Standing desk footprint reduction

Taking a Flexispot E2 standing desk and modifying it to be less wide and less deep to fit a small desk top in a tight space.
Sponsored by FlexiSpot
FlexiSpot C7 Premium Ergonomic Chair
Use code ‘C730’ for $30 off on $400+ purchase on C7 Chair
USA: bit.ly/3R1cZky
Canada: bit.ly/3tkFodx

[@matthiaswandel]

This video sponsored by Flexispot. FlexiSpot C7 Premium Ergonomic Chair Use code ‘C730’ for $30 off on $400+ purchase on C7 Chair USA: bit.ly/3R1cZky Canada: bit.ly/3tkFodx

[@kmcgurty]

I've been looking around for a new mesh chair since mine is worn out. Great timing!

[@btarb242]

@@kmcgurty might be worth checking marketplace for a used Herman Miller Aeron chair. They are made incredibly well and last absolutely forever. The ones at our office have been in use for about 20 years and we haven't had any issues at all. I then found a couple used ones for me and my wife for about $200 each. They're fantastic.

[@Traderjoe]

I’m actually impressed by the quality of the desk now that I’ve seen how ruggedly put together it is

[@matthiaswandel]

At my yougest's daycare, someone got a standing desk. Looking at it, I realized, not all standing desks are solid. I just don't think about them wiggling with the ones I use.

[@dandersonanza]

I thoroughly enjoy your love-hate relationship with your sponsors. You take their money then show them everything they did wrong.

[@Wordsnwood]

I'm actually impressed that Flexispot sponsored you, even knowing that you were going to hack at their desks. That shows imagination on their part! 😁

[@matthiaswandel]

Yes, I told them that ahead of time!

[@caskwith]

It's a win-win for them, they get their product byt someone trusted and as IKEAwell know there is a big demand for "hacks" and mods to current furniture. If you break it, it's your own fault, they don't have to honour a warranty an you like will likely buy a replacement anyway.

[@DEADB33F]

I like to add a small lip on the back edge of desks like this to stop errant pens & things rolling off the back. ...Also do this on all the wall-facing horizontal surfaces in my workshop and I can't count how many times it's saved me from losing screws, bolts, screwdrivers, pens, etc. down the back.

[@matthiaswandel]

Haven't had this issue with computer desks. Cables and such keep stuff from rolling back.

[@reddcube]

Reminds me of every IKEA furniture I own. Get it home, and immediately modify it to fit my needs.

[@wobblysauce]

It is a good base... and if you were to buy the material separately it would be more.

[@DavidStanton]

Nice job!

[@IgorIppolitov]

It reminds me of an old TogGear for some reason. "Here is a standig desk frame meant for office. Let's add a homemade top and and grind half of the frame off. It's awesome! Also, look, a chair"

[@jeffreybernath6627]

At 1:40, I was sure we were going to see Matthias's new mini metal lathe....

[@user-ej7vy1rl4t]

I think hes been watching Jamie's videos...

[@ScottPankhurst]

the method you saw is probably as accurate as that lathe is.

[@fergusoddjob]

I audibly laughed when I saw the angle grinder come out. I swear he tries to make machinists wince every time he works with metal, and I love it.

[@MCsCreations]

Awesome work, Matthias! 😃 Stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊

[@jasonbailey9139]

One of the best upgrades to a chair is to replace the cheap plastic casters with casters that use inline skate wheels. You can get them for $15-25 and they make them roll so much better on carpet or hard flooring. I don't get my jacket sleeves tangled up in them like I do with the others, but I guess the real solution there is to get a coat hook or balance out the weight of the items in my jacket pockets...

[@sanderaits]

I actually made one of my chair too easy to roll that way, hated sitting on it because it would roll every time I leaned. Had to make a few tweaks to make the wheels have more resistance to spinning. But when you did want to move it, the sound and smoothness was good indeed.

