Confucius say: "Wise man start with prototype. "
It would be a shame to spend a lot of time making an over-chair desk only to find that it could not come close enough to your chair, or was too high, or two low.
If you look at the instructions page you can see that a prototype is rather simple to construct. Some of the parts may be reusable in your final product.
Our prototype showed that:
If you look at the instructions page you can see that a prototype is rather simple to construct. Some of the parts may be reusable in your final product.
Our prototype showed that:
- thicker angle brackets were not as strong as they looked, and that longer ones were better; (We decided to use more panels and glue instead in the production model. )
- a wider top would be more convenient; and
- castors need to be strongly secured.
Prototype 1
 Chair base could not take much weight.
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Prototype 2
 Better. Notice paving bricks on base.
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Chair and space
The over-chair desk is not a tiny piece of furniture. If you don't have much space available, a chair with footstool and desk might cramp things too much.
This is not a universal piece of furniture. It suits a particular chair. So, first get your chair. Swivel chairs on a round base are easiest to fit an over-chair desk to.
Construction notes:
This is not a universal piece of furniture. It suits a particular chair. So, first get your chair. Swivel chairs on a round base are easiest to fit an over-chair desk to.
Construction notes:
- You can see two of the bolts holding the lower base, brick hiding walls, and upper base together.
- You can't see that the two bricks of the prototype have become three or four, because they are now hidden in the base.
Stashable
When company comes, the desk is rolled into the space between the sofa and the bookshelf. It can be moved here without leaving the chair.
Monitor arm and easel
The monitor arm needs to be:
I did not find many available to fit these specs, especially length.
This one is the Atdec SD-AT-DK-P, available in Australia, USA and many countries around the world.
Simply enter "SD-AT-DK-P" in your Internet search. (The double quotes are necessary here. ). I bought mine at Scorpion Technology in Clayton Vic for $255.
The wooden easel I built myself. It is more complex than most people would need because for me it had to be adjustable to take books of all sizes and shapes.
Other people probably just need a piece of plywood big enough for their iPad, or for a standard magazine, with a block glued on the back to screw it on, and a small tray glued on the bottom front to stop the iPad falling off.
- quite long to easily reach in front of your eyes; and
- articulated to fold out of the way for using the laptop.
I did not find many available to fit these specs, especially length.
This one is the Atdec SD-AT-DK-P, available in Australia, USA and many countries around the world.
Simply enter "SD-AT-DK-P" in your Internet search. (The double quotes are necessary here. ). I bought mine at Scorpion Technology in Clayton Vic for $255.
The wooden easel I built myself. It is more complex than most people would need because for me it had to be adjustable to take books of all sizes and shapes.
Other people probably just need a piece of plywood big enough for their iPad, or for a standard magazine, with a block glued on the back to screw it on, and a small tray glued on the bottom front to stop the iPad falling off.
Laptop stand
The laptop screen needs to be a little higher than it was when flat on the desktop. So it needs a stand.
My laptop stand is just 3 pieces of wood glued together. The stand is not glued to the top. Just sits on some anti-creep stuff.
It gives space behind to store the iPad Bluetooth keyboard and the Bluetooth keyboard for the laptop and DVR.
My laptop stand is just 3 pieces of wood glued together. The stand is not glued to the top. Just sits on some anti-creep stuff.
It gives space behind to store the iPad Bluetooth keyboard and the Bluetooth keyboard for the laptop and DVR.
The drawers you have when you're not having drawers
So we had this space above the bricks. Might as well use it.
Angle brackets, cords coming in and out, and the articulated arm clamp make real drawers difficult.
So, from the top, we have:
Angle brackets, cords coming in and out, and the articulated arm clamp make real drawers difficult.
So, from the top, we have:
- An electricity distribution tray;
- A stable-table for eating on your lap; and
- Some K-Mart drawers chosen because they fitted.
Electricity distribution
Two power boards with switches provide power for chargers for laptop, the various iGadgets, and other phone and comms gear. Again, it's just three pieces of wood glued together.
K-mart drawers
And these are the drawers that proved to be just the right size to sit on the angle brackets, leaving space for the stable table on the top.
