Look what I made for under $50!

[sajakea]

Recently bought the wife and myself the new ipads (looove it!) but it wasn't long before I discovered that they are not that comfortable to hold, forget laying in the bed with them. So I made this...now I can read, watch movies and type (bluetooth keyboard) all hands free! The cheapest I found on the internet was $45 for table top versions and $129 for the mobile designs. If any are interested I'll write up a how-to. As you can see it's still a little crude, the stand is great if the ipad remains close to the base but if extended out too far it wanted to teeter over so I need to add weight to the base. (See my temporary fix, weighted using weights)

 

[6mildollarman]

Wow, pretty good work! Did you get the parts from other pieces of equipment or did you buy them "ala carte"? Or a combination of both?

And yes, please post a write-up, I'm thinking of building one myself. You should also re-post this in the DIY Forum.

 

[Kaykaykay]

Good going. I'm not handy, so I prefer to buy off the shelf, but I applaud your creativity and results.

 

[sajakea]

Thx 6...and Kay...

Yes, the only thing I actually "made" was the plexiglass face plate with corner grips. The stand and arm were detached from a magnifying lamp head which cost $35 at Lowes 2/3 the cost to make the dang thing but much easier/faster than making one myself. Putting it together was fairly easy. The great thing is that it has full 360 range and backward and forward tilt

Materials:

1 Magnifier Floor Lamp ($35) The lamp is made by Home from there StyleSelections part # 0328687 (see pic)

1 8x10 and 3x4 piece of (1/4 or 3/8 inch thick) plexiglass - $8 for 18x24 sheet. Lowes will cut it for you. From the one 18x24 sheet I had two 8x10 cut. 1 for a spare in case I messed up the first or if the wife wanted one.

1 (2 pack) of GearTie reusable rubber twist ties - What can't you do with them? ($4.75) (see pic)

12 (6-32x3/4) Flat Slotted bolts w/nuts ($1.75) and flat washers ($.79)

8 - 1/4 Nylon or metal clamps and (see pic)

Drill with countersink drill bit.

I think the attached photos will explain the rest.

When drilling your countersink holes remember to drill your countersinks in the side of the plexiglass that your ipad will rest on so the the screw heads will be recessed into the plexiglass and won't scratch your ipads back panel surface. Be sure to lightly sand the edges of your plexiglass and around screw holes to remove any rough or sharpe edges.

Good Luck!

 

[AQ_OC]

Thanks for these instructions. I think I will try to build one for myself. Question: will this design allow your iPad to be inside a case? Looks as if it will, but I'm on my phone now so I can't examine things slowly yet.

 

[sajakea]

Thanks for these instructions. I think I will try to build one for myself. Question: will this design allow your iPad to be inside a case? Looks as if it will, but I'm on my phone now so I can't examine things slowly yet.

The cool thing about the GearTies is that you can really configure them on thee plexiglass to meet your specific design needs. My ipad has only the thin back shell protector and I fitted it with the GearTies before anchoring them into place. The way I used the GearTies works so well because it stabilized the ipad perfectly for 360 movement but it wasn't my first design approach, play with it. post you design when your done. 3 hrs max.

A few other mods that would improve my design: 1). Reduce the size of the plexi back board from 8x10 to 8x9 because when pulling back the GearTies to release the ipad they rub against the plexiglass.. 2) Attach a 6ft extension cord to the stand with tiedowns to easily charge the ipad on the stand..

 

[AQ_OC]

The cool thing about the GearTies is that you can really configure them on thee plexiglass to meet your specific design needs. My ipad has only the thin back shell protector and I fitted it with the GearTies before anchoring them into place. The way I used the GearTies works so well because it stabilized the ipad perfectly for 360 movement but it wasn't my first design approach, play with it. post you design when your done. 3 hrs max.

A few other mods that would improve my design: 1). Reduce the size of the plexi back board from 8x10 to 8x9 because when pulling back the GearTies to release the ipad they rub against the plexiglass.. 2) Attach a 6ft extension cord to the stand with tiedowns to easily charge the ipad on the stand..

These Gearties are really cool things. I had not heard of them before you post. I can see many uses for them. I'm going to get the stand now.

 

[AQ_OC]

Unfortunately, none of the Lowes in my city carry the Floor Lamp. I checked online Lowes too. Amazon has several similar lamps, but none - so far - match the price of this one. I was looking forward to this little project!

 

[imnparadise]

Why? I don't understand why anyone would want a 'stand' for an iPad. It's light, portable and made for convenience. It's not a laptop or a desktop monitor.

 

[MoonlitSonata]

Why? I don't understand why anyone would want a 'stand' for an iPad. It's light, portable and made for convenience. It's not a laptop or a desktop monitor.

Why not is a better question, IMO.

 

[AQ_OC]

Why? I don't understand why anyone would want a 'stand' for an iPad. It's light, portable and made for convenience. It's not a laptop or a desktop monitor.

I don't understand why you don't understand.

 

[ipadbraincell]

Why? I don't understand why anyone would want a 'stand' for an iPad. It's light, portable and made for convenience. It's not a laptop or a desktop monitor.

i can see use for it for the disabled, cooks, speech maker and musician especially, possibly mechanics engineers the uses are endless and would make a viable cottage industry.

 

[Kaykaykay]

Why? I don't understand why anyone would want a 'stand' for an iPad. It's light, portable and made for convenience. It's not a laptop or a desktop monitor.

Seems obvious to me why.

 

[quake5254]

Heading to the hardware later. Thanks for the instructions. You're the Man!

 

[alanrocks]

Very cool