DIY: Build an Affordable Motorized Monitor Lift for Your Desk

DIY projects are in abundance on YouTube and I just can't get enough of them. Back in January I posted about YouTuber Matt Perks from DIYPerks and his amazing project building a 1,000 watt water-cooled LED lamp. Well he has a new DIY project that has me super excited to try and build my own. Perks' new video goes into great detail and lists all the parts needed to build a motorized desk partition that can be added to any existing desk. He calls his a "monitor lift" but the possibilities I've already imaged that I could use it for are even more useful. If you're like me and have a ton of things in and around your desk but very limited and cluttered desk space, then this could be a super easy build that might resolve some of your clutter in a really cool way.

As I mentioned in my previous article, DIYPerks has tons of great projects, some more technical then others but all relatively easy for someone willing to put in the effort. This build seems on the easier side since there really is not much electronics involved. All the parts can be easily sourced at your local hardware store and the only real tools you will need are a jigsaw and cordless drill. Both of these tools I think just about everyone who wants to do any basic work around the house should own.

Perks describes his motorized lift as a solution for hiding a computer monitor and to gain more desk space. For a YouTuber, I can easily see the advantage of this as they often shoot videos right at their desk and often need more tabletop space. I have two 27-inch monitors, and although they take up a lot of space, I use them way too much to want to hide them or move them at all. That being said, my first thought was adding a third 4K monitor for video editing. I've been thinking of that for a while and the lack of space I have and the amount of time I would actually need one has been what's prevented me. This could solve that for sure. Then I quickly moved on to a small table near my desk that holds a printer scanner I use for basic office tasks. I dislike where it sits, it's in the way, it takes up to much room, and although I use it, I just don't need it out all the time. Maybe I could modify his design to create a cool hutch like lift that when I needed it would lift up from the side of my desk.

What else could I do with this project? I have lots of HDD enclosures from old backups that don't need to be visible but occasionally I might need to get to. There is a large set of studio monitors that take up too much room behind my desk and I don't always need them out. There's lots of books stacked around my office because I don't have room for a bookshelf. Let's be honest, I use them and read them but really don't need them in random stacks around the room. I could easily turn this into a hidden bookshelf that rises from behind only when Im looking for a specific book. I could keep going on. For a project that is so easy to build and would cost relatively little in materials, I could find all sorts of reasons to build it. This one is definitely going on my list of summer DIY projects.

With all the amazing technology we have in our lives today, I love how we can still build things, even complicated computer electronic projects ourselves. My father always built things with his hands when I was a kid and I know my interest in building things for myself comes from those childhood experiences. Whether it fails, like the first camera jib I ever made, or turns out amazing, like a two-foot-tall steel drone landing pad with working lighting, the experience of making something for myself is always satisfying.

[via DIYPerks]