Life's little necessities
The iPad is great. But it is lousy for extensive web searching. So you need a laptop, or personal computer.
The iPad stand sits off to the side when using the laptop. I must close the laptop before moving the articulate arm back again to avoid breaking the laptop screen.
If I decide to have a PC here, the monitor will replace the wooden easel. A detachable lighter wooden easel/tray will sit over the top of the monitor for iPad and magazines.
Also on the desktop I keep the TiVo remote, a remote for a fan and standard lamp, landline phone, Bluetooth speaker and Bluetooth keyboard for the iPad, and Bluetooth keyboard for the laptop. Current magazines and DVDs complete the list. DVDs play on the laptop.
The iPad stand sits off to the side when using the laptop. I must close the laptop before moving the articulate arm back again to avoid breaking the laptop screen.
If I decide to have a PC here, the monitor will replace the wooden easel. A detachable lighter wooden easel/tray will sit over the top of the monitor for iPad and magazines.
Also on the desktop I keep the TiVo remote, a remote for a fan and standard lamp, landline phone, Bluetooth speaker and Bluetooth keyboard for the iPad, and Bluetooth keyboard for the laptop. Current magazines and DVDs complete the list. DVDs play on the laptop.
Metal right-angle shelf brackets top
Originally we intended to just use glue and six bolts for the build. This was not some kind of craftsman purism.
We both have handicaps that make using most tools difficult. So the intention was that Bunnings hardware store would cut the pieces to length, and we would just glue them. But the Bunnings Rocklea panel saw was well off square - not a problem after the recent floods. Now they have no panel saw, or even a building to put it in. : -(
We thought we might not be able to trust the off-square panels, so we went belts and braces and added 8 shelf brackets (4 top, 4 bottom). This prevented us from using standard drawers in the unit.
We both have handicaps that make using most tools difficult. So the intention was that Bunnings hardware store would cut the pieces to length, and we would just glue them. But the Bunnings Rocklea panel saw was well off square - not a problem after the recent floods. Now they have no panel saw, or even a building to put it in. : -(
We thought we might not be able to trust the off-square panels, so we went belts and braces and added 8 shelf brackets (4 top, 4 bottom). This prevented us from using standard drawers in the unit.
Metal right-angle shelf brackets bottom
You can also see the tops of the through-base bolts described above.
Bolts
And here you can see the tops of two more of the six bolts.
Cable ties
These keep cables (like the laptop charger cable) neatly out of the way.
Desk corners
The corners of the desktop turn out to be at about the eye height of a toddler. We cut 55mm corners of ours. If you can use a router you might make neater rounded edges all round.
Long wall layers
The upper and lower base boards have a space between them for the (optional) paver bricks.
The upper and lower base boards are kept apart by walls built from several layers of thinner wood. (see Desk instructions in menu at top of this page). These are all bolted together (not glued) so layers may be added or subtracted to make changes to the height of the desk if necessary.
Here you can see the layers and the bottom of one of the bolts that hold them together. Note the dome nut protecting your toes.
The upper and lower base boards are kept apart by walls built from several layers of thinner wood. (see Desk instructions in menu at top of this page). These are all bolted together (not glued) so layers may be added or subtracted to make changes to the height of the desk if necessary.
Here you can see the layers and the bottom of one of the bolts that hold them together. Note the dome nut protecting your toes.
General remote
These little beasties let you use the remote control to turn on and off electrical equipment (like fans and standard lamps) that don't come with their own remotes.
So - world's best iPad stand?
I love lots about the iPad.
But I have a disability that prevents me from holding it for more than a few minutes.
I spent too much on commercial iPad stands, and on making my own.
This over-chair desk was designed to help me read books.
But after Wendy and I built it, it occurred to me that I have the world's best iPad stand!
But I have a disability that prevents me from holding it for more than a few minutes.
I spent too much on commercial iPad stands, and on making my own.
This over-chair desk was designed to help me read books.
But after Wendy and I built it, it occurred to me that I have the world's best iPad stand!
iPad is probably a trademark of some big American corporation.