DIY laptop stand using old monitor stand
I recently wall-mounted my monitor. As I removed the assembly for the stand, I thought “this tilting mechanism could come in handy for something”, so I put it to one side and forgot about it until today! As a designer, 2 screens often come in handy for me, but I’ve never bothered to invest in a laptop stand. Both my workmates use one, and I’ve always thought they look kind of useful, but something’s always stopped me from actually paying money for one.
Before.…
…after!
So today I decided to make my own. I recently modded my Ikea Expedit bookcase by removing a shelf so as to accomodate my PC, and so I had a spare piece of chipboard with a nice beach effect finish. This spare shelf would become the shelf on which my laptop would rest:
Ikea Expedit bookcase — missing a shelf
Shelf from Ikea Expedit bookcase
And the tilt assembly:
Monitor stand tilt assemply
It tilts on both hinges, so one can adjust the viewing angle, and the height separately.
I then marked out the centre of my shelf with 2 diagonal lines from corner to corner, and attached the tilt assembly with 3 small screws I had spare. I then attached the other side of the tilt assembly to a metal plate that was originally part of the swivel mechanism for the monitor stand, but had holes in the right places for some bolts to screw into the bottom of the tilt assembly. I attached the plate, in turn, to a large piece of chipboard so as to add stability to the whole thing.
Marked out center of shelf
Attached big chunk of chipboard to the bottom
Metal Plate from Monitor Stand
Finally I used a section of laminate floor edging I had left over from a previous project to make the lip so my laptop doesn’t fall off. I thought about using tacks, but opted to go with No More Nails instead.
No More Nails
Attached lip
After the No More Nails had dried I was ready to go! No longer am I one of those loner mac users that doesn’t possess a laptop stand!
Finished product — side view
And the rear-view
This was a fun afternoon project, it only took about an hour, if that! In the future I might source some better materials, but I’m quite pleased that I managed to make this from spare bits and bobs lying around!
A Beautiful Desk!