Thursday, June 2, 2011

Home-made in bed laptop stand

A while ago I started looking for a way to lay flat in on my bed and still be able to use my laptop. I found some laptop stands meant for use in bed that looked promising, but they were either very expensive, or got bad reviews (suggesting low quality), or both!

After trying a junky laptop stand sold in bed bath and beyond,  I tried to make my own out of an old Ikea table (price: about $15). Basically you attach one set of legs as suggested by Ikea, and and then nail the other legs at right angles. You'll need to glue some kind of ledge for the laptop to rest against. I used crafter's Popsicle sticks.

The result was stable and exactly to my designed dimensions, but very hard to adjust. I would recommend mocking up the product by first using duct tape, and then using nails to affix the legs once you have the designed tuned to your needs. Keep in mind to mock up on a bed surface, because the legs will sink in a bit, making the whole thing a bit lower to the ground.

In the end I think I made it a bit too low/steep. Even so, I found it hurt my neck look at the laptop, so I gave up on it eventually. If you don't need to lay absolutely flat, this kind of stand would be much more likely to work out for you. I conclude that the laptop in bed stand, DIY or not, isn't for me. If you are OK propped up on pillows a bit, though, you might consider it.

12 comments:

Kate said...

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Hemraj said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Unknown said...

That is some laptop stand, you must have savage backpain. I was in bed for 6 months with a very badly broken leg so I had to invest in a decent laptop stand for work - that's the problem with doing site design (you don't have to be in an office to do it!)

Unknown said...

Even the failed attempt was very creative! I have found that getting the right bed and yoga are very helpful for me but I still have flare ups too.

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Frederic said...

Alan, I came accross your blog and was sorry to hear that you have battled back pain for so long. I have had to deal with back pain myself when I broke my back at 18 and doctors had no answer other than don't do this and don't do that and pain med. I found a way to heal and have travelled all over the world as a circus acrobat and doing exactly what they said I shouldn't. I am still pain free 30 years later and still doing my acrobatic move. The point is that I have been teaching people how to be pain free. I have been putting a program together to empower people to deal with it once for all. Because of your background you might find my work interesting. I am an expert in body mechanics and the connections between the pain area and the emotions associated with them. I would love to talk with you when you have a chance. I would like to offer you my assistance with no obligation other than if you have great result, you can write about it. I look forward to hearing from you that you are pain free. Frederic
My email: Frederic@TimeToShinellc.com Phone: 865-607-6543

Stephanie said...

Hi, Was checking out your blog and thought you and your readers would be very interested in this site: http://www.ergobe.com/

This company offers tips and training to prevent and minimize strain injuries and helps you assess how daily activites could be causing your pain.

Their tips have really helped me with my chronic back pain. It's amazing how little things like knowing how to adjust your computer screen and chair can help minimize and eliminate pain.

Mattress said...

Great idea to create your own laptop stand though. I can only imagine typing and lying down would be really hard no matter what support or angle though - however I bet lying down and staring at the ceiling would eventually drive anyone to distraction. Not sure if it would make a difference if using a memory foam mattress at all?

Depuy Pinnacle Lawsuit said...

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Michael T Anderson said...

That's a pretty cool laptop stand. I bought one off of Amazon.com and ti looked good in the picture, but ended up being pretty flimsy when it arrived. My laptop is big and runs hot and started melting the plastic the stand was made from.

Thanks for sharing this. I'm going to have to try making one of those.

Mike (webmaster @ lower back pain site

Unknown said...

A bed laptop stand is a good idea, but it is not a good idea to become to accustomed to being in bed for long periods of time and can actually be counter productive to the healing process.

http://www.backpainextravaganza.blogspot.com/

Anonymous said...

I am sure that this one is showing creativity at its best. They are simply looking great and awesome.

All the best,
Rachel
Seattle Chiropractor