Unnecessarily nice laptop riser with drawers

[DIYScientist]

I wanted a laptop riser for work; however, the ones they can provide was not something I like aesthetically. I therefore made one from a bit of plywood, Okume panel (top), pine, a bit of Jarrah, screws, glue and drawer runners.

I wanted a rail and stile style look to the project.

There is a continuous grain pattern over the inset drawer faces. I made the drawer pulls out of a bit of unnecessary Jarrah for a bit of class and to add a nice contrast to the pine drawer faces. All the sharp edges received a small 45° bevel before I applied several coats of polyurethane finish, sanding up to 240 grit between each coat for a nice smooth to the touch finish.

I made a hidden compartment underneath one of the drawers by raising the drawer box. This is for hiding unsightly messy cables.

The drawers can move freely over the keyboard without interference and offer loads of storage for paperwork, snacks and coffee cups.

The entire project is held together by using either pocket hole screws or a bit of glue.

There is also space next to the laptop area for an extra screen; however, I will be putting a pot plant there and building a separate box for my second screen.

I am also not worried about wood movement as this project will be kept in a climate controlled office.

[EricL]

Hi @DIYScientist

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's sensational to have you join us, and thank you for sharing your laptop riser project.

I love the continuous grain pattern you've placed in front of the riser. This just shows how much time you've dedicated to building and designing this laptop riser. You've even gone out of your way to make sure that there was a spot for the cords and cables. This detail tells me that you've had a lot of time to think about this build. 

Have you thought about putting some Surface Gard 19 x 19mm Clear Square Rubber Bumper to lift the cabinet so that your keyboard and mouse cables don't get squashed? I'm just worried that long-term compression will damage the cables.

Again, thank you for sharing your beautiful laptop riser.

Eric

[DIYScientist]

Hi @EricL ,

Thank you for the time you took viewing my post.

I have in fact thought about doing something about it; however, I am getting a wireless keyboard and mouse soon (on a waiting list). That way I won't have messy cables poking out everywhere.

Initially I thought about just bringing the cables around from the back, but then I noticed the gap at the bottom between the desk and riser. In retrospect I should have done that from the start. I did not think about the cable integrity, so thank you for pointing that out. I will fix this tomorrow to not damage the cables.

There is a big hole at the back of the riser for the cables to feed through in case you were wondering.