Easy Laptop Cooling Stand

by Kingz18

8.3K1544

Intro: Easy Laptop Cooling Stand

In this instructable I will be showing how to make a simple, wooden laptop cooling stand. This laptop stand will help to keep your laptop cool by elevating it and the open underneath design. This will prevent your laptop from overheating when you are running a big program. As an added benefit it also puts your wrists on a more comfortable angle making typing a more enjoyable experience.

STEP 1: Material That Are Required to Make This Stand

The materials that are need to make this stand are really simple and easy to find/purchase.

Materials:
- wood(any type is fine however I used wood that was 1/2 inch thick)
- four finely threaded screws

Tools/machines:
- band saw( use of a jig saw or scroll saw would also work)
- drill press and electric cordless drill.( drill press was only used to make perfectly straight pilot holes but the cordless drill could also work just fine)

STEP 2: Marking and Cutting the Wood

First we need to mark the wood were we will cut. The measurements for the sides I have uploaded from a google sketchup file. The middle cross members are 1/2 x 12 inches.

After the wood is marked we are ready to cut it out. I used a band saw to make all of my cuts for this project but the use of a jig saw or even a scroll saw could be used.

STEP 3: Sanding, Drilling, and Fastening

Once all the pieces are cut out it is a good idea to sand all the surfaces. Once this is completed you can drill the pilot holes. The places where the pilot holes need to be drilled are in the Smetchup file. I used a drill press to make the holes, however, using a cordless drill could also be used to make the holes.

Once the holes are drilled you can screw the fine thread screws into the two cross members. This can be seen completed in the second and third photo above.

Repeat this process again on the other side and you will be done!

STEP 4: Finished Product and Final Thoughts

Once you have screwed everything together it is good to give it one more sand over to make sure all the rough surfaces have been smoothed out. Now you have completed your simple easy computer cooling stand.

Final thoughts:
- I thought it would be a bit overkill but when you are screwing the cross members to the two sides if you use a wood glue then this could add to the durability overall.
- staining was not done on the one in the picture but I will definitely consider doing that in the future to improve the overall look and appeal.
- for the cross members to prevent splitting a solid piece of wood would work much better!

Leave in the comments anything you think that could be improved on or added. All feedback is appropriated.

4 Comments

MeetUrMaker_2015 9 years ago

The design is simple and uses scraps! Bravo. Suggestions: Breaking all the sharp edges is a good idea for anything furniture where people handle it or sit it on their lap. Easiest is to burnish them round with the retaining groove of any drill driver bit. You could also chamfer them with a small plane, or router them if you have access to a plane or router. If you stain, which I applaud, consider spraying (aerosol) with 2 coats of sanding sealer (rubbed with steel wool between applications) and later precat satin lacquer (rubbed with steel wool between applications) for a more finished look. Countersinking antique brass screws into dadoed joints would be a nice touch keeping the strength up. If the application won't require dadoes, maybe using antique brass screws with matching finish washers would be a nice look as well.

Kingz18 9 years ago

Thank you so much for comment and suggestions! I will definitely take into consideration for the antique brass screws and countersinking them into the wood. As for the staining I was originally going to just use a regular old wood stain but, I love your idea of using the sanding sealer and precat satin lacquer method. I will definitely apply them to the project when it comes time to stain! I also will make sure to chamfer all the rough/sharp edges down in the coming future.

sixsmith 9 years ago

good use of reclaimed wood!

I noticed you had some splitting in your cross members. That is harder to avoid with plywood, however pre drilling the cross members would alleviate that a lot. Wood glue wouldn't add a whole lot of strength to the joint due to the way the grain is, but if you cut a dado in the sides, then added glue, you could actually end up with a somewhat stronger joint.

As an aesthetic note, I like to take a drill bit about the size of the screw head and hit the holes so the screws will lay flush or below the surface

I do like the design, fairly simple, and easy to make too!