I finally got my dream desk built after 2 years of contemplating. I got a good deal on a used 98” Karlby (darker color, more expensive) and 2x Alex drawers; all in great condition for $150.

Stopped by IKEA today and spent a good hour and a half trying find an organizer that would fit well on the Alex drawers. Finally found this…

UPPDATERA $6.00/each 704.914.10 https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/uppdatera-flatware-tray-white-70491410/

It’s a perfect snug fit and is intended for kitchen utensils. It fits perfectly. There’s a cheaper version for 2.99 each but it was flimsy and had a little bit of wiggle room inside the drawers.

If you’re looking for something to organize your Alex drawers, I highly recommend this.

You can also get two of these https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/uppdatera-utensil-tray-white-60491364/ per drawers but it’s $5.00 each (a bit more expensive per drawer) but good if you need longer dividers.

Years ago, I Frankensteined a desk together using Ikea bits. A couple of the Alex drawers, some legs, a couple of desktops, some add-on hardware to keep the tops aligned, and boom, I've got an L-shaped desk in my office.

But the drawers. OMG, the drawers. What a mess. Inspired by my wife (an absolute paragon of organization), I decided to run with that spirit, using Gridfinity for the drawers. If you're unfamiliar with the Alex drawers, each unit has 5 drawers, 2 are relatively shallow, 3 medium depth. Presently, I've got 4 full sets of bases printed and installed, with 2 shallow drawers fully complete and another half-way. For the taller drawers, I'm looking at doing Neogrid, since making Gridfinity bins that are 100-110mm tall doesn't seem like the greatest idea.

As an aside on the Neogrid stuff - I'm in the US, and u/Hands-On-Katie 's suggested material thickness of 8.5mm isn't exactly common. I looked at PVC trim boards in Lowes and Home Depot, and everything readily available in the board width I'd be looking for is 3/4 inch thick. Not exactly reasonable for this job. So, I'm looking at printing divider material at 8.5mm thick so I can use her "official" parts, printing with no top and bottom layers, using just infill. Like 5-10% hexagons probably. Anyone in the US have a better direction to pursue? I'm all ears.

Here's the obligatory pics. I've been printing in eSun's ePLA-Lite. I got a roll for free on a Black Friday deal and found it was great for stuff like this. I picked up 10 more rolls for less than $10/roll. I'm chugging right through this stuff at a surprising clip!

I had seen a number of general guides out there relating to building desks from Alex Drawers + Any Countertop.

Start with the end result first:

During the build process, I tried to reuse what I could from what came in the boxes from Ikea.

List if Items used:

• Two Ikea Alex Drawers

• One Ikea Countertop (98" length)

• One 1"x1"x1/8" (thick) Aluminum Angle

• ~Ten #8 Round Head Wood Screws 3/4" in length

Unfortunately, due to supply issues, this isn't the exact colour combo I wanted ... but it'll definitely make due until i really feel like something needs to change.

Step 1

Build the Alex drawers as per the guide with a few changes:

1. Put the top piece on the bottom. It's going on carpet, so that's fine by me.

2. Don't put the top drawer in for ease of assembly later.

3. Use the "bottom" piece later on.

Step 2

Get a general feel for where you want the drawers to sit under the Countertop.

The aluminum angle is for general support along the back and can be used to back onto the Alex pieces as shown below.

This example has them about 12" in from the end of the Countertop, but I ended up putting them at the very far ends.

Step 3

Once the Alex tops are exactly where you want them, then you can use some of the existing/leftover screws to mount them to the Countertop.

They'll go far enough in to secure them without disrupting the Countertop itself.

They will need a pilot hold the size of the body of the screw, allowing the threads to sink in nicely.

I basically put the pieces in place, and stood on the Alex board on top of the Countertop and used my weight to keep everything in place. The front of the Alex drawer piece is flush with the front of the Countertop.

Step 4

Install the support angle piece. This is intended to mitigate sagging in the centre/back where weight will be. I may end up getting a 1/2" angle later on to go between the two Alex drawers later, but for now this will do.

Ensure your hole in the aluminum allows the screw to go 99% through (or drop in) and that the head holds nicely.

Once the aluminum is drilled, do a tiny pilot hole in the Countertop for the screw itself (half the thickness or less) just to guide direction and reduce the chance of cracking the Countertop. Once it's all said and done, just ensure that the aluminum is flush to the Countertop.

Step 5

Probably the most awkward part is to actually put the top on the bottom.

It definitely takes 2 people, and you can only estimate so much.

There is enough leeway that you can put it on top of both incorrectly that the drawers can take the weight.

Then left one end only, adjust and install.

Repeat for the other side.

Tighten the fasteners for the Alex "tops" and install the top drawer.

And that's about it.