apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

i tried using Ikea's 22" round table legs on a lack shelf. The mount is too large and will overlap the hollow particleboard section of the shelf (rather than the slightly solid areas on the edge) and become wobbly and unstable.

if you were to use any table legs i would probably recommend the thinner hairpin legs, and mount them as close to the corners as possible to ensure a solid connection

If you only put 4 legs on the 4 corners, it might end up sagging in the middle. You either need 8 legs or perhaps some way of bracing the bottom (maybe a metal bar?)

Another problem you might have is screwing into MDF. It doesn't hold screws well (understatement) because it's basically powered wood. You could try using screws that were made for MDF that grip better, but I've never tried them.

One more thing - if you buy normal height legs (like the silver ones in the picture) it's going to make your table too high, since you're adding another 2 feet on top of that. If you manage to get the right size, then I think it will be difficult to be able to tuck your legs under the table.

Try this site for nice modern/retro legs:
http://www.ianmaclean.com/

How will you get your legs under that? Or will you sit sidesaddle on the chair?

why not casters?

Why not just stack another Lack shelf on top of this one and put the old legs on this one?

It wouldn't have the space beneath to be used as a desk - but neither will the other solution...

have you checked with the good folks at ikea for ideas? perhaps you could have the legs you have cut down.

Hacksaw anyone?

Pull the bottom pieces out, cut the legs level at length needed, smooth with sandpaper, put bottom pieces in new bottom. At least that would work with the IKEA legs I have on my IKEA table top.

I liked the square pedestal things they show here at http://www.mockett.com/default.asp?id=562
for your piece, because it's so heavy, I think you almost need something like that.

At the very least, I think that you need something like these square legs, which are at least not too spindly:
http://www.mockett.com/default.asp?id=563

I've been thinking about two styles of legs for this kind of cabinet:

1 - a long and thin bin of tree trunk, ith half the width cut off where it will be mounted to the side of the cabinet

2 - a thin aluminum contraption, curved and bone-shaped, where from the floor a 'bone' goes up to a plate under the cabiner, and two bones to up to plates to be screwed to the side of the cabinet.

The first could be a DIY (but needs 4 similar enough bits of tree), but I've seen neither.

I have a Lack bookcase that I mounted directly to the wall for a time using "L" brackets & drywall anchors. Could you do that?

I also originally had it on rubber casters (4"?) -- I think I used 6 of them.

I love the versatility of the Lack on its side... alas, mine is now upright because of the addition of a dining table where it used to be wall-mounted.

April's fool!

I would also recommend the ian maclean legs. Wish they were based in Australia!

I want to know about the lamp

I think theoretically your idea is a really good one, but in actuallity (as a couple of people have already mentioned) the height is never going to be right to use as a desk that you will be able to sit at with you legs underneath...

It might theoretically work as a desk if you could cut out the bottom of one of the sections (assuming you can fit your lges in that width) - but I am not sure if the construction will support that and retain enough of its stability...

I guess I could give my feedback. I used 2 units and used the Ian Maclean legs. You do have to be careful how big of screws you use to mount the legs. As was mentioned before there is only a small section of MDF on the perimeter of the piece. I used the biggest screw with the largest threads I could find to better grab the MDF. My credenza is closer to the ground than your desk would be. You could get five legs and mount the middle one along the back center. Just my 2 cents, good luck.

Oh here is a link to my project.
http://plastolux.com/modern-credenza-ikea-hack.html

2-inch copper pipe from home depot is an option to get beefy round legs at whatever length you want (they'll cut it for you). To solve the desk usability problem, how about a heavy 3/8" piece of glass (maybe repurposed from a coffee table)? Make it about half the width of your unit and less than twice as deep so the glass would extend over your lap. That could work for a light-use desktop. You could just c-clamp it to the cabinet. A semi-industrial look would work with your chair.

i think sitting there (even only occasionally) will be so uncomfortable because the lack dimensions are bigger than your elbow to knee dimensions, if you get the right lap height, then your elbows will be up by your ears. it's a good idea, though, so maybe it will work for a laptop and a few bills.

In NY, there are a lot of kitchen supply places on the Bowery and many of them will do custom stainless steel fabrication. I had square legs made for a Room& Board table top, for about $200. A bonus is each leg self-levels, there is at least an inch of leeway. I wouldn't be surprised if you could find places like this in LA, too.

But I'd be concerned about the stability of your unit with just four legs supporting it. Even with the legs screwed into solid wood, my table sways/shakes. I wouldn't trust the MDF to hold the screws. Room & Board will custom makes Parsons bases; that's worth looking into, although you'd have to attach wood lathing under the Lack unit to make it fit snugly onto the base.

I also think your unit will need support in the middle. if I were you, I'd ignore the above ideas and mount this unit to the wall. I have friends who did exactly this with their Lack shelf in their dining area, and it looks great. That's the quickest/cheapest/safest option, and I think it would end up being the best-looking. Although you could always attach it to the wall AND add legs.

You'll need to attach it to the wall whether or not you install legs - it'll be too unstable otherwise.

For legs, look for the adjustable Vika Kaj legs, which adjust down to a little under 24" high.

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/60105301

The Kaj are smaller than most IKEA legs, with a smaller base, so your screws are more likely to sink into the more solid part of the Lack shelf.

If you go to IKEA and search for "leg" or "legs" you can find a lot of interesting products:

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80134802

It's giving me all sorts of ideas for IKEA hacks . . .