Introduction: The IKEAhacked Adjustable Angle Drawing Table

This hack uses a VIKA BLECKET table top, two VIKA ARTUR trestles, four EKBY STILIG shelf brackets, some wooden pegs, nuts and bolts, a power drill, some thick double sided tape, and my Dad.



Step 1: The Problem With Angled Surfaces

The motivation behind this IKEAHack was the need to keep coffee cups from falling off my drawing table. My table is a set of VIKA ARTUR trestles and a VIKA BLECKET drawing table top – they’ve been set up at an angle for drawing and design work. Since I work both on paper and digitally, my graphic tablet and keyboard are also on this table, but can be moved out of the way easily for more space. I mounted my monitor on a wall bracket to keep it off the table so that I could angle the table without moving the monitor.

Now here’s the problem – the VIKA ARTUR trestles, while very aesthetically pleasing and ‘drawing-desk-y’, are a pain in the posterior to adjust. Changing the angle of the table involves loosening the 4 thumb screws that hold the upper section of the trestles in place, popping out the 4 pegs that support it, changing the angle of the table (on both trestles) and then putting back the pegs and tightening the screws. As you might imagine, I just kept the table angled all the time – and kept replacing my coffee cups as they fell off one by one. 

Step 2: Enter the EKBY STILIG

Then my dad dropped by and decided that the injustices being visited upon the coffee cup populace were completely unjustified and needed to be addressed – and during one of those IKEA trips where you buy a ton of unnecessary stuff, he picked up four EKBY STILIG shelf brackets. These, he claimed, would make adjusting my table much less of a chore, enabling me to use it as a drawing surface as well as, you know, something to just keep stuff on. I was skeptical, but intrigued.

Step 3: Building the Trestle Support

First he attached two of the brackets, short sides together to form what would become a support for one of the trestle shelves to rotate on. The holes were already there for a bolt and nut, but since the bolt we used was a little wide and short, he had to widen the hole and countersink it a bit. 

Step 4: Fitting the Peg

Next, we needed to put a peg through the new support, to rest on the trestle and rotate around. We used the handle off a wooden skewer, but you could just as easily use two of the pegs off the ARTUR trestle itself – you’ll only need two of them in the final product anyway.

Step 5: Drilling the Hole

Making sure the two EKBY STILIGS were tightly held together, we drilled a hole for the peg to fit in. It doesn’t have to be the exact same diameter – a little loose is fine – just make sure the two halves don’t move while drilling or the hole will end up ragged.

Step 6: Finishing the Support

After that, some strategically placed thick double sided tape was added to make sure the trestle shelves didn’t slide around, and the supports were ready to be put in place.

Step 7: Easily Adjustable

And that’s pretty much it – now I can keep all the screws relatively loose, and pop out the pegs any time I want to rotate the table.

Step 8: And Thats It.

Works great, and my coffee cups are safe from the tyranny of gravity and the whims of friction. Thanks Dad.