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Building Your Own Standing Desk: A Complete Guide

Autonomous|Nov 9, 2020

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Building your own standing desk can be one of the most enjoyable activities for a DIY hobbyist. The thrill of creating something distinctly “you” is exhilarating! However, some people don’t know how to make a standing desk or where to start. Remote workers worldwide need a good desk to do their job productively, so you cannot build a lousy one. Instead, building your own standing desk takes effort and dedication. The rewards are well worth it once you know how to make a standing desk!

Why Bother Building Your Own Standing Desk?

Standing desks have numerous health and productivity benefits associated with them. Before building a standing desk, you should understand the advantages and disadvantages of owning one:

Standing Desk

Standing in moderation can have positive effects over sitting
You can incorporate exercises with a standing desk
Ergonomic standing desks can be adjusted for your convenience
You technically save money with one as you don’t need to buy a chair for short use

Standing all day can have adverse health effects

Should you build a standing desk by yourself?

Now, you need to figure out the advantages and disadvantages of building a standing desk on your own versus buying one from a business:

Pros:

● Highly customizable

● You can measure it to your exact likeness without worrying about height adjustment

● Some people find DIY projects to be fun

● Includes any benefits a normal standing desk has

● Plenty of ways to approach a DIY wood standing desk

● You know all of the materials of the desk; therefore, it may be more reliable

Cons:

● May require additional tools

● Can be challenging for novice woodworkers

● It takes time to build

How to build a standing desk at home?

Tools You Need

Generally, the following tools can significantly ease the challenge of building your own standing desk:

● Power drill

● Table saw

● Strap clamps

● Screwdriver

● Hammer

● Wood lacquer or a finish

Tool

However, these are not the only tools required. In fact, you can use other equipment to create a standing desk. For example, you can use a circular saw or a cabinet saw in place of a table saw. If you’re particularly old school, you can even use a handsaw to do all the cutting. Some drills can also replace screwdrivers with a drill driver bit attached to it. Nonetheless, if you’re interested in creating your own standing desk, you should have a general idea of how DIY projects work.

Once you assemble all of your tools, you need to formulate a standing desk plan. Figure out how you plan on using each tool and which tools you need for the job. Something like a table should be used for cutting boards, while you can use a wood finish if you plan on working with wood. Of course, this guide covers a general standing desk, so any adjustments have to be made on your own accord.

The Blueprints

Standing desks can be complex for novice DIY hobbyists. Knowing this, you must figure out what kind of standing desk you wish to build. For the sake of clarity, this guide covers how to build a standing desk utilizing the DIY Smart Desk Kit. However, every DIY project must start with measurements.

Measurements

For you to seriously be building your own standing desk, you need to take measurements. If you don’t take proper measurements, you might have a standing desk that is too short, long, or wobbly! It should come across as no surprise that this first step is the single most crucial one to successfully building your own standing desk.

For the first measurement, measure your height and figure out what level your standing desk should reach. Do you plan on using an ergonomic chair from time to time as well? Even something like gaming requires additional foresight for successful crafting. In the case you plan on using the DIY Smart Desk Kit, you should also consider height elevation as a key measuring point.

Next, you should figure out the length and width of your desired desk. This guide covers the basic rectangular shape you commonly see in desks, but you can be creative and plot out an L-shaped desk or something else. Consider that most common desks are roughly 60 inches long and 30 inches wide, so you can make adjustments if it’s too long or short for your DIY project.

The Materials

For your tools to be useful, you need materials that require them. The DIY Smart Desk Kit is one object, but you need wood or something else for the general desk. If you don’t use the DIY Smart Desk Kit, you need to use something sturdy for the base. Either way, you need to do some shopping. The amount of wood (and the metallic base if you prefer) depends on the measurements you’ve selected earlier. As you might already do other DIY projects, buying a surplus for other projects is perfectly acceptable.

The DIY Smart Desk Kit is an excellent frame, so using that can skip several steps. Otherwise, you need to figure out the style of frame you wish to use. H-frame or x-frame is up to you, but you need to know what you’re building. Once you have the plasters and everything else you need for your standing desk, then you have to figure out the assembly.

Before the assembly, you should measure the frame if you haven’t already. The metallic base shouldn’t be too short or long. Width is easy to adjust, but an incorrect length can ruin the main practicality of your project. With that out of the way, now it’s time to start the assembly.

Assembly

First, you should assemble the top. Assuming you’re using wood, you can take measurements and use a marker for the designated cuts. You can cut several of these spots with a table saw until it resembles your ideal standing desktop. This part is easy to figure out, especially if you buy high-quality wood. If you plan on using the DIY Smart Desk Kit, you should make sure the length measures somewhere from 40 to 73 inches.

