Ergonomic Laptop Stand Made From a Coat Hanger

Hello my name is Tully Gehan

At the moment I am living in Beijing China and plan to be moving to Taiwan in a few months. So I am not too interested in buying much more furniture. However I notice that laptop screen being rather low tend to make me hunch over even more then I do with a desktop computer. So I bent up a coat hanger to prop up my laptop and decided to make my first instructable in the process.

I made this Instructable to show my friends but I didn't expect that many people would discover it. But it looks like it went viral.

Engadget
The DIY DumbGuy laptop stand: so easy, even a dumb guy can make it
Don't let that "finished" rubiks' cube fool you. The steps too build this ergonomic laptop stand are dead simple: 1) bend hangar, b) stop bending hangar. Perhaps, therein lies the genus.
http://www.engadget.com/2008/10/24/the-diy-dumbguy-laptop-stand-so-easy-even-a-dumb-guy-can-make/
Wired
http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2008/10/instant-project.html
boingbong
http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2008/10/24/great-diy-laptop-sta.html
Life Hacker
http://lifehacker.com/5067892/diy-coat-hanger-laptop-stand
Music Radar
To quote Snoop Dogg, we've all got our minds on our money and our money on our minds. As computer musicians, the credit crunch has inevitably curved our spending power, which is why, when a thrifty laptop-user comes along with an ergonomic accessory for the price of a coat hanger, we are eternally grateful&
To save space, money and a hunched back, a young man from Beijing has built a laptop stand from a wire coat hanger, posting a seven-step DIY guide on Instructables in the process. The finished article certainly looks the business, but he does point out that you'll need a 'very heavy duty' hanger to pull it off. His is chrome plated, no less.
http://www.musicradar.com/news/tech/how-to-make-a-diy-laptop-stand-with-a-coat-hanger-178507
Fashion Electronics Guide.
http://www.voroa.com/tag/coathanger/
studiodyv This one is funny. Make sure you read the "Labels" at the bottom.
A DIY ergonomic laptop stand that raises your screen to eye level, in a very inexpensive cheap manner. With a coat hanger, bent...
This just seems like a guy who wants you to try this and watch your laptop fall and break... but that's just me.
Link here
Labels: break, cheap, coat, DIY, dumb, easy, ergonomic, fall, genius, hanger, idiotic, inexpensive, ingenius, laptop, safe, stand
posted by kidmecha at 10:41 PM
0 Comments:
http://www.studiodyv.com/exabites/2008/10/diy-laptop-stand.html

Step 1: The things you will need

The things you will need
1.A laptop computer
2.External keyboard and mouse
3.Your hands
4.A coat hanger
The more heavier duty the better. This chrome plated coat hanger I got in a small shop in west Beijing. So I have no good advice on where to get the good coat hangers.
5. Lastly you will need a piece of furniture or a surface with a corner where you can bend your coat hanger unless you plan to get fancy and use pliers.

Comments

[daniel UIO]

simple and elegant, I made in less than 5 minutes.

[jchk]

I saw a new ipad stand it was so useful and handy.

www.anjomax.com

[RichardBronosky]

[quote]The DIY DumbGuy laptop stand: so easy, even a dumb guy can make it[/quote] ...as proven by the OEM stickers that were left on the laptop. I don't mean to be mean, but that is one of my pet peeves. Every time I see OEM stickers on a computer or that protective blue or clear film on things like appliances it makes my finger nails tingle. I then get the uncontrollable urge to peel them off without asking permission.

[PSPerson]

I have ripped the stickers off of client's computers and cleaned away the sticky residue. Then I tell them I did it to "Clean" it. ^.^

[Gamer917]

i know how you feel, i ripped them off my laptop the second i opened the box

[lukkbox]

i still got the protective film on my w810i screen lol 'one' of your pet peeves? you have many? i bet you do lol

[newvisionamy]

Excellent! Well done and Thanks!

[medspit]

O.O amazing..simple..cheap..however am hesitating..is it secure enough..the stand is solid enough?

