IKEA Desk Build Log

Hello DJTT.

First off, major shoutout to Xonetacular and the DJTechTools blog for posting up this engineering gem. I recently went out to my local IKEA ("local" being about 4 hours away from me) and purchased the parts posted up in the blog article on this. For newcomers who are totally confused, here is the project I am referring to:

http://www.djtechtools.com/2011/10/1...om-ikea-parts/

Original forum post from Xonetacular can be found here:

http://forum.djtechtools.com/showthread.php?t=36997

A few things I learned from this project right off the bat:

1.) IKEA IS F**KING HUGE!!!
2.) Ask where the stuff is. I had to ask at least 3 employees where certain things are. I never would have found them otherwise.
3.) Use a good drill. It will save you a lot of frustration later down the line.
4.) This thing is BIG. I mean, if you live in an apartment, be prepared to move furniture around to make room for this project.
5.) Once you attach the two bookcases together, it will not fit through a standard-sized doorway. Meaning if you want to get it in/out of the room once its assembled, you'll have to disassemble it, move it, then reassemble it.
6.) The cardinal rule of any DIY/project: Measure twice, cut/drill once.

Parts used:

1 pair of CAPITA angled legs
1 LACK wall shelf 43"
2 EXPEDIT bookcases
3 LILLANGER leg frames
1 Sylvania Mosaic LED light strip
8 steel plates from Lowe's

Tools used:

9.6v cordless drill
"standard size" Philips-head screwdriver (magnet head is preferable)
Allen wrench set (not required, but handy)
12.7mm/ 1/2in hole saw bit
1 1/4in hole saw bit (not required)
Hammer/mallet


Initial IKEA buy was $288 USD. I opted for the LILLANGER leg frames over the straight CAPITA legs from the article, and those have since gone up from $25 to $30 since the article was written. This contributed to the cost. I am glad I did, and you will soon see why.

I piled all this stuff into the back of my Honda CR-V after dropping the back seats down, and I was off. I got home and unloaded the stuff, and here is where our project begins.

You'll see that everything came in nice packages all ready to be assembled. A forewarning to anyone with back problems, the EXPEDIT bookcases are quite heavy, right around 60 pounds at least. Me being a 125lb featherweight, getting these up a flight of stairs was not exactly a walk in the park. I began with unpacking the LILLANGER leg frames and assembling all three of them. While the load-bearing portion of the leg frames are pretty solid steel, the bracing that goes length-wise between the two heavy steel sets of legs was flimsy as all get-out, and I had to be rather careful not to bend them in an odd direction.

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With the LILLANGER leg frames completed, I then focused my attention on attaching the CAPITA legs to the LACK shelf. I opted to omit the monitor stands from the design in the blog, and in hindsight I'm glad I did. The shelf was sturdy, but I'd be very hesitant to mount 2 powered monitors on either side with additional mounted platforms. Seems like an easy way to bring the whole thing down. Anyways, I wanted the legs to be on the closer side of the front edge, as I was planning on putting LED strips there later and wanted to make sure I'd have enough room to spread them out without having to dodge around the legs. I measured and marked 6 inches from the center of the board (which was marked with a little hole on the bottom near one edge), and another 2 inches or so into the middle of the board and ended up being about 1/8th of an inch off. While I'm decently handy, my build skills are not exactly "master carpenter status," so I was willing to live with this.

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The LACK shelf was now completed, and I wouldn't end up touching it again until the end of the project. It was now time to build the EXPEDIT bookcases. I unpacked the first one and noticed that it came with no instructions I could find. A quick YouTube visit provided an IKEA video on how to build the 16-shelf model of these units, and it was simple enough to apply this knowledge to my model. They stated the need for 2 people for putting these together, although overall I had no real trouble getting them together by myself. I can say that it would likely be much quicker with two people however, as they were more time-consuming to put together than anything I'd done up to this point.

