How to attach an under-desk CPU to a hollow IKEA desk?
January 9, 2018 5:07 PM   Subscribe

I have a new IKEA desk. Due to Reasons, I decided to mount my large tower computer to the underside of the desk. Upon drilling the initial holes to mount the holder, I learned to my chagrin that the desk is hollow. Is there any salvaging this, or must I return the CPU holder and make other arrangements for my computer?

This is the CPU holder. Apparently, this is what the inside of many IKEA desks looks like. (via).

My computer is a home-built machine with a fairly large case, though it is aluminum. I have no idea how much it weighs, exactly.

I am wondering if some sort of exotic fastener/anchor exists for this purpose, and further if anyone has experiences with them. I don't want to do anything that looks too DIY or interferes with the function of the desk, though (e.g. running a bolt through the desk with giant washers on top, etc).

If I have to, I'll just return the CPU holder.
posted by ZeroDivides to Home & Garden (15 answers total)
 
Can you use hollow wall anchors and or butterfly bolts? They're designed for hanging things on drywall. You'll need to drill larger holes to get the butterflies through but they hold pretty tight once they're in.

Oops, didn't see your first link to the CPU holder.

I think this will work. Put the holder where you want it, mark the holes, drill holes large enough to get the butterfly bolts through, assemble the four (or however many) bolts in your CPU mount, put all four butterflies through the holes, and then tighten them up.

The downside is if you ever remove the CPU mount the butterflies will remain inside the desk.
posted by bondcliff at 5:12 PM on January 9, 2018 [1 favorite]


The problem with toggle (aka butterfly) bolts is that the screw would have to be shorter than the thickness of the tabletop but long enough to insert the folded down wings of the toggle bolt.
posted by Grumpy old geek at 5:43 PM on January 9, 2018 [2 favorites]


Best answer: The desk skin isn't much more that malamine on cardboard, so even with butterfly bolts, I can imagine the CPU getting occasionally knocked around by your knees or the vacuum and eventually tearing loose. I'd rough up the bottom side of the desk with coarse sandpaper, get a 2’ square handy panel of 1/2” plywood from the building center and use construction adhesive with a about 9 screws to hold it tight to the underside of the desk while it dries. Then I'd screw the CPU holder into the plywood.
posted by bonobothegreat at 5:54 PM on January 9, 2018 [9 favorites]


Best answer: If toggle bolts aren’t feasible, there are other anchors that could expand inside the hollow cavity and provide a solid way of connecting the tower box to the “skin” of the desktop. The bigger question is whether the skin is strong enough to carry the load, which is a question I can’t answer from here. A safer, though potentially less attractive, way of solving this would be to add a strip of thicker and stronger material to the bottom of the desk running from front to back, screwed to the solid edges of the desktop, and fasten the tower box to that.
posted by jon1270 at 5:57 PM on January 9, 2018 [2 favorites]


The strip idea was what I came up with, too. That melamine does not looks sturdy. A band that wraps all the way around could work, too, and maybe might look more arty and intentional than DIY.

Incidentally, that desktop is a torsion box, and using that term may help you google up some solutions.
posted by notyou at 6:24 PM on January 9, 2018


WingIts
posted by hortense at 6:24 PM on January 9, 2018


The melamine won't hold the weight. I favorited the idea to reinforce the melamine before drilling into it, but honestly, I don't think that will hold longterm? I think the melamine will break eventually where the reinforcement sheet ends. You know how heavy the tower is. IDK, what do you think?
posted by jbenben at 7:30 PM on January 9, 2018


Cut out slots on the underside from front to back cut and fit boards into this slot held in with a generous amount of gorilla glue , attach your mount to these cross pieces with big bloody nails.
posted by hortense at 8:52 PM on January 9, 2018


I'd do what hortense suggests, except that I'm lazy and I wouldn't bother to cut any slots. I'd just glue a piece of wood (either actual board, or plywood, or even MDF in a pinch) to the bottom of the desk with some good glue—personally I'd use Liquid Nails or contact cement and some good clamps—and then attach the CPU holder to that.
posted by Kadin2048 at 9:09 PM on January 9, 2018


Best answer: The edges of the desk are solid even if the middle is hollow. I would take a piece of half inch plywood and screw the plywood to the solid edges of the desk, and like Kadin2048 suggests throw some glue in there -- construction adhesive should work well.

Then mount the computer holder to the plywood.
posted by gregr at 9:14 PM on January 9, 2018 [1 favorite]


If you're going the plywood sheet route, I'd put it on the top so the bolts don't pull through the unprotected IKEA top.

Do you need the floorspace? You could buy or make a box to raise the computer up to under-desk height, and that box could have drawers or other useful features.
posted by rhizome at 9:22 PM on January 9, 2018


Do you value the aesthetics the desk gives you? The only way I'd trust this configuration is if you are able to have the weight of the CPU holder supported by the top of your desk, and given how thin the melamine panels are, you'd have to do something janky like glue some plywood or sheet metal to the top for surface area to reinforce it and then bolt it on with bolts that go all the way through to the top side.

Personally thinking that returning the CPU mount and doing something else is probably the way to go here.
posted by Aleyn at 9:46 PM on January 9, 2018 [2 favorites]


Ikea hackers frequently work with this, so it might be worth a search there for ideas (search for Expedit/kallax as well as your desk, as they use the same construction and they're a popular hack). The website also takes questions, so you might want to ask this there.
posted by Helga-woo at 10:54 PM on January 9, 2018


Response by poster: I think I am going to try to attach a piece of plywood to the solid MDF bits at the front and back, perhaps involving glue, per gregr and jon1270. This is slightly complicated by the fact that the desk is curved on the front, but hey, I've always wanted to learn how to use a jigsaw? I don't think it would be too noticeable if I paint it a matching-ish color.

The real outcome here is that I'll probably put it on a box and never get around to the plywood thing, but we'll see. If I manage to do something before the question expires, I'll update!
posted by ZeroDivides at 9:31 AM on January 10, 2018


Response by poster: p.s. Thank you for all your suggestions, they were all very helpful. I have marked the thing I am mostly likely to try as best answers, but I appreciate all input and learned some things from your answers and this experience.
posted by ZeroDivides at 9:34 AM on January 10, 2018


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