How to Make a Computerstand Out of a Computerbox

Last Christmas, my brother got a new laptop. ofcourse he immediately wanted to use it and the first thing he grabbed was a computerstand to put it on his lap. And that got me thinking. What if you could make a computerstand out of the box you get it in?

Step 1: Materials

You don't need a lot of materials or utensils to make this laptopstand:

First of all you need a laptop box (obviously)
Some small utensils:
- A ruler
- Pencil
- Pen
- Eraser
- Cutter knife
I also used some string to reinforcen the stand (you only need this if you don't want te stand to rest on your legs)

Step 2: Unfold the Box

First you need to unfold the box. The box I used here is from an Acers Aspire but most laptop boxes are pretty similar. If there is any difference you should keep that in mind for the following steps.

Step 3: Cut Out the Legs

You can make a laptopstand with or without legs. I chose to make one where you can use the stand both with the legs and without them, so it just sits on your lap.

For this you just use the flaps on the side of the box.

Steps:

Measure how wide one part of the flap is
Draw a new part with the same width (measure from the folding line of the inner flap inwards)
Cut this part out (be careful, yo uwill need the rest of the box)
Repeat on the other side
Now you should have two pieces of carboard that are folded in three

For now we will put these aside and concentrate on the rest of the laptopstand

Step 4: Make Te Top Part

Now we're going to focus on the top part, this is where the laptop will rest on.

Steps:

First you have to cut a part off the bottom part of the box (there where it was closed), this is where the laptop will lean against so make it wide as the thicknass of your laptop or less (not more because then your arms will rest on it and that's not comfortable)
Now you take the other end of the box and draw a rectangle that is the length of the bottom part of the box (so where you cut the legs out of) and with the with of dubbel the material thickness (so if your cardboard is 2mm thick, make the rectangle 4mm thick)
Cut the rectangle out.
When you've done this, take the top part (the one you cut in step one) fold the sides in and tuck it through the hole you just made.
To give it more strength, cut a slot in the bottom of the flaps that is half the with and in the top of the straight part so you can fit this together (see last picture) Be careful here because you can easily tear the material.
Finally we will use the same technique with the slot to secure the sides. You should be able to secure the loose flaps on the top of the piece with the ones on the side so the structure gets stronger (I didn't take any pictures of this I'm sorry)

If you don't want any legs you're already done!

Step 5: Making the Legs

Now we're going to finish the legs so you have to take the two pieces you cut out in te beginning

Stesp:

Make one of the edges straight on both pieces
The other sides need to be slanting. To determine the angle I held it against the table I already made so it's sloped in the same way. Apply tis to both pieces.
Now check if both pieces are the same and adjust if it's necessary
At the sloped side, make incisions in the middle of each piece and make sure the slot is perpindicular opposed to the sloped side. The slot should be as deep as half the width of the side of your top and as wide as the thickness of your cardboard
Repeat this on both legs
Put one leg on the side of the stand and mark where the slots are
At the marked spots, make incisions with the same dimensions as the previous ones
Now assemble the legs to the tabl

Step 6: Reinforce the Legs

Because the legs aren't very strong now we're going to reinforce them with some string.

Steps:

Cut small holes in at the top of the legs (see picture) Don't put them all the way against the surfece of the top part because then the rope will loose it's use, But your legs should be able to fit under it so don't put them too low either
Put the string through the holes diagonally
Put a knot in the end of the rope
Slightly tighten the rope (there shouldn't be too much tension but it can't be loose either)
Put a knot in the other end so the string stays in place
Repeat

Now you're all done!