anyone else here have an Ikea Bekant desk?

[Special K]

If so, do you find it to be excessively wobbly? I know Ikea isn't exactly the pinnacle of furniture manufacturing, but my rectangular Bekant desk has a slight wobble to it even when I'm just typing. If I barely bump it, it really shakes.

The only screws used in the entire design are those that connect the feet to the legs and the legs to the frame, and they are as tight as I can make them.

Are there any DIY mods I can do to this thing to make it more stable? I don't think it will collapse, but the wobble is annoying.

The last time I bought Ikea furniture was a Galant desk in 2007. The Bekant is supposedly the replacement to the Galant, but it seems to be inferior in construction quality. The Bekant's surface is thinner, and the metal frame is held to the top by plastic pins rather than metal screws like the Galant used.

Also the reason I posted this here is that apparently Ikea shut down both of the Ikea fan-created webpages (ikeafans.com and ikeahackers.com).

Meh, maybe it's just time I broke down and bought some actual hardwood (i.e. non-MDF) furniture.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

What is this "Ikea" you speak of?

 

[herrjimbo]

where exactly is it wobbly? I don't have one but I looked it up and from what I can tell is the only part that would make it wobbly could be the adjustable legs.

 

[DesiPower]

What is this "Ikea" you speak of?

It's a "hip" furniture store..

 

[Belegost]

Looks like there may be some rubber pads on the underside of the two feet. I would get a bit of cardboard and use it to find which corner is off, then drop by your local hardware store and pick up a small pack of adhesive felt floor protectors, stick one or two under the offending corner.

 

[Lean L]

That's what ikea furniture is like. Unless you plan on welding a new frame that's the way it is.

I am in the same situation with an ikea desk.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

There is pretty much no wobbly furniture that can't be made more stable with a couple of corner braces and some screws.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Unbrande...er-Braces-4-Pack-13542/202950157?N=5yc1vZc8hr

 

[ultimatebob]

Looks like there may be some rubber pads on the underside of the two feet. I would get a bit of cardboard and use it to find which corner is off, then drop by your local hardware store and pick up a small pack of adhesive felt floor protectors, stick one or two under the offending corner.

Yeah, that's what I did to fix my wobbly Ikea table.

Hey... it was $30 new. I'm not complaining.

 

[JM Aggie08]

Which one do you have? I have just the small tabletop. Solid as a rock.

 

[ultimatebob]

I wish that I could remember the weird Swedish name of it. It looks a lot like a Norden, but I didn't pay anywhere near that much for it.

I hand painted it gray, and still have it 10 years later.

 

[BrokenVisage]

No, but I have a Jerker...

 

[nageov3t]

That's what ikea furniture is like. Unless you plan on welding a new frame that's the way it is.

I am in the same situation with an ikea desk.

my Gallant's never felt wobbly to me.

 

[dud]

Ikea ... the house built of particleboard.

 

[Red Squirrel]

I would get some 2x2's in there and add some cross bracing. You'll want to find where it's wobbly then add the braces there to form a triangle. So like say it's straight legs going up to the top and it wobbles at the 90 degree mark then you brace the table top and leg at that point. You kind of have to get creative. Depends how bad it is.

 

[Imp]

I want to get one, but don't have the space. Instead, I have 2 Galants.

My first GALANT desk was wobbly because I didn't screw the metal support frame beneath the "wood" desk into the "wood" tight enough. It was more vibration than wobble though... Every keystroke felt like hitting a drum. BUT you said it uses plastic pins, so that won't help.

 

[Red Squirrel]

I need to build my desk this summer, I keep procrastinating that project, then summer is over. My garage is not insulated or heated so working on frozen wood is not ideal. Screws and drill bits break a lot.

I can probably do it in a day or two really, just need to actually get on it. I had a plan but did not like the way it was looking when I started then it kinda stopped there. I think I'll just wing it with whatever nicer cut wood I can find at home depot instead of using 2x4's.

 

[Imp]

I need to build my desk this summer, I keep procrastinating that project, then summer is over. My garage is not insulated or heated so working on frozen wood is not ideal. Screws and drill bits break a lot.

I can probably do it in a day or two really, just need to actually get on it. I had a plan but did not like the way it was looking when I started then it kinda stopped there. I think I'll just wing it with whatever nicer cut wood I can find at home depot instead of using 2x4's.

Save your time, yo. Here's Ikea stuff and supposedly all "real" wood. You know you want to...

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/14630009/
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/40242592/

 

[Captante]

Had a wobbly Ikea bed-frame ... snagged a couple of those round rubber things that go under the feet and problem solved.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Save your time, yo. Here's Ikea stuff and supposedly all "real" wood. You know you want to...

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/14630009/
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/40242592/

No Ikea here, and I want to build it to very specific size to basically fill in a whole wall.