[@williamreinhard]

​@@sanderaits When I put those wheels on mine I realized my floor slopes away from my desk, so it would always roll away from it as I sat there. I got used to pulling the chair up then shifting it sideways to turn all the wheels and kind of lock it in place. Still better than crappy casters and those plastic floor mats.

[@vandammesque]

Nice technique to get that angled cut!

[@RK-kn1ud]

I found you method of removing a rivnut interesting...considering you already had the angle grinder in your hand. I've learned you can be unbelievably precise with an angle grinder. Probably more precise that you could be with a chisel. It's no fault of your own though...just a wood worker doing wood worker things. Metal workers would probably take an angle grinder to every piece or wood they touched.

[@JonnyDIY]

Can I be your father in law 😆🙏💕👍 Great job Matthias, came out nice. Took me to end to figure why all the hacking up of the desk though 😂 then I saw the old smaller tabletop you wanted to refit

[@bensonyoutuber7944]

I've been considering adding one of these as a workbench to avoid low back stress when possible.

[@matthiaswandel]

Same here. Bit it would require rebuilding my workbench, and I'm also concerned because sometimes I whack things real hard on the workbench

[@aurick861]

that chair looks nice, would be interested to see how it holds up

[@aserta]

One of my "standing desks" isn't a desk at all. My shop one. From day one, i knew that if i had any sort of surface, it would becomes a storage space, so i got one of those hospital monitor stands from surplus and use that. Later on with the advent of more powerful laptops i ditched that and just have a pole on a rim filled with concrete with a rubber sole, that supports a laptop and a small pad surface for my ball mouse. It's a really good setup to not have space in some situations. Keeps you clean and organized.

[@matthiaswandel]

this avoiding horizontal surfaces cause they clutter is just stupid. Where do you now put stuff? It's going to land somewhere, but now you have to bend down for it.

[@intelligenceservices]

I've disassembled standing desk legs like that and they contain nice "ball screws" but with a plastic nut. I bet it wouldn't be impossible to take it apart and cut the ball screw shorter or other parts of the assembly if you wanted to.

[@matthiaswandel]

I don't think any standing desk has ball screws in it.

[@pieterp.774]

You saved the world 👍

[@Jacka440]

Nice job! Can we buy the standing desk frame through you or is there a code?

[@matthiaswandel]

See video description. But I don't get anything from it.

[@vic_tim7956]

Nice desk(s) -that chair interests me too - I've a add on lumbar support + a pillow + a foam sausage but I think the built in might be better 🤭🤭🤭🤭

[@WIImotionmasher]

well i know what chair I need to order next. Id like a standing desk too, but Im waiting until I have a better setup at home. ,

[@scruffy8601]

I don't think it was mentioned anywhere, as I wonder what the final footprint of the standing desk is?

[@xistic1]

Somewhere, right now, there is a FlexiSpot engineer yelling at his phone, "WHY DIDN'T YOU JUST MAKE A BIGGER TOP! *SOB*"

[@matthiaswandel]

I thought that was obvious enough I didn't explicitly say why. Oops!

[@xistic1]

@@matthiaswandel it was kind of obvious, but only if you watch all the way to end and pay attention. I just think that imagery is amusing.

[@kyoopihd]

I can't be alone in thinking there was a missed opportunity by not giving the new chair a jump test ;)

[@wade2361]

What about the desk? It definitely needed a jump test. I wouldn't trust that thing without one!

[@dpmeyer4867]

nice work

[@nathanfritch3950]

The chair appears strikingly similar to those sold by Autonomous to the point where I would guess parts are interchangeable between them. But the Flexispot is more adjustable and $150 dollars cheaper!

[@matthiaswandel]

one downside of that chair -- its big. I'm probably a bit small for that chair.

