How I Built A Lap Desk for My Pocket PC

[Brad Isaac]

How I Built A Lap Desk for My Pocket PC
by Brad Isaac
Sometimes an old-world solution is just what is needed to solve a new-world problem. What is the problem? The Pocket PC Generation finds themselves more and more leaving their desktop computers and work areas behind and instead opting for unconventional office environments like couches, beds and Lay-Z-Boy recliners.

Although devices such as laptop computers and pocket PCs do indeed offer an office away from office, they do lack some basic environmental elements that make working more comfortable and productive. One is a solid, yet comfortable work table, that is sturdy enough to hold the flimsiest keyboard, has room and a steady writing surface for paperwork, and is yet comfortable enough to sit(slouch) comfortably in bed, on a couch or recliner for hours at a time.
That's where an old-world solution may be the best solution. The lap desk is an invention from hundreds of years ago that was a necessity for the "Mobile professionals" of the 1700s. In fact, Thomas Jefferson wrote part of the Declaration of Independence on one! As a side note, Senator John Warfield Johnston of Virginia, 1880 said, "On that desk was done a work greater than any battle, loftier than any poem, more enduring than any monument." So a lap desk may just turn out to be the most important addition to your mobile gear!
In this article, I'll show you how I made a Lap desk that contains elements of the historical lap desks, however, contains a modern day twist, which provides more comfort than the solid oak or mahogany bottoms of yesteryear!
The supplies needed for this project are:
Circular saw................................Strong Quality Glue
Sander or a strong arm................Stain
Dremel or router..........................Vinyl
Clamps........................................Poly urethane
Scissors.......................................Fil ler
Depending on what type of wood you like to use, you can use a sheet of 3/4 inch cut Maple, Oak or Pine (if you want to save money) However, I like to think that every wood project I start might be handed down to future generations so I start with a nice wood. I chose Red Oak for this project because one it has a beautiful grain to it, two because it's rock hard and will last through Pen to paper writing and three because it's what I had on hand The downside to Red Oak is it's more difficult to work with than other woods. It seems to splinter easier and it took me literally 4 to 6 hours of sanding throughout the project to get things right.

To start, I realized quickly that the board I had on hand wasn't wide enough for the resulting Desk. So I had to do the dreaded "biscuit" join on two pieces to make it the right size. I started by cutting the main (big) piece to 19inch by 12inches. This left over a 21inch by 12 inch piece of scrap. I took the scrap and cut a strip of it that was three inches wide. If you add the two together, the desk would be 15 inches wide by 19 inches. Large enough for most lap work. But keep in mind, cutting, sanding and finishing will reduce this size - my final lap desk measured a bit more than 14 inches by 17 1/2 inches.
As far as the biscuit join, guess what, I didn't have any biscuits at home and for some darn reason, I didn't feel like running up to the store to buy some. So I did what anyone not in their right mind would do. I made some from some old paint stirrers that come free from most paint supply stores. For those of you who don't know what a biscuit is for woodworking, it's a little wedge of wood that you bore into two adjoining pieces of wood to add support and sturdiness during and after gluing the two pieces together. You can see by my picture what I'm talking about. The resulting two pieces of joined wood are almost as sturdy as one solid piece!

Back to biscuit joins. I used a Dremel to saw out two slots on the adjoining sides of both pieces of the Oak. This is where the hard oak works against you. It is a long, hot, sawing process to cut those slots! Plus, there is almost nothing in the world that smells as bad as burning red oak. Blechhh....

Anyway, I lightly hammered in the biscuits and added some high quality Gorilla glue to the mix. Got things lined up perfectly and then clamped the pieces overnight. The waiting is the hardest part for me. I might add, that this is the stage of the project where I was most tempted to quit...so be aware of that fact if you try this at home. The project may look easy, but it’s not as easy as it looks!
While the glue was drying, it was a good time to cut, sand and router the other parts. There is a pen rest that goes on top of the desk that holds your pens and also acts as a hand rest while you type on your laptop or mini-keyboard. There are also 4 frame-rails on the back that will hold in place my twist to the old lap desks - a custom bean bag pillow that will be attached to the bottom!
There is a temptation to ignore the bottom frame rails and not put a lot of work into them. After all, who is going to be looking at the bottom? However, you'll always know they are there and that you did a second rate job on them. So take this down time, while the glue is drying, to measure, cut, router and stain the bottom rails. Make them nice. You will be much happier that way and the end result will be something you can be proud of.
Time for a break while the glue dries.

Ok, break over, it doesn't look like much does it? It looks sort of bad in fact. Well, that is where a jigsaw, patience and a bit of artistry come into the project. I did not want to use a compass to draw my curves into the top because the point of the compass would leave holes in the wood that would take two headaches and a ream of sandpaper to remove. Instead, I used a piece of string and a pencil to trace out the semicircles. Measure down two inches from the top 2 inches and in from either side 2 inches. Where those two lines intersect are your pin down points for the string. Tie a pencil to the other end and draw! Instant semicircle!
After measuring your semicircles, use a jigsaw to carefully cut your curves. While you are at it hack off the remaining portion of your biscuit joined slat.
Now this is where the project gets tedious. Odds are the cuts look good and everything is roughly in order. But the end result needs to be smooth and precise, so get out your sander, or warm up your sanding arm for a long afternoon of sanding, routing and sanding again. Like I said above, you should sand both sides of the project, even though only one side is immediately visible.

