Lars Kleinschmidt

diy laptop stand from ring binders

Required materials

• 2 (or more) ring binders with lever arch mechanism
• pliers (water pump pliers, combination pliers recommended)
• 7 wood screws (e.g. 4x16)
• tape
• ruler
• pen

Instructions

1. Prepare the binders
   1. Open the binders and with pliers bend open the little metal tongues that hold the arch in place.
      
   2. Pull out the arch under the now open tongues. Do not throw it away, you'll need it later!
      
   3. Bend the remaining poles downward (they'd prevent closing the folder).
      
   4. Repeat for the 2nd binder.
2. Take some measurements
   1. Grab the archs that you removed earlier. Place it at the front of the binder and close the cover.
   2. With one hand pressing the binder closed pull the arch to the front so it's in a position where the cover is firmly holding it.
      
   3. With the ruler measure the distance from the binders corner to the arch (4.3cm for me).
   4. Measure the height of the binder and the inner and outer width of the archs.
      
   5. Calculate the positions you have to place the archs (not really neccessary but even distances look better): Binder height - 2*arch outer width - arch inner width * 0.5. (Using a german A4 binder I got 32cm for height and 8.4cm for outer width, 7.4 cm for inner width. So it's (32-8.4-8.4-7.6)/2=3.8cm)
   6. Mark the distance you have just calculated (e.g. 3.8cm) from the left and right borders and the distance you've measured from front (e.g. 4.3cm).
   7. Place the arch next to these markings and mark the spots right inside the corners of the arch. This is where you'll have to put the screws later on.
      
3. Get them together
   1. Place one binder on the table, open the second one, put it on top of the first and align them so the corners match up.
      
   2. Put 3 screws through the bottom of the upper binder one into the top of the lower one to fix them together.
      
   3. Put screws through the spots you've previously marked (but don't put the all the way in yet!)
      
   4. Hang the arch in the screws and put the screws as far in as they don't push the arch away.
      
4. Finishing touches
   1. The cover will want to open itself a little when the laptop is not placed on the stand. To prevent that just use some tape to keep it down.
      
   2. If you've used more than 2 folders you may want to put some long screws through all the folders for increased stability.

General remarks

• You may use more than 2 binders if you need the stand to be higher.
• The screws sticking through the binders might not be very child-safe. You may drill holes and use machine screws and nuts instead (probably wise to use a washer as well then).