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Thursday, October 09, 2014

Ikea GALANT Desk: Last One, Make it an Abomination

What is one to do when he/she has two spare GALANT A-legs and one spare T-leg during a GALANT desk sale?

One could do a few things:
1. Do nothing.
2. Sell legs on Craigslist.
3. Buy a desktop with underframe and finish off a desk.

I mean, I could have done nothing, but then I'd have had over $60 worth of legs that wouldn't make good paperweights. Selling them on Craigslist would have been a good idea if flaky and troublesome buyers hadn't turned me off the site. And buying would have set my back another ~$100.

Now, let's throw in one more nugget: what if this was one of the last chances to buy a GALANT desk? Ever?

Online searches, the introduction of the BEKANT line, and GALANT sales were strongly suggesting that the entire product line was being discontinued. If true, this would have meant it was now or never -- unless I wanted to deal with Craiglist in the future.

I knew I'd need another desk at some point in the future, so I decided to finish the set.
Packaged for Shipping
Configurationx1: 60 x 120 cm, Birch Veneer desk with frame (CAD$ 75)
x1: T-Leg (CAD$ 35)
x2: A-Leg (CAD$ 40)

Total = CAD$ 150 + shipping + tax

Video
Time-Lapse Assembly of GALANT Desk

Assembly
This being GALANT desk number three for me meant that I had the assembly process memorized at the time. I set the leg heights to where I wanted them, screwed the legs to the frame, flipped the table upside down, and screwed the frame to the desktop. The only trouble I had was with attaching the first two legs to the frame since I was doing it solo. Compared to the 80 cm x 120 cm table I put together previously, this 60 cm x 120 cm table was a dream -- lighter and smaller, making it easier to move and flip. The final step was fine-tuning the height of the legs. I found the T-leg easier to set exactly where I wanted due to the play in the A-legs before the mechanism would lock.

One final nit-picking step involved aligning the foot of the T-leg with the edge of the table. There was some room in the height mechanism to rotate the foot around a bit.

Ikea GALANT Assembly: Part way Through
Stability
Pretty good... The table felt sturdy after I finished putting it together. It felt just as stable after I put a 40" LCD TV on top of it. See my original GALANT desk review for more details.

Expandability / Customizability
If the GALANT really was discontinued, not anymore? The pickings on the Canadian and American Ikea websites were slim when I wrote this article. There were lots of BEKANT desks available though. Guess one could search ebay and Craigslist or other channels for extra parts.

Ikea GALANT Desk: T-Leg and A-Legs
Everyday Use
I got this table more for its future potential than for immediate use. It ended up beings used to hold up the aforementioned television set and other small items. The small cabinet the TV used to sit on was more than adequate, but it was made redundant by the desk so the cabinet went under the desk. The plan was for this table to be used as a replacement for a VIKA desk or as a proper writing surface.

Conclusion
It really looked like an abomination with a T-leg on one side and A-legs on the other. Kind of wish I just got two T-legs, but oh well. So, this was it for the GALANT? If it was, then it was a great run.


Related
Ikea BEKANT Desks Impressions: Electric Height Adjustment?
Ikea BEKANT Desks Impressions: Part 3, Now in North America
IKEA GALANT Desk A-Legs and T-Legs Review
IKEA GALANT Desk Review

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