The outside frame is held together by 4 heavy-duty hex-head screws that screw into 4 pre-drilled holes. IKEA provided a double-sided hex head for these, however I soon found that it was easier to use a SI hex set to do this, as you needed to use a bit of muscle to get the last few turns into the frame. The individual cubbies form together using small dowel rods, and pop right into the premade holes. Overall, the process was not difficult. Having a rubber mallet comes in handy here, as there are some instances in which you need to whack the frames onto the rest of the setup once you have your dowels/holes lined up. You can use your hand/fist, but you'll save yourself a lot of time and bruising by using a mallet.

I assembled one of the two bookcases and called it a night. Total project time since arriving home from the store is approx. 3 hours at this point.

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I got off work the next day and came home and completed the second EXPEDIT bookcase. This one took considerably less time, as I already knew what I had to do. I then began to realize the problem of desk dimensions vs. apartment dimensions. As I stated above, the desk is 30.5" wide, and the door to my bedroom is about 27". While close, it wouldn't fit, and there was no way I was going to be lifting these things up by myself. That meant that each of the bookcases would have to be dragged in separately, and the rest of the project would have to be finished in my bedroom. I pulled the two bookcases into the room and lined them up next to each other. I then went and got the leg frames and placed them at even intervals on top of the bookcases, and screwed them down. They do indeed fit like a glove, and I was very relieved to confirm this.

I opted for using longer screws on the edges of the bookcases, in the hopes that they would provide more stability. The screws that came with the leg frames were incredibly short, and while they were the perfect length for drilling into the bottom of the bookcases, I didn't want to rely on them for all of my support. I know Xonetacular took a few extra screws and drilled additional contact points into the metal. I am unsure how he did this, but anyone with a half-decent set of tools could likely figure it out. I went with the holes given, and said a prayer it wouldn't rip itself apart.

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At this point, I needed some bracing between the two bookcases, as there was no way in hell I was going to be able to flip this over onto its feet without all of the leg frames ripping themselves out in the process. So I went to Lowe's and picked up 8 steel strips with 6 holes in them (over by the fencing area perhaps??) and some wood screws with larger heads (#12 x 1-1/2in). At this time, I proactively picked up some of the longer bolts specified by Xonetacular that would be needed to mount the CAPITA legs to the bookshelves. Xonetacular specifically mentions this is an issue and provides the solution in his original forum post. A longer bolt than the ones that come with the CAPITA legs is needed, and he mentions which bolt it is. I picked up the exact one without issue. Two of these, my Sylvania Mosaic lighting strips, and a pack of washers later, and I'm out the door.

I got home and began installing the 8 strips, 4 per side. In each corner cubby, I put two strips, one on the bottom-most portion, and one on the side. Drilling upside down in those little cubby holes proved to be a challenge, and I found it was easier to drill pilot holes and then set the screw with the drill. I finished out the tightening process by hand with a screwdriver. 8 strips proved to be sufficient to brace the two bookcases together.

I should say at this point in the project you will almost absolutely require an additional set of (preferably strong) hands. I called my DJ buddy Mike over to help me at this point, and honestly I have no idea how I would've done it without him. Carrying these bookcases one at a time was heavy, but we now had to flip their combined weight over, and there was the very real possibility of getting crushed by this thing. As with all DIY/builders projects, SAFETY FIRST!

We ended up getting the table flipped right-side up, with all limbs and digits accounted for. After scooting a bit of furniture around, we got it up against the wall. At this point, we were done for the night and Mike went home with a 6-pack, after we set my tables up and tested it out of course :)

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At this point, the heavy-lifting of this project was both literally and figuratively behind me. I took this time to drill cable holes using the 1 1/4in hole bit I had with my drill. I was worried that drilling would cause the top finish of the EXPEDIT bookcases to rip and splinter and look like shite. Fortunately for me, this was not the case at all. For anyone who has never drilled into IKEA furniture, it consists of two pieces of what appears to be laminate and wood, with a honeycomb paper center. For anyone who was going to do the recessed mounting of their turntables/CDJs with this material, I would advise you to look elsewhere, as these are not nearly thick/sturdy enough to take that kind of cutting.

The cable holes turned out fine, however the whole process took about 45 minutes, because my drill battery kept dying and I'd have to wait around to recharge it. For tips on preventing this, refer to Number 3 of my first post.


