Introduction: Mobile Standing Desk

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Reading about back pain, I discovered Standing Desks. The thing is -1- they seem pricey and -2- I'm not sure I'd like to work standing all day.

But when I saw that (french) video about DIY Mobile Standing Desk, I decided to build one. Thank you Guillaume !

Supplies

  • An MDF board.
  • 2 metal hinge and small screws.
  • Stuff to measure, cut and screw.
  • Optional: a pencil and/or a pyrographer to decorate the boards.
  • Optional: walnut tincture to get a better color and beeswax to protect the boards.
  • Optional: self adhesive rubber.

Step 1: Cutting the Boards

Measure the proper height required to get your elbows horizontal when working. Then measure the length required to support the laptop.

I'm 1.83m tall and will be using 15" MacBook Pro and 13" ThinkPad. So I went for 40x30 cm boards. It seems you'd better have your elbow to high than too low.

Step 2: Assemble the Boards

I want to be able to put the mobile desk in my backpack. So it needs to fold like a book.

The hinges were then screwed on the side of the boards. This required pre-drill and using quite thin screws ; the boards are only 1cm thick.

Step 3: Optional: Decorate the Boards

You may want to decorate the boards as MDF wood is not really pretty as-is.

I went for FOSS geek stuff. I first drew on the boards, then use the pyrographer to make it more permanent.

Then I tainted the boards using walnut tincture so that they look prettier. Finally, I applied beeswax to protect the boards from day to day fingerprints etc.

Step 4: Optional: Rubbered Feet

The MDF was a bit scratchy on raw wood tables and a bit slippery on plastic or melamine tables. So I decided to add rubber feet.

I used self adhesive rubber for washing machine. Cut thin pieces and stick them on the edge of the boards.

Step 5: Final Testing

The height is good for full-day usage. The depth is good for both laptops I use.

Working standing all day is really different from the usual sitting position. And this stuff is a really nice and cheap way to test before buying a real expensive standing desk.