[@MrMega200]

That's the fun thing about most computer chair companies sometimes, they just pick out a standard model from design sheets and maybe change some things to make it unique. Sometimes they don't even bother. Like once I was in deep in research for a computer chair that wouldn't make my back act up in pain(hurt disk at my hip, painful with lumbar support) that I've found that a cheap brand on Amazon were using the same design from another brand's $300-$400ish computer chair. The cheap brand was Vinsetto and the chair was priced at $140. Can't be too mad at the cheap brand because they were really good with warranty support for it. Told me I could give away the old chair since they didn't want it and it went to a cousin that desperately needed a good chair for her work from home stuff. It was better than the majority of the ergonomic junk in home office stores.

[@jholmessiedle]

I think you might have voided the warrantee :) Great lateral thinking and problem solving!

[@johnrice6793]

Hey - Cool!!

[@rektullah]

what do you think about the herman miller chairs

[@matthiaswandel]

Had an Aeron chair back at RIM (Blackberry). Very nice chairs, but the web seat wears out pants fast

[@RubyRhod]

I didn't know you are also a butcher, Mathias! 😂

[@chrislewis6050]

If you still would like to remove additional height, you could build new feet by mortising out holes for the posts to set in, instead of them sitting on top of the feet. Might get you another inch and a half...

[@matthiaswandel]

Considered it, but it would weaken the legs too much.

[@chrislewis6050]

@@matthiaswandel Gussets?

[@gregfeneis609]

Nice work, as always. 1:43 Have you retired that table top lathe?

[@matthiaswandel]

Just didn't need it for this

[@Don.Challenger]

Matthias yet another good bit of work. Couldn't the desk top just be a metal plate maybe a quarter inch thick - what added height reduction would that provide you? (As a woodworking project most of your work was metal crafting and that desktop was the only wood present and it was never touched.)

[@matthiaswandel]

would be expensive and very uncomfortable.

[@thejoshthat]

New top seems way easier but, as always, AMAZING WORK!

[@matthiaswandel]

Why? It just adds extra work. The new top would have had to be the same size to fit the space.

[@mm9773]

@@matthiaswandel Think outside the box: just make the room bigger!

[@thejoshthat]

@@matthiaswandel aaaaaahh! I missed that the top size couldn't change. Either way, the way that you're so comfortable customizing stuff is awesome!

[@pullstartpatriot]

We need trash picking videos like back in the day. Been a viewer for years. thanks!!!

[@droy333]

You know why they call them a C-Clip? Because you may not SEE after you use them! haha

[@ClayMann]

I'm currently trying to pick a bed for a 9 year old that has furniture built into it. Their room is not big enough to fit a desk and the bed. Its the UK, where homes are stupidly tiny. It just occurred to me that two sit/stand desks could be placed under a bed at either end and rise up so a desk under it with some storage could then be accessed with enough headroom to work under the bed if sitting. Then have the bed lower down for sleeping without being up near the ceiling like this super high cabin beds that need a ladder to get up to. Nothing like it exists on the market but it seems like it would great if you could sync up both desks.

[@matthiaswandel]

Flexispot makes a standing desk with four legs, so there's four legs that sync up. Frame would have to be modified to lift the whole bed though.

[@foldionepapyrus3441]

That seems over complex to me... The cabin bed has no moving parts and you don't need a separate ladder if the desk/storage sections underneath have inbuilt rungs. Plus people get heavy, add in kids being kids the 'bed lift' of this style seems like it would be nothing but trouble. I can see the appeal of the concept though. But why make it complex and electronic when it doesn't have to be - if you really want a lower bed and desk in the same footprint the simplest option is just to pivot the bed up against the wall - then you get to use the bed slat type area as mounts for things like monitors and desk lamps and all you need is a latch to lock it in position - way quicker than the screw thread desk will be, and much harder for kids being kids to cause any problem as you have no power cables to get pinched, control buttons to get knocked about etc.

[@MatchaBarnes]

i base my purchasing decisions off how easy it is for Matthias to modify the product.

[@jimez86]

FlexiSpot: "Would like to do a sponsor spot for us?" Matthias: "Sure, let me get my angle grinder!" FlexiSpot: "Great then...wait wut?"

