Laptop Stand, Snack Table, or Bedside Desk

I made this Laptop Stand with adjustable height that I can slide over my lap whether I'm sitting on the couch or bed.  It can also double as a snack table for the big game or for breakfast in bed.  Watch the video below to see how I made it!

This Laptop Stand can be made from a single 8-foot 1"x12" board.  Simply cut the board into three 18" sections and one 24.5" section, then cut all of the parts from those boards.  Click here to download my Cutting Diagrams and Cut List.

I assembled the Laptop Stand with just glue and my 18 gauge brad nail gun.  The supports for the top have 1/4" slots that allow the height to be adjusted from 26" to 34" tall.  Additional hardware you will need includes two 2" long 1/4" bolts, two washers, and two bar knobs.  The bar knobs can be found at Lowe's in the specialty hardware drawers.

The base is really simple.  Just spread glue on the bottom of all three sides, then set it in place.  Shoot some nails into the slanted supports, then flip it over and shoot some more nails from the bottom side.  Cover the nails with wood filler and sawdust.

The stand is very sturdy and more than strong enough to hold a laptop or platter of sandwiches, chips and dips, and drinks.  It will also hold at least a few pounds of bacon for breakfast in bed!  Make it!

I was on the BrainPick show!

I think I've watched every episode of BrainPick so far!  BrainPick is a live Q&A show featuring makers and is hosted by Bob Clagett of I Like to Make Stuff, and Bob had me on the show recently.  You can watch a recording of the interview below!

Bob has had many inspirational guests on his show and it was an honor to follow such a great group of people.  One of the main reasons I started making videos is to document and share what I know about woodworking, and to break out of the workshop and talk about it with other people.  This was lots of fun and the time just flew by.

Thanks to Bob and to everyone who watched and asked questions!  The next BrainPick will be Matt Cremona on January 27th, so click below to tune in!

Rainy Day Workshop Fun!

Yesterday it was rainy and 64 degrees here in Atlanta, but by Wednesday, it will be 38 with a low of 16!  I took advantage of the warm wet weather and tackled a few rainy day projects.

My sanding drums came in a cheap plastic case like most little sets do, but I like having things out where I can easily access them.  I made a scrap plywood holder for the peg board behind my drill press.  Notice the post for the extra sleeves that I recycled from a broken drumstick.

Next, I made a walnut pen for myself. After making Christmas gifts for others, it felt good to make something just for me.  The brown and silver 1950's look is my favorite.

After knocking out two successful projects in about an hour, I was on a roll.  While cleaning up after making my Palletroni Pizza, I accidentally sucked up the red food coloring in my shop-vac.  I was scared to look inside for fear of a bloody mess, but I fished it out intact.  Sawdust got into the bottle somehow, so I will be replacing that before my wife finds out!

Anyone who makes videos can relate to the frustration of out-of-focus video clips.  Being your own cameraman is a challenge.  So, I made what I call "Big Dummy" and "Lil' Dummy" to give me something to focus my camera on when setting up shots.  They work great and don't complain a bit!

Next I tackled my Clutter Corner, which was my most disliked area of the shop.  Here is a BEFORE shot showing my unorganized lumber and log storage, and inaccessible miter saw and planer.  By the way, it's Patrick's Workshop's fault that I have a traffic cone...check out his Traffic Cone Cyclone Separator.

I moved everything away from the wall and decided to take down the useless wall-mounted bench.  I also patched that hole in the drywall, finally.

Here is the AFTER shot and it is much easier to look at than before.  I see a portable miter saw cart in my near future.  The lumber from the wall mounted bench will come in handy for that.

Overall it was a fun rainy day in the shop.  It feels good to accomplish all of that in one day.  What projects do you need to tackle on a rainy day?

If you liked this article, please scroll to the top of my website and Sign Up to Get Posts Delivered By Email on the right-hand side!  Thanks, Steve...

Making Wooden Knight Chess Pieces

Several people have asked me how I made the Knight Chess Pieces for Steve Ramsey's Chess Set.  In case you missed it, Steve Ramsey of Woodworking for Mere Mortals made a chess board in his first series of videos in 2008.  He said his second project would be making the chess pieces, but it's been a long-running joke that he never made them.  So now, 6 years later, a group of us YouTube woodworkers conspired to make the chess pieces for him, and I was assigned to make the knights.

Click here to see the chess pieces at the end of Steve's Mere Minutes video.

Click here to see all of the chess pieces and who made them on Mike Fulton's site.

Typically, chess pieces are scaled to fit the size of the chess board.  Steve mentioned in his video that his chess board has 2" squares, so we scaled the pieces proportionately.  The base of each piece should fit within a square with a little breathing room.  The height of each piece graduates from the pawns (shortest) to the king (tallest), and the height should be proportionate to the square size.  There are charts online to help with this.  It took some coordination among us woodworkers to make sure each piece was the correct size in relation to the board and the other pieces, and we agreed to use walnut and maple for the pieces to match Steve's chess board.

 

When I was assigned to make the knights, I knew I couldn't turn them on the lathe like the other pieces.  So, I decided to use the same 3D cutting technique that I used on my Bandsaw Vase project.   I looked at lots of knights and found a basic horse shape I liked on The Chess Store.  Their chess pieces are really detailed and fancy though, so I had to draw up a much simpler two-sided pattern that would be easy to cut.  The knights ended up being approximately 1.5" square and 3.25" tall.  Click here for a PDF of this pattern.  If you are looking for a nice chess set, visit  The Chess Store.

The key to 3D cutting is attaching the template to the block so that the fold line is precisely on the corner of the block.  Cut the front view first, then tape the long curved cutoff pieces back in place with clear packing tape.  You may need to attach another copy of the side view template since some parts of it get cut away.  Cut the side profile then remove all of the cutoff pieces to reveal the knight.  Sand using a spindle sander, small files, and sand paper.  Cut out the optional shield from thin stock and glue it on.  I shaped the shield with a spindle sander to give it a raised crease in the middle.

This was a fun and challenging project and I was happy to be a part of the fine group of woodworkers who joined together to make Steve this chess piece set.  Thanks to Mike Fulton for herding us woodworking cats in the right direction.  Getting everyone to make their pieces at the right scale and ship them on time took lots of coordination.

We all were surprised to see that just before we completed the set, one of Steve's viewers sent him a chess piece set and beat us to the punch.  It is a beautiful set, so click here to see those in Steve's other Mere Minutes video.  Now Steve has TWO sets of chess pieces.  He may be off the hook for making the chess pieces, but now I think he's back on the hook for making a second chess board!!!  Ha Ha! :o)

Below is a list of everyone who participated in this project .  Please visit and follow them for more woodworking goodness!  Thanks guys for including me and thank you to Steve Ramsey for inspiring all of us!

• Mike Fulton
• Matt Cremona
• Steve Carmichael
• Nick Ferry
• Patrick's Workshop
• Carl Jacobson
• Mark Christopher
• Jason McGinn
• Matt Brander

To see the entire set of maple and walnut chess pieces, click this picture!