Constructing it up should take couple of hours. Let’s start.
To developer’s credit, it good looks. Aaron wrote:
Cardboard’s great and all, but with $8 worth of metal, a hacksaw, and a few strips of leather, I built this thing. I got the idea from the $50 mStand; seemed to me that making something that sexy shouldn’t be all that hard. For the bend I used my hands and a sawhorse.
As far as specs go… nothing exacting, but here’s what I found worked best.
Supports: 4 x 5.5″, 1/8″ by 1″
Bent Bar: 1 x 24″, 3/32″ by 3/4″I chose aluminum because it looks nice, plus it’s soft and easy to work with. I couldn’t find any at home depot, but my local mom and pop hardware store had plenty; I got just what I needed for about $8. A quick look online and it looks like you can get it even cheaper.
The top supports are on 6.5″ centers, the bottoms 6″. This worked best stability-wise for a 15″ MBP, but it works fine for anything bigger than a netbook. The supports only have one bolt apiece for looks, so I added a little bit of epoxy to each joint so things don’t slide around. As for bending the bar, I really just eyeballed it. Unloaded the top is about parallel with the bottom, so it sags nicely with a laptop on top.
I added leather pads (found at a local craft store) attached with double-sided tape so my laptop won’t get scratched; those who care about their desks might want ’em on the bottom too.
Naturally, this thing is pretty durable. Maker has been using it for over a year now and the only wear is on the leather pads.