Lap desk

This is a lap desk for my girlfriend’s laptop. The design came from Popular Woodworking Magazine. She chose the wood, bored the vent holes and joined the top panel, I did the sides, edge beading and finish. It was a nice weekend project and was a lot of fun to have her finally understand why I enjoy being in the basement with my tools so much! The plans had to be altered a little bit because her laptop is large. We made the top wider by a few inches and made the sides an inch taller. The wood is walnut except for the laptop rest in QSWO and the mail order engraved handles from Lee Valley. We used 5 coats of a wipe on poly finish, and dark walnut danish oil for the oak piece. We both learned to remember if we are about to drill through the side of a dowel in the top, because we did…twice. She is really proud of this though and it turned out nice. I was concerned about racking but after 3 months of everyday use it is still solid. The only issue we noticed is the balance when the laptop is on top. If we could do this over we figured we would install the hanger bolts that go through the sides a quarter inch farther towards the front instead of in the center. Occasionally if she bumps the top with her legs it will pivot down a little. This required 2 board feet of walnut.