New Warehouse Space, Dressing Vanity, New Trailer’s First Log Update

August 11, 2020
Matt's Weekly Shop Update

Viewer Projects

Laptop Stands by Matt

With working remotely I was getting to spend more time in my shop (not complaining) and was motivated to make myself some laptop stands to raise my computers to align to the base of my external monitor. I also added a design feature to store my wireless keyboard to give me more working room when not typing.

My first one was made out of Curley Cherry and poplar. I painted the poplar a flat white and finished the cherry with three coats of Arm-R-Seal satin. I lined the feet with black felt as well and attached the top with z-fasteners.

I used the same concept for my MacBook, but made it out of hard maple with a bit of curl and some black walnut. I lined the feet with felt and attached the top with z-fasteners as well. I then finished the whole project with three coats of Arm-R-Seal satin.

I used the tiny dominos for the joinery to attach the stretchers to the feet. Seemed to be the easiest way to get it done.

These were very satisfying to make and it was even a bigger bonus that I use these every day and love how functional they are.

Sawmill by Tom

It is my take on a cross between a band saw mill and a chainsaw mill. It is very much still a work in progress and needs refining but couldn’t wait to cut a few slabs.

It is made mainly from aluminium, with a 240 volt 2hp electric motor, driving 17″ band wheels from a record power bs400 band saw. The depth of cut is set via an adjustable runner on M12 threaded rods and sliders, with a max depth of cut of 9″, and it can cut up to 30″ wide.

Laptop Desk by Jon

I made a laptop desk as a birthday present for my wife: with ongoing lockdown and work from home, she’s been working on her laptop in bed and on the couch late at night. I thought this would make the perfect practical gift.

She loves the MCM aesthetic so I tried to capture that with the angled top and tapered & splayed legs. Also chamfers, lots of chamfers.

No idea what kind of wood it is. It’s all reclaimed from a bar cart that a neighbour was throwing out. As you can see though, it didn’t take stain well whatsoever (so frustrating!) so I did my best to rough it up and go for the rustic look instead.

The legs are held in place by dowels and there is a center brace with multiple dados that a metal support (made from a coat hanger) rests in to hold the top at an angle. The little laptop catch on the surface also comes off and can be stored underneath.

Definitely my most challenging project to date and the one with the most mistakes but overall pretty happy with it and so is the wife.

Nursery Side Table by Joshua

The nursery table came to be because we had a small space for a table next to our rocking chair. I told my wife I can do that. So I started with cardboard, moved on to sketchUp then the real thing. The table legs are a mix of hard and soft maple and the tops are made from white oak. I used rabbit/ dowel joints for the leg frames and used threaded inserts the bolt down the main top.