Simple and Easy Laptop Stand for Your Lap

I looked around at a multitude of stores for a laptop stand that gets airflow to the laptop, but one where I could actually use on my lap. Didnt find anything that was what I wanted, so I decided to make my own.

Step 1: What I Used

• A few scraps of wood I got free. I actually got a whole trunk-ful of free wood that was sitting on the curb after an estate auction.
• Gorilla Glue
• Some Clamps
• A children's travel lap desk (I purloined mine from my kids after it was sitting for 2 years unused. I am sure you could pick one up at a thrift store pretty cheap)

The travel desk, as you can see in the pictures below, is basically a bean bag attached to a board so that a kid can write on the top while the bean bag under it keeps it steady.

In this case, it will keep the laptop steady.

Step 2: The Front

In the free wood I picked up was a few pieces of wooden molding. Just the cheap kind, but perfect for my needs.

I cut it to size, made sure it wouldnt interfere with my typing, catch on my hands, and that the laptop could close and open without being effected (if any of this occurred, I would have sanded it down, but luckily it was a perfect height already)

One cut, I dabbed gorilla glue all along the bottom, placed it on the lap desk in the center along the front, and clamped it down.

Step 3: Making the Back

Now for the back.

Since the molding raised the front a small amount, I needed to make sure the back was at least raised by the same amount.

I used an unused wooden paint stirrer and cut it to the size I needed.

I then glued it down with gorilla glue (think I love my gorilla glue? You would be correct!) and clamped it down.

As I was waiting for it to dry, I looked around for some thicker raisers, since a big part of my problem was the heat issue.

As luck would have it, I had a scrap square piece of wood that I cut in half to make 2 triangles.

I positioned them along the paint stirrer to line up with the feet on my laptop and made sure they wouldnt block any air or fan slots (I made mine triangles for that reason, rectangles would have blocked a portion of the fan's intake).

One I got them where I liked, I glued and clamped them down, waiting a few hours for the entire project to set and dry.

Step 4: Finished!

And this is what it looks like!

The bean portion of the lap tray is filled with the styrofoam beads that I dont like much, so I am going to replace that with beans or something else... maybe popping corn. I havent decided yet.