[@l.glucid9077]

Do you have a link to this table

[@matthiaswandel]

Its a flexispot E2, on amazon and on their website.

[@l.glucid9077]

@@matthiaswandel => thanks 👍

[@petergdk]

Great video - will actually consider buying the Flexispot E2 now. Oh and BTW - you made a typo, calling it Fexispot (forgot the L). Not important, except maybe for your sponsor.

[@chriscrowe3527]

Have you thought of using a standing desk as the basis for a drill press table?

[@matthiaswandel]

no, it would wear out the mechanism too fast. Also while drilling it really helps to feel how much force you are applying

[@fahmimbarki1331]

Could u please do a vid explaining how the engine and the shaft and the gears work together ? That will be great for me i am a student

[@matthiaswandel]

watch my video on that topic.

[@NicosLeben]

1:48 I thought you have metal lathe for stuff like that 😀

[@matthiaswandel]

Thought about using it, but I wanted the methods in this video to be more accessible. Also was faster this way

[@abe9mc]

I'm curious as to why you didn't just make a lager desk top!

[@txkflier]

He said why at the end..

[@bce.gatien]

I'm sure the sponsor is very happy that you put a hacksaw and an angle grinder to their product. Good project !

[@johannes.f.r.]

I think so. He promotes it as relatively affordable and shows more ways in which people can use it. They don't really care how it looks in your home or office, they just want you to buy the product.

[@schwuzi]

I think it's nice to know that they are somewhat customizable for specific needs.

[@SuperDavidEF]

@@schwuzi "somewhat customizable" is an interesting way to put it. But, TBH if you're Matthias Wandel, EVERYTHING is "somewhat customizable."

[@scotttovey]

Let us know how long the cushion holds up on that chair. I purchased a chair with a 400Lb rating; and the cushion on it went flat in about 3 months. It's funny that an office chair, does not hold up to the normal daily use of sitting on it. I remember purchasing an office chair off Walmart's shelf back in the early 2000's and it was comfortable even after the cushion was worn, the two chairs I've purchased over the past 10 years, not so much.

[@Biru_to]

Maybe the walmart chair had 2 layers of foam, a harder and a softer one? I think nowadays many office chairs just have a thin wood/plastic flat base, and a single layer of foam on top of it.

[@DearHenryA]

Those office chair wheels are the same on almost all brands. If you have an old chair that you are tossing out then pull off the wheels and save as spares. You won't have to buy a full set in the future when you only need one.

[@bobweiram6321]

I guess this video was recorded before you got the lathe, otherwise you would've used it for cutting the circlip grooves.

[@keithpetrino]

I never understood height-adjustable standing desks. Why not just have a high desk with a high drafting stool/chair. You could stand at the desk when you want to and sit when you want to. Also, it's much easier to get in and out of a high chair.

[@matthiaswandel]

ever seen a tall office chair? Me neither.

[@keithpetrino]

​@@matthiaswandel Yes. They're all over amazon, generally marketed as drafting chairs. They look like regular office chairs, but with an adjustable footrest.

[@lostevesy]

It's extremely rare, but i wonder if you have any thoughts about chair pistons exploding. In the rare cases it has happened, it's quite gruesome.

[@matthiaswandel]

only if you mess with them. When sitting on them, they barely have enough force to lift you.

[@ScottPankhurst]

was building a new desktop not a simpler solution?

[@matthiaswandel]

It would add the work or building a new desktop, but not save any, because the new one would have to be the same size to fit at all

[@theseriousclam6511]

I noticed that you use some Black and Decker stuff. Black and Decker has never served me well in the past.

[@Biru_to]

From personal experience, I don't mind buying "cheap" brands when it's for tools I'll rarely use. I'm not sure if an axle grinder is the kind of tool where you'll notice a big difference if you use it maybe twice a year. It's in-precise anyway, and it's the discs that wear. But who am I

[@1pcfred]

@@Biru_to lousy angle grinders are pretty bad compared to better ones.

