Desk Organization With Laptop Stand, Wireless Phone Charger, and Pencil Cups

It was finally time to upgrade my desk and get more organized for working at home when the need arises. I really needed to get organized and also get more desk space back for laying things out on my desk as there was barely any space for papers or other item.

I decided to build a laptop stand that could hold my laptop in the open and closed positions.

I also wanted to have a wireless charging surface so I designed a desktop tray with one built into it.

To add to the desk items I also made a couple matching pencil cups.

All of these items we made out of white solid surface material provided by Durasein Solid Surface.

One of the other things I did that I should have done a long time ago was to raise the monitors on a single post stand. This was a big improvement and gave me a lot more desk space. On top of that, the stand was very easy to install and was a great price point.

SOFTWARE

• Easel Pro Software by Inventables - https://www.inventables.com/technologies/easel?ref=MakingAtHome
  

MATERIALS

• White Solid Surface Material from Durasein - https://durasein.com/us/

• Monitor Stand - https://amzn.to/3vjuYpC

• Anker Nano Charger - https://amzn.to/3gwjQ3d
• Anker 6 foot USB C Charging Cable - https://amzn.to/3cEHzNq
• Wireless Charger - https://amzn.to/3cFLWrx
• Various sand paper

TOOLS

The tools I used on the project were as follows:

• X-Carve 1000mm CNC Machine by Inventables - https://www.inventables.com/technologies/x-carve?ref=MakingAtHome

• 1/4" diameter downcutting bit - https://amzn.to/3zJALbi
• 1/8" radius roundover bit with guide bearing
• 1/2" diameter 1/8" radius bowl and tray bit - https://amzn.to/3wOe187
• Saw Stop table saw - https://amzn.to/3a8znCE
• Grizzly 14" Band Saw

• Ryobi Trim Router - https://amzn.to/3i9pIyQ

• Random orbit sander

• Shop vac

• Tape Measures (my favorite two):
  • Fastcap PMS-16 Auto Lock ProCarpenter Tape Measure - https://amzn.to/333fTMN
  • or FastCap PSSR16 16 ft Standard Reverse Measuring Tape - https://amzn.to/35eQe6k

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Other affiliate links may be used on this page, but do not affect pricing of the items.

NOTE: If you plan on using any tool for a project please make sure you are familiar with the tool and all of the dangers associated with it. If you are not familiar with a tool then you should ask someone who is to show you the proper way to use it. A lot of communities have classes at local colleges on the proper use of tools and machinery. There are also local woodworking clubs that offer classes at very reasonable rates for beginners. I highly recommend using these resources for your safety and for the most efficient use of the tool.

SAFETY FIRST
Always wear eye and hearing protection.
Always work safe with the proper safety equipment and guards on your tools.

The idea behind this monitor stand was to make something that would raise the monitor and give you options on orientation for a laptop.

I wanted the stand to

• hold the laptop up off the desk surface to get it closer to the height of the regular desktop monitors
• and also give me the option to change the configuration of the stand to take up less desk space and hold the laptop in a closed and vertical orientation.

I decided to make the stand using interlocking pieces that could be locked together without any other mechanical fasteners, like screws. Since I was using solid surface material that was just under 0.5" thick I made the joints 0.5" wide so there would just be a little play in the joint once the pieces were put together.

Using fusion 360, I started with a basic side profile shape that was a little larger than what my laptop needed. I did this in case I ever got a slightly larger laptop.

Since the two bottom pieces were the same I copied the one piece to the opposite side with the appropriate spacing and then drew a piece along the back of these that would lock them both together.

Once I determined where the piece would fit together I subtracted the intersecting areas from the pieces to create the interlocking joints.

Next I copied these supports to an area below the originals so I would hold the pieces up in the air about 4" off the desk top.

I arranged these pieces in a vertical orientation and added the appropriate slots to the cross piece to hold them together.

This gave me all the pieces I needed for the two different configurations.

From Fusion 360, I exported the shapes of the faces of the pieces and imported those SVG files into Easel software that I use to run my X-Carve CNC.

Once I imported the shapes I arranged them in the software for an efficient cutting layout.

I then added tabs to the shapes to make sure I did not have one of the pieces move around after cutting through the full sheet of material.

After trimming off the tabs, I rounded over all of the laptop stand pieces with a 1/8" radius roundover bit on the router table. This really softens up the pieces so to speak. I did not route the roundover through the slots as I wanted these to keep their 90 degree edges.

Next I sanded the pieces to a smooth finish. I went through multiple grits of sandpaper up to 800 grit. I probably could have finished at 400 grit as that still feels incredibly smooth. It's really up to you and your personal preference.

The next part of the desk updated was the desktop charger. For this items I wanted to add a wireless charging area and also some shallow storage trays. I found a really thin wireless charger and roughed out a size for the tray in the Inventables Easel software.

A couple of these shallow trays I decided to make hexagon shaped and then make some corresponding hexagon shaped pencil cups that would fit in the recesses. I'll show you how I made the pencil cups in later steps.

