The Easiest Way to Make an Industrial-Style Standing Desk | Hacker News Reader

The Easiest Way to Make an Industrial-Style Standing Desk

justagirlandherblog.com

48 pointsdonnielaw49 comments

When experimenting with standing (well, also walking) desks I found that the height of the table is less important than the height of the monitor, and that using a plain laptop, as shown in the pictures, isn't any good if you want to work for longer (>30 min) periods. Constantly looking down isn't a natural position, and it strains the neck.

The cheap option is to raise your laptop and use an external keyboard/mouse, or use an external monitor. Or both :)

I'm always baffled by people who go to the trouble of making a standing desk, often at great expense, and then set a laptop on it and call it good. Aside from the ergonomic issues you describe, there's the issue of screen real estate. It's like trying to shoot competitive pool using a tree branch you found in the road.

Not only that, but many of these setups trade an ergonomic chair for a hard floor. I'm surprised that more consideration does not go into floor mats as seen in other jobs requiring long periods of standing.

Well, they did include a footrest. It's a start

If anyone's looking for a recommendation, I've found industrial antifatigue mats (found in machine shops and the like, mcmaster-carr sells some as would most industrial suppliers) surprisingly comfortable for standing on all day.

Indeed. If they're made to be comfortable for a heavyset man holding powertools wearing steel-toed boots, it's definitely going to feel good in comfortable clothes and shoes! :-)

This is a really important point. Setting up a standing workstation is similar to setting up a sitting workstation: you probably need monitor risers and a keyboard tray for maximum ergonomic fit. Alternatively, when you're not on a keyboard w/ screens, you probably want a slanted work surface.

Then again, when I work on a laptop, it's not comfortable either way and I'd rather be standing than sitting.

My standing desk solution: IKEA BJÖRKUDDEN Bar table (£70) 700 x 700 x 110 http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/90087541/

IKEA FRANKLIN fold-away bar seat (£23) http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/20199207/

Silverstone SST-ARM22SC (£120) http://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=412&area=en

save

Height-adjustability is essential for me (I'm 1,91cm), but not a bad start.

The BJÖRKUDDEN table is 700(W) x 700(D) x 1100(H). Typo. Apologies.

For under $500, a better solution would be the new IKea Bekant motorized standing desk. We just got them for all our developers and they are great. And given that it's an Ikea product, you still get a similar DIY experience when assembling it.

To save others the search: http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/campaigns/home-office/standing-des...

We've just bought two of them, and we've found one minor disadvantage compared to much more expensive motorized desks: there are no presets, so one has to mark ones ideal sitting and standing heights somehow.

Other than that, they're an ideal way to try out standing. Even if it's not for you, you still have a motorized regular desk (which encourages people to find he ergonomically ideal sitting height, something often neglected) and the price is about the same as most bog standard manually adjustable office supply desks.

Sharpie?

Were you able to find these in the US?

There are Ikeas in the US.

If you are not near an Ikea and can't think of an excuse to do a day road trip to the nearest one, you might consider some of the motorized/adjustable desks on Amazon (just search for those terms).

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/S19022530/ - It looks like they are available in the US

I actually got one of these last month in Texas for around $400. Even when sitting, I find the adjustability useful.

My understanding was that the term 'standing desk' implied it could be raised or lowered, which this cant.

This is just a really high table.

while sitting down all day is clearly bad for you, standing comes with it's own issues.

Nah, while an adjustable desk is nice for most people a standing desk is just a really high table like shown.

For this example I'd suggest putting the screen at eye-level if one is really concerned about ergonomics. This necessitates another level to hold an external screen.

That's why you want a drafting stool you can move off to the side when you're not using it.

You're thinking of what I call a 'sit-stand desk'. Even so, I was disappointed when the OP turned out to be about a non-adjustable desk.

Even easier is using sawhorse brackets and 2"x4" lumber. For the cost of a top (Ikea solid wood, etc.) and <$25 for the wood and sawhorse brackets[1], the price can't be beat. Just cut the wood to length and you're done.

Since it uses sawhorses, a desk built this way can support hundreds of pounds and is easily portable.

I recently built my girlfriend a desk this way[2] (2x bracket packs, and five 2"x4"x8's), and we moved it using a small Prius. I ended up using the wooden top from an old electronics workbench after sanding off the glue blobs, filling holes with water putty, and sealing it with polyurethane. If you do build a desk this way, miter the leg ends to ~30º.

1. http://www.homedepot.com/p/Workforce-10-Compartment-Sawhorse...

2. http://i.imgur.com/b0QxSII.jpg

Great job on the desk!

Nice!

I'm curious to know if you could get those front inside legs out of the way without sacrificing support. Maybe rig it so that they go across and connect to each other, forming a keyboard tray or shelf or something. I see a lot of toe hitting, especially while wearing those flip-flops in the corner.