[@davegower123]

Happy father-in-law, happy wife! Cheers! 🍻👍😊

[@davidshaper5146]

I'm sure you'll throw out the spare screws.

[@Dansplains]

😂

[@weldabar]

I feel like Matthias may have voided the warranty ... which I've been conditioned to fear even though I don't recall ever claiming a warranty for something like this.

[@paulfrizzell31]

👍

[@Javanat0rBuilds]

Heck yeah! Go pound sand warranty!

[@norfy]

6:41 those chair bases are so cheap. I've seen so many of them give away with the caster stud flexing in the hole when you roll around

[@MazeFrame]

Have to say, I am a bit surprised by the lack of attempts to fully DIY a height adjustable desk.

[@CBWP]

That would be on the other channel

[@matthiaswandel]

Thought about it at times, I just couldn't come up with a mechanism that is worthwhile. You might also notice a lack of DIY standing desks out there for that reason. One guy came up with one, look for "wooden counterweight desk". Not worthwhile in my opinion.

[@CBWP]

I was just expecting him to use an arduino to run a motor that turns a screw. You know the same way they do it. But his desk would be wooden...

[@sbellock5]

Next upgrade should be some inline skate wheels to replace the cheap plastic castors on yhe chair.

[@CBWP]

I got this cheap table then put in 10 hrs of work to make just how I wanted it. Cheap+extras=expensive... It's like ala carte.

[@Leroys_Stuff]

You hesitant to take an angle grinder to something the hell you say lol

[@FloridaRCFlyer]

Hey Matthias, I'd like to see your videos on Odysee

[@SEMBEATS]

Wouldn't be easier to make a new top ?

[@tonn333]

Wdym? He used the same top 😅

[@robinbennett5994]

I think it's more about fitting in the available space, not fitting the top specifically.

[@SEMBEATS]

@@robinbennett5994 yeah I thought so

[@tonn333]

@@robinbennett5994 yes, same top, new electric legs

[@tracybowling1156]

You're so so sweet to make your father-in-law a new desk. Sponsored or not!

[@justinmeisse]

You're in the running for the best son-in-law award

[@bukwok]

i dont like the feet little bit long stick out too much, sometime you chair or your bare feet accidentally hit it, pain like step on lego with bare feet , i always want to cut it few inches shorter ,but that make it safer for you human feet ?? maybe make it less stable when adding pressure or weight or leaning on edge of table .

[@matthiaswandel]

If you take the leveling feet off, its closer to the floor, so less painful toe stubbing.

[@martinlouden9005]

Time to make some more woodworking machinery Matthius.

[@mattjames592]

All that work when you could have just cut a new top.

[@matthiaswandel]

How would that help? The new top would have to be the same size as the old one to fit the space (its tight around there).

[@realamerican6101]

Good son in law ,man and dad.

[@wibbix]

I have an identical lift from a different distributor and used a top from Ikea. Works great!

[@Snowmunkee]

Was this a sponsored video?

[@matthiaswandel]

Yes

[@bobweiram6321]

Mathias has more than earned his right to shill. He's given us many years of excellent content money can't buy. He has a family to feed and doesn't the smoke weed (which is the scary part). When he does shill, he's too honest for his own good, which often makes his sponsors livid. It's seems like the open source/free culture internet wants creators to take a vow of poverty, which only benefits KZbin.

[@Snowmunkee]

@@bobweiram6321 I wouldn't disagree with you, I just wasn't sure. Usually they have to openly disclose that a video is sponsored so I wanted to make sure

[@stevebettany8778]

@@Snowmunkeeget a life

[@bobweiram6321]

@@Snowmunkee This is part of a video series where he already verbally disclosed his sponsor in the first video's intro. He also discloses his sponsor in the video description for all of them, including this one.

[@phreapersoonlijk]

I don't mind sponsored content at all, but be clear about it.

[@warw]

The fact that this was sponsored was not made clear at all...

[@PlanePreacher]

… unless you read the description!