[butdie]

amazed *thumbup

[raee33]

 good idea

[tuffss]

 That is a beautiful cube, and the stand looks very simple. I like it.

[ladyharley05]

Smart idea...but how come you don't just close the laptop and put it under a table and use an external monitor and keyboard?

[mhalbrook]

Well for one thing, you can't take an external monitor with you on the road, but this stand and external mouse/keyboard you can.  So it's an on the go set up this way.

[mrdhg]

Better yet, do this AND get an external monitor for DOUBLE VISION... That's how I roll! 

[Beschaulicheit]

 After months of tribulation, this Instructable popped back into my head, I dug it up, followed it, and in 15 minutes, my problem was solved.

Thank you!

[Warlrosity]

Whats the big deal with cooling and all that sh*t??? My mums acer sits on graniet or something all day.My wrists are fine.

[007dna]

 Cork it, frogger. It's probably not good for it.

007dna

[Gage987]

i have the same laptop but the blue one.

[muzicma]

Very nice for keeping the laptop cool as well.  thx

[gotchastudio]

wow! really simple, but works great!

[mman1506]

i have problem my LAPTOPS A GIANT 20" SCREEN 5lb 5LB MONSTER AND IT ONLY A YEAR OLD

[Kasm279]

errr. 5lbs isnt heavy?

[mman1506]

sork it 12.5 lb manufactuer rated

[resende.silvinha]

nice one. ;D

[malokam]

by far the cheapest solution i've seen for a laptop stand. KUDOS.... SUGGESTION: Wind some duct tape around the hanger and no scratches on the laptop too.. ;)

[evan_124]

not to mention no scratches on that glass table

[Gamerworld14]

That is very true. :D

[docinabox]

Because this idea doesn't cost the price of a monitor, its costs a hanger and gets pretty much the same output from it.

[Kasm279]

Im wondering how heavy your laptop is so i know if the stand can mine, a 12" :D

[Punkguyta]

Where the hell did you find such a thick, steel clothes hangar?!?

[Coliflower]

Blockhead!

[Dr.Paj]

I know I have quite a few thick steel clothes hangars most likely dating back to the early 70s. Some might even have some lead paint on them.

[PeterSaS]

I tried the original design but couldn't make it work without the laptop being essentially vertical and it seemed very unstable. I therefore make a variation which seems stronger and allows the laptop to lay back at a decent angle so it is much less likely to fall over.

It will take more patience to build than the original and you'll need pliers but I think the result is well worth it. I suggest you try first with a flimsy coat hanger first to get a feel for which way to bend the metal before doing it with the thickest coat hanger you can find.

I was lucky to have a heavy-duty coat hanger that was covered in plastic so to avoid damaging the plastic too much, I used pliers made to remove spark plug leads since they have rubber-tipped ends http://www.angliatoolcentre.co.uk/images/products/product_3191.jpg but this isn't strictly necessary.

Here's the result:

[pineapplenewton]

I couldn't make this work how much doe you laptop weigh.

[xavanty]

thanks this is perfect

[rob1500]

My laptop seems to be a bit to heavy for the hanger i have. Other than that great idea!

[Harmodius]

1. The remedy for weak coat hangers is doubling. Take two identical weak ones and tape them together with your favorite kind of tape. Use the taped pair to make your stand. If they are really flimsy, triple them. (No braiding, please, or the instructable is no longer simple.) 2. My notebook only opens to 120 degrees or so. By bending the hook part of the stand upwards it can become the apex of a support triangle to hold the display vertical on notebook computers that only open part of the way to 175 or 180 degrees as Tully Gehan's does.

[charliewade]

So what happens when the screen half of the laptop comes crashing closed?

[lukkbox]

the laptop manufacturers who made this instructable get another sale on their till as they planned

[islandfly]

I loved this instructable and tried it but my laptop fell over as well! I will have to try propping up against the table or use a stronger one.. once I find it...good instructable anyway