Also, don't forget the standing mat. You wouldn't want her to get varicose veins now, would you?

A standing mat has been added. :)

Toe hitting isn't so bad, actually, since the legs are recessed in from the front more than it seems in the photo. Since the sawhorse legs grasp the horizontal crossbars like giant clothespins, they could also be moved inward somewhat with minimal loss of support.

For those who aren't interested in making their own sawhorse legs, Ikea has adjustable-height trestle legs for $35 each:

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/00225293/#/801500...

Having twice as many legs as a normal desk and splaying them out leaves less usable room. There is less space to put my feet when used as a standing desk or put a PC tower or subwoofer or space heater or trash can. It's more difficult to vacuum/sweep around. I'm not sure a Roomba would fit between the legs.

Other commenters have noted that the desk isn't adjustable. I bought a Varidesk ( http://www.varidesk.com/ ); doesn't need any motors, adjusts quickly, fits on existing desks, cost is under $US400. [No, I don't work for them nor am I an investor in the company. I just like the product. A lot.] Edit to fix link.

FYI: Your link has ); appended to it.

http://varidesk.com

I also had a varidesk and wasn't too fond of it. There was no real good way to place a keyboard/mouse on the tray and it was a bit wobbly for my tastes.

The product itself was well built, and it was very easy to move up and down though.

Another worth consideration is the Winston: http://www.lcdarms.com/winston-sit-stand-workstation.php

Of the sit-stand converters I've been looking into, the Varidesk and Winston seem better than products like the Kangaroo Pro, ReadyDesk, etc.

This looks to be a great solution! How hard is it to transform from sitting to standing and vice versa?

Takes less than 10 seconds. Just squeeze handles at sides and lift or lower. It's spring-assisted.

I know that SimplifiedBuilding.com Does offer Adjustable desks. It looks like Donnie just chose not to go for that option.

My first standing desk was something like that, a little more complex. My second one is two parts and it folds flat (ish) against the wall when not in use:

* Wall-mounted drop-leaf table for my laptop: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80091713/

* TV wall-mount for my monitor: http://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/00226792/

Total costs: ~$60

(The reason that I went for something small that folds against the wall is that my office occasionally becomes the guest bedroom and I then work out of the kitchen.)

Update: here's a rather crappy photo that I took when I first set it up: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/148449/standing-desk-2.j...

I see lots of diy cheap standing desks on here. Is there a market for high end standing desks? I work for a small casegoods manufacturer that builds wood furniture to order. I'm just curious if I should bother taking a shot at designing something? Sourcing a flexible electric sit/stand leg seems like a tall order.

This is the base we use http://www.amazon.com/Jarvis-Electric-Adjustable-Height-Stan...

We installed Lyptus tops. Works & looks great.

Also noteworthy, the IKEA Bekant motorized base can be purchased without a table top.

Thanks for the suggestions. Frankly though I would be looking for something available that we can build larger and smaller pieces with. I was looking and we've built a few standing desks, for example we built a 96"x42" sit/stand desk. That's just not possible with an off the shelf leg you are going to find on amazon.

Does anyone have the LIFT from iSketer (http://iskelter.com/products/desks/lift-upgrade-desk-standin...)? It seems like a nice balance between a standing and sitting desk -- especially with a laptop plus external keyboard/mouse/monitor when standing.

I generally prefer to use a laptop on a recliner with their SlateGo lapdesk which keeps the laptop at a comfortable angle without straining the neck or wrists.

This seems expensive for what you get. I made a $25 table from Ikea parts to put on top of my work desk. I cut the pipes to the right length. It works just fine and I get storage under the table.

I too will use a recliner at home sometimes, to rest the back. I use a Corbusier knockoff (something like this: http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0278/9057/products/black_le...), slid under a work desk, with the laptop and mouse on a board on my lap, and a monitor on the desk.

It always astonishes me what you can make with a few keeklamps and some pipe. I've seen entire offices built out of these materials.

http://keesafety.com/products/kee_klamp

erm... its a high table. Hardly what I would call astonishing.

And it's always astonishing how expensive KeeKlamps are.

The post doesn't mention price. You can get a really nice desk for the house which adjusts to various heights from IKEA for $480 + fees. So... if this thing is in the $300-400 range... idk if it is worth the effort / lack of features.

It is easily in the $300-$400 range. Those Kee-Klamps are around $20 a pop.

I've priced out Kee-Klamps quite often for storage, and have always wound up with the fact that it's cheaper to hire a welder to construct in place.

the easiest and least expensive way by far:

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

I had an even easier way: 1. go to local office supply store 2. exchange money for product 3. wait for delivery and installation

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