2

Hey I've built the ikea desk attached in the video. Basically it's SÄLJAN ADILS which is super affordable and it has 5 legs, 2 to the sides and 1 in the middle.

I've made sure it's leveled to the floor with rubber raisers but it's still wobbly. People suggest mounting it into the wall but I don't really want to do that. I've also read about adding x brackets to the sides or just 1 connecting the legs. Is there an easy way to do this?

If there are no simple solutions do you guys recommend any other legs from Ikea?

Here's the video: https://i.stack.imgur.com/a6GxI.jpg

Appreciate any help!

BiscuitEdi
  • 29
  • 1
  • 2
  • 2
    Hi, welcome to StackExchange. There are 3 reasons a desk will wobble, since uneven floor/legs seems to be ruled out already it's either the second or third reasons. The attachment of the legs to the tabletop is not secure, or the legs themselves lack the stiffness needed (and the larger a table is the more important both of these become). I suspect you have a combination of these two reasons here. Regardless, attaching this to the wall is by far the simplest solution for you here. You'd only need to drill two small holes in the wall to do this most directly. – Graphus Mar 30 '21 at 12:02
  • The design of that table requires you to really tighten the legs into the tabletop. – Programmer66 Mar 30 '21 at 16:59
  • @Programmer66, I'd have thought that would be one of the first things the OP made sure of given the effort to level the feet but yeah, I suppose it's worth mentioning just in case. – Graphus Mar 31 '21 at 10:04
  • As long as he doesn't level the table by loosening the legs - LOL – Programmer66 Mar 31 '21 at 15:39
  • I tightened the screws as much as they can go. Do you have any other suggestions than attaching it to the wall? – BiscuitEdi Mar 31 '21 at 18:19
  • Do you have a restriction like a lease agreement that prevents you from drilling into the wall? If so there is a workaround that gives you basically the same solution but no holes. But you need to have some spare pieces of wood available, a few screws and brackets, and possibly to purchase a couple of self-adhesive mounts (e.g. Command Strips). See previous Q with similar restrictions and various solutions. – Graphus Mar 31 '21 at 19:09
  • 1
    @Graphus suggestion to attach to the wall is the quickest and easiest to do. Adding X-braces to the legs would take more time, effort, and cost. – Programmer66 Mar 31 '21 at 19:11
  • If the above would be a workable solution for you then I'll flesh it out into a full Answer, because even though it's much more complex than just screwing directly to the wall it's still simpler than trying to arrange some sort of diagonal bracing, given the type of legs you're dealing with. – Graphus Mar 31 '21 at 19:12
  • 3
    I'm going to have to be convinced this is on-topic for WW SE. Assembling flatpack furniture and tweaking it is part of modern life, but has nothing, really, to do with any woodworking techniques old or new. –  Apr 02 '21 at 15:16
  • I'm thinking of adding an X to the sides. Or just 1 piece of wood to the sides. Do you think other legs would work better? I could order those and store/try to sell these. @Graphus – BiscuitEdi Apr 02 '21 at 22:30
  • 2
    If you move the table so that it butts solidly to the wall it will stop moving. It looks like you have cables run off the back of the table that would have to be re-routed. Or, if you could route the cables so that they run off the left side of the table it would allow the back and right side to actually contact the wall. If the cables won't reach there are thick felt stickers you could put on the edge of the table. The felt touches the wall providing stability and enough space for the cables. – David D Apr 02 '21 at 23:01
  • "I'm thinking of adding an X to the sides." Ok, but how? "Or just 1 piece of wood to the sides." I can assure you now, that won't be sufficient. And again you face the problem of how you'd attach it securely, and in an aesthetically pleasing way... you're not going to just glue it to the legs with construction adhesive presumably! "Do you think other legs would work better?" I don't know, which other legs? How do they attach? Are they more stable than the Adils? You're asking too much for the SE format; SE is for answering focussed Qs about one specific thing, as much as possible. – Graphus Apr 03 '21 at 08:51

1 Answers1

1

If drilling holes in the wall is a permanent or insurmountable objection, here is what I would do after thinking about this for a bit:

  • You need masking tape, superglue (cyanoacrylate or CA glue), and some small strips of thin wood. You'll be using the superglue-and-tape trick.

  • Apply tape to the wall at the height of the tabletop where the strips of wood will go. Two or three pieces of wood, spaced along the long edge of the table, should be sufficient. Each one only needs to be a few inches long (about 10cm) and the wood can be quite thin1.

  • Apply masking tape to both sides of the strips. Apply masking tape to the relevant positions on the tabletop's rear edge. Burnish the tape down well.

  • Add strings of glue to the tape on the wall and glue the strips into position. After a minute or two do the same on the front of the wood strips, then push the table backwards into them and press hard for a few moments.

And that's it, you're done.

Your table should be completely stable after this without any holes having to be drilled and without having to futz around trying to figure out and then implement any bracing options that legs of this type make difficult.

In addition to being easily reversible, this is also an inexpensive solution2 especially if you use dollar-store superglue, which is perfectly sufficient for this purpose. Ditto the masking tape. If you're in the US or Canada I understand that stirring sticks can be free in many places3. So total cost here is perhaps five bucks :-)

1 If it would allow enough space for your cabling stirring sticks from the hardware store/big box would do fine.

2 I was initially going to recommend using Command Strips to attach the wood to the wall until I checked their price o_O

3 If not raid a dumpster outside a construction site or home reno for a few pieces of discarded furring strips; I'm not even kidding.

Graphus
  • 65,691
  • 3
  • 50
  • 139
  • Here's the reason why I don't want to attach it to the wall: https://i.imgur.com/uB8nk6M.png

    Still haven't dealt with this but i'm thinking of adding either more legs or somehow adding an x or just 1 beam to the sides.

     – BiscuitEdi Apr 06 '21 at 12:58
  • So, instead of using thin strips pack it out further? Use blocks of wood the same thickness as the step into the wall, or slightly thicker. Then proceed as above. – Graphus Apr 07 '21 at 07:04
  • 3
    I've tried several techniques to get these tables (and those terrible legs) to not walk themselves around from just the vibrations from keyboard use, and all have failed. If you want these desks to be stable, you have to anchor them as described here, or live with it. I had some luck using sticky silicone pads along the edges where they meet each-other or the wall. But $49 on sale desks are going to be $49 on sale desks no matter what you do. –  May 13 '21 at 14:35