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I've been playing around with the idea of getting myself a small drafting table, as I find the adjustable angle quite comfortable for a number of different things: drawing, reading, writing, working with the keyboard/mouse, etc. At first, I tested it out by just putting a shelf on my lap and adjusting my knees to get the angle I want. It was a fully functional prototype, but perhaps not that comfortable. :) After doing some browsing, I couldn't really find any drafting table that I liked, mostly because the drawing surface was much larger than what I was looking for. And so I thought "Fine, I'll make one myself then!", picked up a sheet of paper and started making some designs. After drawing a bunch of different versions, I finally ended up with something that I liked:
- You can adjust the angle quickly and easily. The angled surface is held in place in the middle by a simple metal rod, so you only need to move that one rod to change the angle. (Have a look at the third picture to see how that works.)
- The angled surface is plenty sturdy (.. for regular use; I'm not going to try standing on it though.)
- It looks nice, as you can't see any screws on the outside. I also used a piece of left-over laminate flooring to make the angled surface, so I know it matches my floor at least. :) (Plus, it can take the same beating as my floor, e.g. spills and such.)
- As I only used left-over materials laying around the house, it didn't cost me a dime. There's nothing fancy in there though: just some pieces of wood, wood glue, screws and a pair of hinges.
- I only used basic tools to build the table: You essentially need some things to measure, saw, hammer, screw and chisel with.
- It's a no-frills drafting table; the only feature I wanted was the adjustable angle and that's the only feature it has. However, you can fairly easily alter the design to add additional features like top drawers, a gutter in the angled surface or an adjustable table height.
- You can adjust the angle quickly and easily. The angled surface is held in place in the middle by a simple metal rod, so you only need to move that one rod to change the angle. (Have a look at the third picture to see how that works.)
- The angled surface is plenty sturdy (.. for regular use; I'm not going to try standing on it though.)
- It looks nice, as you can't see any screws on the outside. I also used a piece of left-over laminate flooring to make the angled surface, so I know it matches my floor at least. :) (Plus, it can take the same beating as my floor, e.g. spills and such.)
- As I only used left-over materials laying around the house, it didn't cost me a dime. There's nothing fancy in there though: just some pieces of wood, wood glue, screws and a pair of hinges.
- I only used basic tools to build the table: You essentially need some things to measure, saw, hammer, screw and chisel with.
- It's a no-frills drafting table; the only feature I wanted was the adjustable angle and that's the only feature it has. However, you can fairly easily alter the design to add additional features like top drawers, a gutter in the angled surface or an adjustable table height.
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Signing UpStep 1Overview, materials and tools
Overview:
- First build a table frame, just like a regular table.
- Make a large rectangular hole in the surface that goes on top of the table frame.
- Attach this top surface to the table frame and add some hinges.
- Create the angle adjustment mechanism and attach it to the angled surface.
- Attach the angled surface to the top surface using the hinges.
- All done!
Just a few notes before I continue with the materials and tools:
I won't be bothering you with any measurements and let the pictures do most of the talking. (You probably weren't going to use the exact same measurements anyway. Plus, *gasp* we use the metric system down here. :) )
None the less, if you do want some exact measurements, I attached a Sketchup model of the drafting table. (Look for it at the bottom of this page.) All the different parts of the table are modelled separately, so you can easily take it apart and use Sketchup's tape measuring tool.
This instructable's title says that I use "basic tools". However, I'm sure you can gain a lot of time and precision if you have slightly more advanced tools like a drill press and a table saw. The materials as well are very basic things that you can find in just about any hardware store. In my case, I just used whatever scrap materials I had laying around. (I'm sure there are better choices out there, but I'm quite happy with the result.)
Materials used:
- Wood for the square table legs
- Some Feet to stick onto the table legs
- Wood for the sides, the top surface and some small blocks for strengthening
(I used MDF for these parts.)
- Wood for the angled surface
(I used two pieces of laminate flooring glued together. You can of course choose
whatever wood you like, but definitely make sure that it's sturdy enough, as you'll
constantly rest your arms on this surface.)