Will probably have built in outlets too so I can plug stuff in from the top. Those tables are nice though... would be a good starting point. The desk I want to build is basically going to be a giant table anyway.

 

[Jodiuh]

If so, do you find it to be excessively wobbly? I know Ikea isn't exactly the pinnacle of furniture manufacturing, but my rectangular Bekant desk has a slight wobble to it even when I'm just typing. If I barely bump it, it really shakes.

I know I'm 3 years late to the game, but just wanted to share my solution...

https://imgur.com/a/3AsbI

After "securing" the Bekant by pushing the feet as far as I could towards the walls, I pulled the desk up and towards the wall...letting it sort of scrape down the wall. The results are impressive. It's even more stable than my old school Galant with it's three legs ever was. There's essentially zero wobble unless I'm pounding the thing, haha!

Anyway, I hope this helps!!

 

[Carson Dyle]

Is the Bekant less stable than the Galant was? I see Galants for sale all the time on Craigslist and was thinking of picking one up (with the adjustable T legs) for a 2nd desk in my office.

 

[Special K]

I know I'm 3 years late to the game, but just wanted to share my solution...

https://imgur.com/a/3AsbI

After "securing" the Bekant by pushing the feet as far as I could towards the walls, I pulled the desk up and towards the wall...letting it sort of scrape down the wall. The results are impressive. It's even more stable than my old school Galant with it's three legs ever was. There's essentially zero wobble unless I'm pounding the thing, haha!

Anyway, I hope this helps!!

My solution was to return the Bekant and turn my Galant around so that the straight edge faces me and the curved edge is against the wall. My original reason for buying the Bekant was because I wanted a straight desk as opposed to a curved/corner desk (Galant), but the Bekant was just too wobbly and then I realized I could just turn the Galant around. It's more stable, plus having the curved side facing the wall makes it easier for me to get behind my desk to make adjustments to cables, my PC, etc.

 

[William Gaatjes]

It is never the furniture, always the floor. Don't you people know that ?
I made my own custom desk with the 6 metal legs i purchased from Ikea and there is a reason these six legs can be adjusted in length.
A floor is never absolutely even. At least not where i have lived\ live.

 

[Jodiuh]

Is the Bekant less stable than the Galant was? I see Galants for sale all the time on Craigslist and was thinking of picking one up (with the adjustable T legs) for a 2nd desk in my office.

If you’re referring to the corner desks, yes, absolutely. I believe the actual table top is thinner on the Bekant. The corner Bekant has 2 legs, whilst the corner Galant had three.

The Galant wasn’t perfect as far as stability is concerned and I never thought to wedge it between a couple walls. This small thing has made the Bekant more stable than the Galant ever was. It’s rock solid and does not shake @ all with my hammer writing.

IIRC, the Galant was a good $100 more too. Something else I’ve noticed is that the the curve starts much later than the Galant, effectively giving me more space on the wide edge. The Galant’s extension could make the wider side longer than the Bekant, but the line where the extension meets the table always bothered me.

Overall, I really like the Bekant quite a bit more. The sloping curves look fantastic and the black legs also look nicer. The Galant with extensions did offer more real estate, but at a stability cost and of course those gaps kind of ruined it for me.

My solution was to return the Bekant and turn my Galant around so that the straight edge faces me and the curved edge is against the wall. My original reason for buying the Bekant was because I wanted a straight desk as opposed to a curved/corner desk (Galant), but the Bekant was just too wobbly and then I realized I could just turn the Galant around. It's more stable, plus having the curved side facing the wall makes it easier for me to get behind my desk to make adjustments to cables, my PC, etc.

Genius!! Glad you got things worked out for you...I’m sure your tower looks sexier and feels more loved now.

It is never the furniture, always the floor. Don't you people know that ?
I made my own custom desk with the 6 metal legs i purchased from Ikea and there is a reason these six legs can be adjusted in length.
A floor is never absolutely even. At least not where i have lived\ live.

It’s not the floor in this case, it’s the long heavy table supported by two legs on the far ends. They’re attached by a single column making two points of contact on the entire desk. In order for the table to be stable, it would need a third leg on the long edge and they’d need interconnects between all of them.

It’s a trade off for usability and pretty looks. By jamming it into the corner it’s absolutely prefect for me.

 

[William Gaatjes]

It’s not the floor in this case, it’s the long heavy table supported by two legs on the far ends. They’re attached by a single column making two points of contact on the entire desk. In order for the table to be stable, it would need a third leg on the long edge and they’d need interconnects between all of them.

It’s a trade off for usability and pretty looks. By jamming it into the corner it’s absolutely prefect for me.

I looked it up, i now see what you mean, i avoided that with going for six sturdy legs(5 screws each) mounted on a thick wooden desk. But the Bekant definitely needs a cross shaped strut between the legs or a single horizontal bar connecting the legs. But that would interfere with the legs of the person sitting...