Freestanding Whiteboard

Step 5 Finish and Final Assembly

Once you are satisfied that everything fits together, take the legs off of the board, and sand them well. I used a hand sander, which prompted me to realize that I need a new random orbit sander. And a belt sander, too!

I finished the legs and middle of the "sandwich" with black acrylic paint and several coats of spar urethane. I like that combination because it is very durable and leaves the grain of the wood visible in the black, which I think is cool. Your mileage will certainly vary- just remember that you are using it as a whiteboard, and that the marker "misses" will certainly hit the frame once in a while- the black hides that nicely.

I added a tray along the bottom of the board that I made out of parts left over from a disassembled aluminum screen door. My markers and eraser fit in there nicely. You can almost certainly do something similar, or even use some pine trim angle or something similar.

One thing that I did no do, but in retrospect wish that I did was to cut off the bolts holding the board on the legs and replacing the nuts with acorn bolts. My bolts stick out more than I would like them to, and they make the "back" side of the two-sided board not quite as nice as the front...

My whiteboard has been very stable and gets a lot of use in my lab/workshop. It is heavy enough to accommodate multiple excited hackers working on it at once. Since it easily disassembles, it is possible to move it if I have to. I hope that you have similar success and enjoyment from yours!~