[@Matt-qd1yw]

​@@PlanePreacherwell many folks don't read that section, especially before watching the video. If you spend sometime looking up proper sponsorship disclosure requirements you'd see that in many places the description is not enough, you need to place the sponsorship disclosure clearly and early in the video.

[@PlanePreacher]

@@Matt-qd1yw thanks

[@Adamsadventures83]

I think it would have been much easier and more pleasing to just use a bigger piece of wood to fit the top...

[@matthiaswandel]

and then I would have to cut that bigger top down to size to fit the space, and back to square 1

[@ByrdNick]

Why not make the whole desktop wider (and deeper) and put the nightstand that was on the right of the desk *under* the desk? That’d increase tabletop space without any irreversible metal work (or warranty voiding).

[@matthiaswandel]

because then it would not fit the space

[@aab-el9bd]

good

[@Canajaf]

Senza sottotitoli non m'interessa più.

[@JoseSilveira-newhandleforYT]

Wonder if it wasn't easier to make a new desktop :-)

[@matthiaswandel]

How would that help anything? It would have to be the same size to fit the available space.

[@JoseSilveira-newhandleforYT]

@@matthiaswandel OK, got it.

[@williamdawson3353]

Your father-in-law is a lucky man.

[@CONRADBLANK-eg2gm]

IT IT IS COLD OR WHAT.!

[@TechnikJens]

Just this week a got my new office chair from a Swedish company (not IKEA😂). And that comes pre assembled, I needed to put the shaft to the foot, put the seat on that shaft and attach the back of the chair, one screw in total.. okay price was over 1k€ 🤷‍♂️

[@JTL-DK]

Talk about a hack job!

[@HowP88]

It's infuriating that they don't make standing desks that bottom out lower - they can go higher than any human alive would need plus it would be easy to add material to make them even higher, but getting them to go just a few centimetres lower than the lowest height requires significant modifications.

[@musicbymark]

You could've just enlarged your desktop piece by adding a nice edging/frame around it - perhaps contrasting wood like walnut or cherry.

[@matthiaswandel]

That would be stupid. Then I'd have bastardized the desktop, AND make a new one cause the bastardized one would no longer fit in the space. What a waste of time that would be.

[@musicbymark]

@@matthiaswandel a bit grumpy in your response to one of your biggest fans of many years MW. I must be misunderstanding your dilemma (or you might not be explaining it adequately for a yooper). I thought you were saying that the desktop wasn't wide enough, & you opted to dismantle & cut off metal to shorten the width. I had a beautiful salvaged curly maple veneered board that was too narrow to mount to a simple tubular metal desk frame, and adding walnut edging around the curly maple made it fit perfectly - gorgeous appearance, easy fix; hardly "bastardized". Sorry if your description was perfectly clear as a bell to all others and I'm the only one who misunderstood.

[@Koushakur]

@@musicbymark That is his usual level of grumpy in the comments, most of his replies that I've seen over the years are like this

[@user-vz5tz2ti4p]

Нифига себе , он купил что-то готовое а не сам это сделал.

[@paulstaf]

Cheap import chair... go to Office Max/Depot Staples and get the same chair cheaper.

[@TimothyJesser]

You could have avoided all of this work by moving to United States and buying an enormous 5500 sq ft house. Then you buy an enormous oversized desk. Problem solved. 😉

[@H4rleyBoy]

Just another advert

[@Cmxx1v]

Why not just make a bigger top? He’s your father in law. Spend a little $$

[@matthiaswandel]

because then I'd still have to use the smaller top to fit the available space.

[@lasersbee]

I would have added some additional Trim to the Table top to make it a bit larger... Much much simpler IMO.

[@matthiaswandel]

A bigger desk top would not have fit the space, so extra trim would be very counterproductive.

[@ImConstantlyDrunk]

In case anyone wasn't aware, you should always wear safety glasses when using any grinding tool, since not only can the sparks and grinding wheel be dangerous to your eyes, the sparks also produce UV light which can damage your vision. Safety glasses will protect against UV light.