Next, you need to create the legs of the desk. If you’re using a wooden frame for the legs, you can use carpenter’s glue for an easy, cohesive unit. Otherwise, you might need to smelt your metallic base or buy pre-made legs. If you’re using glue, you should wait overnight for maximum effect. Afterward, you can use the drill to make holes for future assembly. If you’re building your own standing desk on your own, you need to make sure all the legs connect together reasonably.

Four of the legs should look nigh identical, with the frame on the top and bottom being the one that connects everything. As desk frames should be parallel, the measurements should be highly similar to one another. As a whole, desks are simple to create. It’s standing desks that may be challenging to make.

The main difference between a standing desk and a regular desk is their height. Thus, if you plan on using height elevation, you need a contraption that can raise or lower the height like a crank. The DIY Smart Desk Kit from Autonomous eliminates this issue, but you can create one on your own. Not all DIY standing desk ideas require ergonomic designs, so you can opt-out of making it complicated. Remember, you can buy or make a desk conversion kit down the line.

Put Everything Together

The top should’ve been very easy to make. You know what the top of a desk looks like, so the main challenge should be the bottom framework. The holes you made earlier can have screws attached to it for additional support, especially if you value sturdiness. These holes should connect each leg, especially if you’re doing something in an H-frame style. Regardless, you should be able to figure out how your legs should look like for your dream standing desk.

Once you’ve finished that or purchased the DIY Smart Desk Kit, then you can assemble everything together. In this scenario, you have the latter option available to you; assembling it is as easy as following this PDF. You just need to place your tabletop onto it and fasten it according to those instructions. Otherwise, it should be similar to your own handmade frame.

What If I Have a Different Template?

It’s okay to be creative when you create a standing desk. A homemade standing desk can have unique spins on it that’s distinctly “you”. Nonetheless, this complete guide is a general guide that encompasses all forms of a standing desk. Some are ergonomic; some aren’t. This general guide applies to general standing desk templates. Of course, a lot of the knowledge in this article can be useful in your own creative vision.

In other situations, you might need to think outside the box. In an L-shaped desk, for example, you won’t just have four legs. Do you want eight or six legs? Do you have an alternate idea that may make it easier? Remember, DIY projects don’t have to be difficult; some can be easy and efficient!

Using This Desk For Work

Remote workers need a reliable and sturdy desk to do their work safely and productively. Knowing this, you need to test out your new desk. If you are using the kit we recommend, you should notice that its general durability is akin to that of the SmartDesk Core. Most important, you need to see if it wobbles.

Poor craftsmanship can lead to wobbling. Of course, you should test out the framework before assembling everything. Otherwise, you need to disassemble it. A good standing desk should be easy to both assemble and disassemble at a whim. If you’re moving, the latter is beneficial for making the moving process go a lot smoother.

If it isn’t wobbling, then try to put all of your necessary work equipment on it. There’s no need to test how much weight it can support as work generally doesn’t require more than a hundred pounds for most tasks. Plus, once you figure out its breaking point, you have to rebuild it all over again. The damages caused by breaking it for data isn’t worth it for a DIY hobbyist.

What is the Time It Takes to Build All of This?

The DIY Smart Desk Kit takes approximately 15 to 30 minutes to assemble fully. If you consider the need to create the top of the table, then you should estimate maybe another 15 to 30 minutes depending on your craftsmanship.

In situations you aren’t using that fantastic kit and instead are using your crafted framework, it can take upward to an hour depending on your proficiency. Desks are simple to assemble, and most DIY hobbyists should be able to assemble it as soon as it’s built. The main difficulty is creating the frame. That alone can take upward to 30 minutes or more depending on your skill level.

The time it takes to build your own standing desk does not involve the time it takes for you to buy tools, materials, etc. It also does not factor in any breaks you might take during the building process or accidents that may occur.

Building Your Own Standing Desk: Complete!

You can now enjoy the many benefits associated with owning and using a standing desk! Congratulations on the hard work! Now, you should notice more enjoyable work hours while you use your own finely crafted DIY standing desk. By being less stressed out, you can start to work more efficiently. Once you start being more productive, then you should be able to finish work faster.

All of these benefits extend past productivity. While it is nice to be more productive, the main advantage is convenience. You built this desk to suit your needs. You didn’t spend as much building it, and you don’t have to worry about shipping. Ultimately, you have a terrific standing desk you can be proud of using each day.

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WRITTEN BYAutonomous

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