jig with instructions on how to build the desk, use a $90 router plus materials and create an instant crowdsourced mini standing desk factory? If I make one, I could easily make 5 more in probably half the time. And given the ease of manufacture, I have an almost zero risk chance to learn a new skill.

Sell the franchise (the jig plus instructions) and then others who just want the desk can pay the maker (at the source) an extra $20.

BTW, this design doesn't look stable enough. Needs either a tension wire or a wall support in the front and back.

I think your idea could work if you had multiple items to sell. One desk jig probably wouldn't create enough of an income for a single maker to make it worth it.

Agreed. The other option is the site could provide a way for a group of people to collaborate and make a bunch of items together at one time, co-op style.

Similar to a ceramic mug painting business. Customer walks in, chooses a piece of furniture from the display or catalog. They pick the type of wood they want (plywood to expensive mahogany). Get instruction on how to make it, use the common tools/equipment. Add customizations (paint, extensions, graphics).

Walk out with a new piece of furniture they made themselves but didn't require the huge upfront cost of tools etc.

How apropos because I make fun of paint your own pottery all the time. Ironic.

You still can when you are sitting on your throne made of plywood.

I've got enough O'Reilly books around to make that without any Ikea bits :)

You're not wrong, but like many of these sorts of things, how much is your time worth?

This sort of "I could do it myself, cheaper" reaction is pretty common for a lot of things posted on hn. I think it's natural for people (and especially hackers) to have this sort of reaction, I think we must be a lot better at analyzing dollar figures than time investments.

And frankly, it's not a bad impulse to have. We're not all generating income every waking moment. People do have free time they can use to build things for fun.

I'm not even really that big a fan of this design (doesn't really seem to have the ability to switch to sitting without disassembly), but I just don't like seeing things pooh-pooh'd because they cost more than something some of us could do ourselves.

For me, its not a matter of pooh-pooh'ing it because it costs more than something I could do myself. It's more like; damn! $200?! I don't really want to do it myself so I would pay for it but definitely NOT at that price point!

It is steep when you can buy an IKEA LACK table for $10-20.

http://www.fatjoe.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Coffee-Ta...

http://www.fatjoe.co.uk/diy-stand-up-desks

Works for people around 5'9.

No ability to switch between sitting and standing? No thanks.

Sitting all day is bad. But so is standing. Switching between both is best.

Are there any studies demonstrating this? I've always wondered about the long term effects of standing at >4 hours at time.

Varicose veins, for one. I think it messes up your feet too, but that's what the standing mat is for.

You could use a stool when you get tired of standing.

That's commonly said w.r.t. standing desks, but I have to think there's a reason we don't use shorter stools as normal desk chairs. I presume they're just not as comfortable.

You're right. But it should be feasible for 'normal' chairs to simply be designed taller.

Hi all, I'm one of the creators of the project! We love to get feedback, and because we've got 21 days of funding lined up we might add tiers based on your comments. Please let us know what you'd like to see!

Thanks,

Sam

It wiggles from left to right. You can see it from 1:44. The monitor constantly wiggles when the guy is using his mouse. This is bad design.

Not sure how useful it will be for gamers.

MultiTable makes the ModTable with a manual crank for about $650 including a "large" tabletop. We have a bunch of these in my office and they are awesome. You can get discounted rates when buying more than 1 direct (but they also sell on Amazon).

$200 for this Kickstarter isn't a horrible price but you don't need to spend thousands to get a very good standing desk.

Totally true, we just figured since a lot of people already have a desk this would let them keep it!

The problem with all of the standing desk additions I've seen is that there's no way they'll fit 3 large monitors. I got bored of trying to convince work to buy me a sit/stand, so I built this:

https://www.flickr.com/x/t/0094009/photos/benrhughes/1082833...

Total cost about AU$40. I have a stool for the rare occasions I want to sit.

I've been using it for 4+ months and it has been brilliant.

Bah, censored by commenting limits!

Totally true that you could make one out of IKEA parts, we just wanted to build an option for people who didn't have the desire/tools to do it themselves. And we wanted to keep costs as low as possible too so lots of people could have access!

Thanks for the feedback, all, please keep it coming and share the link if you know anybody who might like one!

I have a standing desk, and this is a fantastic idea. My wife and I are moving into our first home together.

My only qualm: it looks a bit like lincoln logs or tinker toys. We would probably paint it, but the links kind of stand out. Makes it feel a bit like a woodshop.

Perhaps some customized sides would make it look a bit more streamlined? Certainly would cost a bit more though.

Totally agree, we wanted to keep the price low to let people like you customize it to their workspace. It's really hard to match color so we wanted to stay away from custom paint jobs.

Good call.

I'm probably still gonna be in for one either way. Maybe we can work together to figure out the "sleek" upsell? :)

wish these guys all the success in the world, but this is radically cheaper, high quality, and works great from personal first hand experience:

http://iamnotaprogrammer.com/Ikea-Standing-desk-for-22-dolla...

Standing up reduces typing precision by 20-30% and puts pressure on your spine. Best would be your body to be at 135 degrees. I've tried Asian squatting style and it's actually pretty good - I dare to do this only at home though.

This is tangential, but I have a Geekdesk (http://geekdesk.com/) and would find it very hard to go back to a normal sitting desk.

Looks great, but can't see a price anywhere? One minor thing I've noticed from my own hacked together setup is that I prefer having the mouse 1-2 inches lower than the keyboard.

Prices in the right column: standard desk is $200, double-wide is $250.

The minimum pledge is $200 for the actual desk, $25 if you are willing to cut your own pieces.

Seems a bit steep, but then again, it's got some nice thought and design behind it. Before I back, I'd want to measure my desk(s) and see if the heights they offer would provide good work positioning for me (using boxes/phonebooks)

I totally LOVE the idea, seems far easier and more 'reversible' than buying a dedicated desk.

Big problem for me is it would look a bit naff with our glass desks and iMacs. Can you make a sexy version :) ?

We're considering Lucite as a premium option. Or alumin(i)um. Your thoughts?

Yes, both good would be better for our office.

For me it wouldn't work since i need to rest my arms on the desk and there would be too little space to do that.

Go for the double-wide!

Note that the "double wide" is not twice as wide. 29" vs. 38" is less than one third wider. It is a great idea, though, as long as it's sturdy.

I was about to moan about it being US only but then I found the $25 pledge to build your own! Much better. Backed!.

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