- A small, but thick piece of wood for the angle adjustment mechanism
(I used a thickness of 1.8cm, or about 0.7".)
- 2 hinges
- Some screws of various lengths (I needed 31 of them.)
- Wood glue
Tools used:
- Drill
- Jigsaw
- Sander (optional; you could also use sanding paper or a wood file)
- Chisel and mallet
- Measuring tools: pencil, chalk (optional), a long ruler and a set square
- Clamps
- Workbench
- First build a table frame, just like a regular table.
- Make a large rectangular hole in the surface that goes on top of the table frame.
- Attach this top surface to the table frame and add some hinges.
- Create the angle adjustment mechanism and attach it to the angled surface.
- Attach the angled surface to the top surface using the hinges.
- All done!
Just a few notes before I continue with the materials and tools:
I won't be bothering you with any measurements and let the pictures do most of the talking. (You probably weren't going to use the exact same measurements anyway. Plus, *gasp* we use the metric system down here. :) )
None the less, if you do want some exact measurements, I attached a Sketchup model of the drafting table. (Look for it at the bottom of this page.) All the different parts of the table are modelled separately, so you can easily take it apart and use Sketchup's tape measuring tool.
This instructable's title says that I use "basic tools". However, I'm sure you can gain a lot of time and precision if you have slightly more advanced tools like a drill press and a table saw. The materials as well are very basic things that you can find in just about any hardware store. In my case, I just used whatever scrap materials I had laying around. (I'm sure there are better choices out there, but I'm quite happy with the result.)
Materials used:
- Wood for the square table legs
- Some Feet to stick onto the table legs
- Wood for the sides, the top surface and some small blocks for strengthening
(I used MDF for these parts.)
- Wood for the angled surface
(I used two pieces of laminate flooring glued together. You can of course choose
whatever wood you like, but definitely make sure that it's sturdy enough, as you'll
constantly rest your arms on this surface.)
- A small, but thick piece of wood for the angle adjustment mechanism
(I used a thickness of 1.8cm, or about 0.7".)
- 2 hinges
- Some screws of various lengths (I needed 31 of them.)
- Wood glue
Tools used:
- Drill
- Jigsaw
- Sander (optional; you could also use sanding paper or a wood file)
- Chisel and mallet
- Measuring tools: pencil, chalk (optional), a long ruler and a set square
- Clamps
- Workbench
Drafting table.skp154 KB| « Previous Step | Download PDFView All Steps | Next Step » |
It is a store bought one. Although I didn't buy it in a store. It has one of those big tops you don't like.
http://tinyurl.com/bnk7pus
Which your table sort of reminded me of.
To get an easy wide adjustment range I would dispense with all those holes and route two slots into the legs. Then have multiple engagement points under the table surface for one movable leg pair to lock to.
For hardware I'd use a carriage bolt that fit a slot width wise and a washer and wing nut on the outside. No little parts to completely remove and maybe lose and less fiddly all around.
I'm sorry I don't draw very well on computers. The "Rack" is as in rack and pinion. It could be blocks of wood, pins whatever would hold on the brace.
I'm also sorry this website is so broken I lose all of my paragraph breaks all the time.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0387808/quotes?qt=qt0427927
I'm sure it'd work. It doesn't take much friction to hold wood in place. Nails work right? Even the carriage bolt sliding in the slot works. They're engineered to hold wood without crushing it. I'm working with an oak right now that is hard like iron! I cut it down out of my backyard myself.
We grow the best oak on the planet here. I'm in the process of finishing it now. All it has is stain on the smooth sides at the moment. I'll finish over all of it though. It may not look like it but the joinery I used on it was pretty tricky. The legs splay at a 10 degree angle. It held together pretty good even before I nailed it up.
I predrilled for the nails though. I didn't want the wood to split when I drove them in. The shanks are 3/8s of an inch in diameter. Even with 1/4" pilots they weren't easy to sink!
Wood can be kind of funny. Some hardwoods are soft, and some softwoods are hard! Anything on this chart with a value over 1,000 should do the trick I'd imagine:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janka_hardness_test
Taking various traits into account for me ash, maple and oak stand out as good choices.