Angle Bracket Laptop Stand

I was never that happy with using a laptop flat on the desk: it's really bad for your posture. I looked at laptop stands and there are some nice ones, but expensive and have features like tilt and swivel which serve no purpose to me.

I've tried bookends, and even just thick books but I wanted something stable, that I could adjust to how I want it and, of course, cheap. I also wanted to do it with the minimum of fabrication and modification as possible, i.e. to make it from off-the-shelf parts. This is mostly due to my lack of a proper workshop, but also just because I like the challenge and see no reason why it wouldn't be possible.

So having thought about it for a long time, I saw angle brackets in the DIY shop and realised I could do it with them. So I bought all I needed and it came to about SFr. 20! (=€14 =$16, =£9) That includes absolutely everything I used, a shop-bought stand would cost at least 2 or 3 times that, and it wouldn't have the funky utilitarian look mine does.

Step 1 What I used

2x Flat Angle Bracket, Perforated, 100 * 100 * 100
2x Flat Angle Bracket, Perforated, 60 * 40 * 60
2x Flat Angle Bracket, Perforated, 40 * 40 * 200
1x Flat Bracket, Perforated, 60 * 200
6x Hex head bolt, zinc, M4*16
2x Wing head bolt, zinc, M4*10
6x Nut, zinc, M4
2x Knurled nut, zinc, M4
14x Washer, zinc, M4, dia.14mm
14x Felt pads about 15mm dia.

oh and a couple of 7mm spanners.

Comments

[brainedchild]

What store did you go to? I've been to Lowes, MacDonald's, Ace and I'm going to try a Home Depot but I think they'll have the same expensive, heavy, boring brackets the others did.

[Number09]

I've been looking for someything like this for a while. Thanks for the awesome documentation and follow-up. :-)

[megamommatron]

You must have had an erector set as a child. Lucky. I never got one, because I'm a girl.

[sysadmn]

It is never too late to have a happy childhood.

[MissLeFaye]

Looks like an inexpensive "erector" set such as the 100 piece bucket my kid had would work quite nicely and supply all the parts ready and waiting with plenty of room for alterations.

New I think it cost me $10 USD at a variety store....
Over Priced Amazon

[achilles]

this is great! now I just need an instructable on etching notebooks *hint* *hint*

[luisrobles]

Great idea, cool metal.

[FatPeter]

Update: It now looks like this:- (see step 7)

[bunnie benton]

great idea, although one mod could be to add several fans to the botom of the stand to aid in cooling oof the cpu

[FatPeter]

Yes, that is certainly on my list of improvements, I'll start by adding a USB hub. The fact that it is modular and all perforated means there are just so many possibilities.

[mountainfanfare]

Great idea though I'd bend over the plates on the front edge of the laptop to avoid cuts from sharp corners.

[FatPeter]

You're right, although the edges aren't sharp and don't bother me because I never go near them. As I said in the conclusion there are a lot of modifications I could make. I intend to improve on this project a lot, but as it is it does everything I need it to.

[mrmath]

Neat! When I first read it, dyslexia set it (I really have it), and I read it as Ankle Bracelet Laptop Stand.

[theRIAA]

werga get the cool metal plates?

[FatPeter]

They are standard brackets and plates used for timber framing, I believe. You should be able to get them in any DIY/hardware shop.

[Junkernaut]

Awsome!