DIY IPad Tray

This post was originally featured in January of 2014.

I know this is the time of year when we are all on the hunt for DIY Christmas gifts. Well, this scrap wood iPad stand is a potentially FREE handmade gift idea. If you are accustomed to DIY projects, you have probably amassed quite the stockpile of leftover wood.  In August of 2013, I made some hanging beds for my son’s room and had leftover 2” x 12” wood from Lowes that I used for this project.  Pssst…never throw out scraps.

Supplies:

2” x at least 6”

table saw

pre-wood conditioner

stain (I use Minwax – found at Lowes)

sandpaper

1.  I enlisted my friend Rex on this project because I can’t use a saw and a camera at the same time, hence the man hands in the pictures 🙂  We weren’t sure exactly how narrow we could make our IPad tray so we started by cutting our 2” x 12” down to 8” with the chop saw.

2.  Next we adjusted the table saw blade 15 degrees so we’d have a slight angle and then adjusted the fence so that the first pass was 1” from the front of the IPad tray.

3. Then we adjusted the fence 1 3/8″ and passed the wood through again.  That gave us our boundaries for the channel. Then we nudged the fence over to keep cutting the middle until it was all removed. We had to make maybe 5-6 passes to get it all cut out.

4.  After the channel was cut, we cut the boards down to 4”.  So our final IPad tray was 4” x 7”.  You can make it wider or longer if you wish.

5.  I sanded down all the edges and then went over it with 150 grit sandpaper so it was smooth and ready for stain.

6.  I coated the entire thing with pre-wood conditioner which is vital when working with soft woods like pine.

7.  Next I used a bunch of my leftover stains and stained them.  After dry I applied a paste wax for protection.

Quick, easy and cheap gift for that iPad lover.  I use mine in the kitchen when I am trying a recipe and don’t want to print it out just yet. Wouldn’t it be awesome to have in the kitchen during all your holiday cooking and baking? I also make my kids use it when they are playing games so they won’t drop it.

For more storage and organization ideas this month, check out Lowes Creative Ideas free in the app store.  If you want a paper copy you can request one here.