To carve the front I just had to carve the 3 recessed areas - One was a rounded rectangle and two were hexagon shapes. I used a rounded bowl bit so that the bottom of the recesses were not a sharp 90 degree angle. The rounded inside corners also makes it a little easier to pick things up out of the tray.

The back of the tray just needed to have a recess for the charging puck and the power cord. I also cut out the outline of the overall tray with the same 1/4" downcutting spiral bit.

The recess for the charging puck was cut a little wider than the puck so the puck could be removed later if needed. For that same reason, the puck was held in place with hot glue. This way if the charging puck ever goes out then it can be replaced with a new one of the same model.

Just like on the laptop stand, I rounded the top and bottom edges of the tray with a 1/8" radius round over bit This really softens up the edges and makes the tray look not as thick in my opinion.

Sanding for the charging tray was the same process as the laptop stand. I started with 180 grit sandpaper and went up to 800 grit. I am pretty sure that 400 grit would have been plenty though.

Make sure you are wearing dust protection when you sand this material as solid surface can really put out a lot of fine dust.

The pencil cups were designed to fit into the hexagon shaped recesses in the desktop charging tray. I made these slightly smaller than the recessed area so there would not be an issue with fitting.

The material I used for making the cups was 1/4" thick solid surface material from Durasein Solid Surface. Just like the 1/2" thick material, it machines really well and will leave a crisp design.

Cutting the material is relatively straight forward. To create the hexagon I just needed to set my table saw fence to 30 degrees. I used a digital angle gauge to help with setting the correct angle.

I cut multiple strips of wood at the 30 degree angle at a width that was slightly more than the finished width that I needed. Then I set the final with for the pieces on the table saw and ran them through again to get a final width piece with 30 degree bevels on both edges.

I decided to use TotalBoat high performance epoxy to glue the pencil cups together. Gluing these together was fairly simple as I just put down a wide strip of blue painters tape on my work surface with the sticky side up and then placed the six pieces of the hexagon down on the sticky side of the tape so the wide face of the pieces were edge to edge.

Next I used a small paint brush to brush on a layer of epoxy on each of the bevels. This goes fairly fast and there is plenty of time to apply this type of epoxy before it starts setting up.

Note: I recommend wearing disposable gloves for doing this type of work as it can get pretty messy.

Once the epoxy has been applied you can carefully lift of the two outer pieces and the pencil cup should take shape as you bring them together.

Wrap some additional tape around the outside of the pencil cups to hold everything together while it cures.

You will most likely have some epoxy squeeze out of the joints as you wrap it into a hexagon shape. Once you have the extra tape added you can use an old rag to wipe the excess off the inside of the cup from both ends. You can give the inside a light sanding later if you feel the need.

The bottoms for the pencil cups were cut using a band saw. The outlines for these pieces were marked on a piece of new material by setting the hexagon shape on top and tracing the inner outline of the cup. I noted which cup each outline was for and the alignment of the bottom piece so it was more likely to fit appropriately. I then cut the outline for each piece on the bandsaw. I cut them slightly larger than the pencil outline and then snuck up on that line using an oscillating belt sander.

Gluing the bottoms into the cups was very easy. I put a layer of packaging tape on a piece of plywood. Then I took a bottom hexagon piece and brushed epoxy onto the edges. Then I simply placed then hexagon piece down on the packaging tape and slide the hexagon shaped sides down onto the bottom.

The epoxy does not stick to the packaging tape once cured and it simply pops off of the tape covered surface. Any excess can then be sanded off the bottom or sides of the pencil cups.

I used a 1/8" roundover bit on the router table to round over the top and bottom edges of the pencil cups. This gets rid of the sharp edges and corners. I also sanded the vertical edges on the pencil cups in order to make those outside corners a little softer to the touch.

Besides adding the laptop stand, charging tray and pencil cups to my desk I also added a monitor stand to hold the two monitors that I use with my laptop. This monitor stand will free up a lot of the desktop area that was being used by the two individual monitor stands.

I started the desk overhaul by removing everything from the desk except the monitors and computer hub. I marked the location I wanted the monitor stand to be in and drilled the hole for it.

Next I installed the post for the monitor stand and then added the rest of the arms for the stand. The directions for the stand were easy to follow. Once the monitors were in place on the stand I added the laptop stand, the charging tray, and then the pencil cups.

As you can see in the video, this has really given me a lot more space on my desk and with the laptop stand I have even more options for more desk space if I want to store my laptop in the vertical orientation.

These projects really made a difference on my desk organization and the usable area I have available. I love the way my desk looks now and the area I have to lay out papers or work documents. The best part is having my laptop up at a higher elevation so it is closer to the height of the other two monitors. After using this for a short time I know I should have made these improvements some time ago. It is so much more enjoyable to work at my desk with these improvements in place. I would highly recommend doing something like this sooner than later if you are considering it.