Introduction: How to Create a Table Lift

About: Firgelli Automations is one of the original linear actuator and TV lift manufacturers. Since 2004 Firgelli has been developing their own line of linear actuators, track actuators, TV lifts, desk lifts, and man…

Here's an Instructable on a neat table lift from Firgelli Automations. I hope you all find this interesting and helpful! The table lift line has been around five months now and has attracted a very excited and enthusiastic following. Thanks to the table lift system clients who have jobs which involve standing up much of the time, or people with back conditions have found solutions to their everyday needs. In the last study done, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome was the number one cause of work related injury in the US, and contributed to approximately 23 sick days /year on average, costing over two billion dollars. The main cause of this was that people were improperly using their computers due to desk heights that do not adapt to the individual.

If you work long days drawing, writing, or using a computer, then this lift is for you and your health!

You can view all the Sit Stand Desks Firgelli has to offer here

Sit Stand Desks

Step 1: Step 1: Choosing a Table

This is the easiest part. Most people will want to convert their already existing table that they are comfortable using, however there is sometimes a bit of uncertainty whether it will be compatible or not. Nearly all tables will be compatible so long as they are not extremely heavy and are just a desktop, and preferably with legs that are easily removed, as this will be a later step.

For this how to, we are using a large desk from IKEA. As you can see it is nothing special, however it was easy to disassemble and we could remove the legs with a phillips screwdriver in minutes.

Be sure when you select your table that you choose one that will hold a screw, you will have a difficult time getting a particle board table to accept a screw.

Step 2: Step 2: Lay Out Contents of Kit

Next step is more of a housekeeping thing, but we have always found this to be extremely helpful: empty out the packaging completely and lay everything out to make sure you have all the required components. At this stage you will be able to familiarize yourself with the parts and tools, as well as take an inventory of what you have and what you still need.

The kits from Firgelli Automations will have all the required parts and tools you will need save for a philips screwdriver and a tape measure.

In the packaging you will find (depending on the model you ordered) actuator(s) that will raise and lower your table, some metal pieces which will make up the frame of the unit, electronics including a controller, some power cables, and a control box, and of course some hardware such as screws, bolts, and a hex key.

As you can see from the photos, we used an ordinary screwdriver and tape measure for this quick build.

Step 3: Step 3: Set Up the Legs

Here we are just placing the bulky part of the legs into the crossbar ends, and using the hex key provided in the packaging to put some bolts through to keep everything together. Remember not to tighten everything up yet, as you may want to adjust the positioning of them later on. We did them just barely snug so that we could still move them around but not to the point where they were loose and falling apart.

We found the easiest way to do this is to stand them up, and then insert the bolts in hand tight while holding the actuator so that the holes line up easily, then once they are hand tight you can lay the structure on its side to snug u the bolts nicely.

When you have done this with both legs, move on to the next step.

Step 4: Step 4: Mount Side Brackets

After completing the legs, the next step is to mount the side brackets to your assemblies. There are just four bolts to tighten up on each side. Be careful not to scratch up your table surface when you do this, we recommend placing something underneath such as a towel or otherwise; in our construction of the unit you can see that we just placed the empty plastic bag which held some of the bolts underneath the one side so to not scratch anything up.

When you have completed mounting a side bracket to both of your structures which we completed in the last step, move on to step 5.

Step 5: Step 5: Attach Feet

Now it's time to add those feet. The best way to do this is to stand them up like we did in the beginning of step 3, and place the feet on top with the holes aligned. If you follow this tutorial you won't need to hold them in place while you bolt the feet on to the rest of the unit, and this part should be easy.

When you have attached a foot on to each structure you have built, go ahead and screw on the pads which go on each end of the feet, this is going to protect your flooring. When you have finished this step, go ahead and put the structures to the side for now and proceed to step 6.

Step 6: Step 6: Some Measurements

It's time to do some measurements and make sure you mark off the middle of the center rails. This is quite simple and what we did was took a piece of table, placed it where we thought the middle of the cross rail centers would be and then used our measuring tape to mark off the exact center.

This is going to help later on when we mock the unit on the table, and we can make sure everything is well centered. When you have marked off the middle of both crossrails, make sure all your parts are off to the side and not on the table you're looking to convert and proceed to step 7.

Step 7: Step 7: Flip That Old Table on Its Back!

Say goodbye to carpel tunnel, back pain, and not being able to stand up and work! Flip that table on its back and go to town on the legs.

Depending on what table you want to convert, there may be more work involved in removing the legs, hopefully it's not too much work for you.

The table we chose was very simple and only required one bolt per leg to remove. When the legs are completely removed you can go ahead and get ready for the next step.

Step 8: Step 8: Mock Everything Up

Now you can go over and grab the crossrails you've marked, and the structures we put together and mock them up of the back of the table.

The center crossrails that you marked are to be inserted (thin side up) into both structures, connecting them like train tracks.

Take out your trusty tape measure and make sure the whole structure is centered and placed correctly before mounting anything. Keep in mind you should be measuring:

- center of the cross-rails (which you marked) to the end of each leg structure.

- center of the cross-rails from the center of the table

When this is done you can hard mount everything with the screws provided in the kit. To make sure that by accidentally nudging the structure out of place and having to re-measure everything, it can be handy to use a pencil to outline where all the major components go in relation to the back of the table.

Step 9: Step 9: Electrical

The location of the main control box and controller is entirely up to you, just make sure you can reach the controller to adjust the height and that you have left ample room for the cables which connect the actuators to the control box. This is going to help you keep everything organized.

Another housekeeping tip would be that the kit does come with some cable ties, which you can use to secure the cables to the bottom of the table so that nothing is hanging or in sight.

When you have screwed the controller units in place, you can now connect all of them with the cables supplied in the kit and test the unit by plugging it in and pressing the up button on the controller to make sure you have clicked all the connectors in tightly.

Step 10: Step 10: Be Healthy!

When you're all done testing the actuators and making sure the wires are all tucked away for aesthetic appeal, go ahead and flip over your table lift and begin enjoying your new piece of automated furniture!

We hope you have enjoyed this write up, and that your would comment as well as email your completed lifts to media@firgelliauto.com so that we can put them up on our website at FirgelliAuto.com or post them on our facebook wall!

Thanks for having a look!