An adjustable width Bekant desk

Materials: BEKANT desk underframe, non-standard size table top and rectangular 35x15mm hollow structural steel.

Tools: Hacksaw, drill press and a cordless drill.

I wanted a motorized Bekant sitting/standing desk, but ran into a space problem. My old desk is in a corner between a door and a bookshelf, and the smallest Bekant table is 20 centimeters too wide.

Luckily, the motorised underframe can be bought separately, so the first problem was solved by buying a 100x60cm Linnmon tabletop.

An adjustable width Bekant desk | IKEA Hackers

Now the second problem: the Bekant underframe is too wide for this table! Fortunately, standard 35x15mm furniture tube fits perfectly inside the horizontal supports. This makes it easy to modify it into a telescoping width frame that fits a range of sizes.

The first step was to cut two equal size lengths of furniture tube. How long these should be depends on whether you want to shorten or lengthen the desk.

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Next, since I wanted a shorter frame, I cut out a piece from the middle of both horizontal supports. In the picture you can see how the tube fits inside.

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I drilled a series of holes into the extension pieces. The two holes in the middle are 20mm apart and the rest are 30mm, center to center. Each hole is centered vertically. The holes must be positioned very accurately for the parts to be interchangable.

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Optional step: I spraypainted the extensions to match the frame. Powder coating would have been best for durability and a more professional look, but it would have cost a lot more too.

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Finally, I drilled two holes through each of the four frame pieces. The center of the first hole is 10mm from the edge and the second one 70mm. These should line up with the holes in the extension piece.

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The holes allow the width of the frame to be adjusted at 30mm increments. Tightening the nuts compresses the frame against the extension and removes any slack.

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Extra page for the assembly instructions booklet:

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Now the underframe fits the table perfectly.

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The non-Bekant table top lacks pre-drilled holes. A 10mm wood drill was perfect for the plastic inserts that came with the frame.

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All done!

An adjustable width Bekant desk | IKEA Hackers

~ Calle Laakkonen