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The light at the end of the tunnel was approaching. Now came what would prove to be one of the harder parts of this project: Mounting the shelf to the bookcases.

Before mounting, I unpacked the LED strip kit and installed the light strip on the underside of the shelf via the adhesive that was on the back of the strip. Easy enough.

I then took my measuring tape and determined the two mounting screw holes on the bottom of the CAPITA legs were about 12" from each other This meant I needed to drill 2 holes 6 inches from the center of the bookcase. I measured and marked 2 inches back from the closest edge of the furthest of the two bookcases and the 6 inches needed from the center, then drilled my holes with the 1/2" hole bit. I then took one of the two long bolts I got at Lowe's, put a washer and the black buffer plate that came with the CAPITA leg mounts on it, and I was ready to go. Or so I thought.

This is another point in which it would have been incredibly beneficial to have a second set of hands. I had to hold the shelf by the CAPITA leg with one hand over the mounting hole, while reaching up with my other hand and feeding the bolt up through the hole and into the CAPITA leg mounting hole. As you can imagine, it was and incredibly awkward position and quite uncomfortable. I got the first bolt threaded and tightened it with a crescent wrench. If you have a ratchet set, here is where it would come in handy.

The first and only true "oh sh!t" moment of the project was at this point. When I went to mount the second CAPITA leg, I realized I was roughly 1/8in too far towards the center of the bookcase. Crap. I compensated for this by using the 1/2" hole bit as a grinder and made the hole wider on the top and bottom of the bookcase (like I said, master carpenter status right here :P). The CAPITA leg was wide enough so that it covered up the unsightly large hole, and I was able to mount the second leg. I wiped off the wood shavings, set up my equipment, plugged in the light strip, and stepped back to examine my handiwork. And I gotta say, I am quite pleased with the results.

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Total project time in all was roughly 7 hours. Total price ended up being close to $350, as I added the lights and sturdier legs, plus hardware and any extra tools I didn't have along the way. Overall, I'm incredibly happy with the results, and I think I will definitely get my money's worth. It was a learning experience for sure, however not an overall incredibly difficult one. If you have a half-decent set of tools, dedication, and some patience, this project is quite feasible. With a second person helping, I have no doubt it could be completed in an afternoon.

A very special thanks goes out to Xonetacular, this project would not have been possible without your guidance via your thread and your attention to detail.

Hopefully this helps any new DIYers/modders thinking of undertaking a project similar to this. If you have any questions, feel free to post them here or PM me.

Now, I'm off to go play on my uber-sexy DJ desk!
:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

Thanks for great insights and pictures. Not trying to hijack you post but I just built the same thing and wanted to add my experiences from my build. The original posters also get my sincerest thanks, there is no way I could have figured this out myself.

First off one has to learn how to actually shop at Ikea, which I did not know how to do. I allotted 1.5 hours to get the stuff, which included entertaining the kid with swedish meatballs. The only way I got through there was I found a great knowledgeable salesperson that was willing to help me out. Otherwise, I would still be there. You can actually print out the parts that you along with their location from home. I learned that after I got there. Additionally, at least in the U.S. there are alot of things that dont exist anymore. Additionally, there are a few things (the capita legs) that are not on the shelves, you have to get someone to print a receipt out for you and you pay for it and collect it at will call.

You need 2 people to do this if you can. The bookcases are heavy, especially when connected. You can easily break the legs unless you have 2 people to straighten it up.

I used gorilla glue to attach the bookcases along with 8 brackets. I could have used another 2-4 brackets, but the 8 seem pretty solid. The bookcases are kinda hollow in between, so pick good long wood screw.

The Ikea person suggested not using the short shelf (laki?) for the purposes that we need it to. Again its hollow. so i am not sure how solid it is. Instead, i just bought an oak plank and used it with the slanted capita leg. It connects very solidly. The other problem I found was attaching the slanted capita legs to the cabinent with the included hardware. The stem just did not seem long enough. I used some extra parts from the short capita legs that I did not use and am able to screw it directly into the top of the booth. Otherwise it turns out great.