Sanding the curves and the sides seemed to go faster than the top because the surface area is smaller; however, one must be careful not to sand a slope into the sides - which can easily happen with a power sander.
I chose to take my dremel with router attachment to route a nice curve into the edges of the wood and into the handrest and frame rails. After routing, you are back to sanding. Think about getting it like glass as much as possible, because that's what the end result will be: A table with a glass-like top!
Once I was fairly satisfied with the sanding job, I dusted off the sawdust and made a second check to make sure no splinters or odd spots were left. Now it's time to stain. Staining the wood is pretty easy and relaxing job. I chose a cherry wood stain that would bring out the red in the red oak and two match the décor of my house.

I stained the rails and hand rest at the same time. Time to wait....

During the stain drying time, I took that opportunity to explore my feminine side. It was time to make the beanbag pillow that attaches to the bottom of the desk. Here's where the project becomes very versitile. Remember the framing rails we made earlier? Those rails allow for you to attach what you like to the bottom. In other words, if you start out with a beanbag at the bottom and eventually want to change it out for a wood box and drawer attachment like the colonial versions of the lapdesk, it's all possible! Two minutes with a screwdriver and the rails are removed.
In this situation, I want the maximum comfort so working from the couch is a pleasure and not an excercize in fumbling. So I opted for the bean bag attachment. I went up to the sewing shop and bellied up to the counter with a square yard of vinyl and some apolstery thread and needles. I could have just as easily used leather for the project, but there isn't a tannery near my home and I didn't want to wait all week on having some delivered. Vinyl is very easy to cut and sew as well, so that’s another added advantage.

Believe it or not, my cutting of the vinyl was a lot of “eyeballing.” I took the rails and lined them up on the back side of the vinyl as if they had been installed properly. Then I used the railing to measure out the inside rectangle. From there, you want to make a cross leaving approximately 3 - 4 inches of “fluff” (the amount of space needed for your beanbag filling) and an extra 2 inches for mounting – 5 inches in all. So in other words, I cut out the vinyl making it look sort of like a plus sign. Of the edges, I sewed 3 inches up forming corners of the beanbag pillow. There was 2 inches of left over vinyl on all four sides for mounting.
It is so very tempting to mount the pillow immediately and start filling it with beans – however, we must be patient.
After the stain has dried, it was time to Polyurethane everything. This process consists of applying a thin coat of Polyurethane, waiting for it to dry, then lightly sanding it and doing it again. I did this process 5 times. The reason is that Polyurethane protects the wood against accidental pen marks, magic markers and spilled drinks, etc. If you have young children you may decide you want to do as I did and polyurethane 5 times. Otherwise, three coats would most likely suffice. It is also important to use the finest grit sandpaper towards your last coats. I ended up using 220 grits on the last two coats.
Ok, the home stretch! At this point, we have all of our parts, cut, routered and sanded to perfection. We have stained and Polyurethaned everything making it look like glass. We’ve cut and sewed our beanbag. Now all that is left is to fill it. But what do we fill it with? I’ll admit, I was a little ignorant about what to fill a beanbag with. I assumed I’d fill the bean bag with…BEANS! Well, that did not work out as well as I thought. You see, beans are very heavy. The idea of a big 30lbs of beans on your lap is not all that comfortable.
Someone else suggested rice. So I bought a big bag of rice. The result? Twenty-five pounds of lapdesk! Still too heavy! So I did a search and found that the beanbags of today are filled with Styrofoam. So, I voyaged up to wal mart in search of some bean bag filler. Believe it or not, this stuff is HARD TO COME BY! I don’t know when the change took place, but those beanbag chairs that you would see all over the place years ago – they aren’t really sold the same way anymore! I had no idea you have to mail order them – at least in my area.
Luckily, I found one store in my city that carried the beanbag chairs and although they didn’t sell the bean bag filler, they did have the biggie bean bags plus, they were on sale too! So I thought, well, the kids will love having this bean bag chair to sit on and play. So I grabbed it and ran it home.
Filling the beanbag on the lap desk was fun. I used a bird feed scoop to funnel the filling in. And the results were a very light beanbag attachment to the lap desk – the kids didn’t miss the extra filling in the chair either.

A reattachment of the final rail and then cutting off the excess vinyl underneath the railing completes this project. Here's a side angle view of what the Lap Desk looks like with the bean bag.

The result is a nice lap desk you can use for Pocket PC Surfing, typing, writing in a journal, paperwork and let us not forget eating. It is made in such a way it is easy to upgrade. The qualities of the parts are high enough your great-great grandchildren won’t mind inheriting it when the time comes.
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