Things You'll Need:
- Tailor's measuring tape
- Table saw
- 1/4-inch plywood
- Coarse, medium and fine sandpaper
- Carpenter's pencil
- Compass
- 16 x 16 x 2-inch piece of memory foam
- Sharp sewing shears
- Two 24 x 14-inch sheets of thick Lycra fabric
- Carpenter's glue
- Duct tape
- Two 16 x 16 x 1/2-inch pieces of stock lumber
- Two folding hinge shelf support kits
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Step 1
Measure yourself from right hip to left using a tailor's measuring tape. Add 16 inches to that measurement. Use a table saw to cut a piece of 1/4-inch thick plywood to the total of your hip to hip measurement plus 16 inches long by 18 inches wide. Round the corners of the resulting rectangle using coarse, medium and fine sandpaper in that order.
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Step 2
Mark your plywood sheet along the front edge, 8 inches from each side, using a carpenters' pencil. Scribe a half circle whose diameter is the distance between the two points you marked on the plywood sheet. The radius of the half circle will be half the width of the plywood rectangle or less. This can be done freehand or you can use a compass. Cut out the half-circle to make the plywood sheet look like a round-edged rectangle with a semi-circle cut from the center of the front edge. This is your bookstand top.
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Step 3
Cut two pieces of memory foam 8 inches by 16 inches by 2 inches. These will be your arm rests. Center each piece of foam on a 24 x 14-inch sheet of Lycra fabric. Pull the long ends of the fabric up and over the foam. Secure with a small piece of duct tape. Next, pull the other two sides up and over the foam, then secure them the same way. This is just to hold the fabric temporarily, so the tape does not need to be larger than 2-inches long.
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Step 4
Apply carpenters' glue to each side of the bookstand top, 8 inches wide and 16 inches long. Allow glue to dry until tacky. Apply glue to the fabric-covered foam pieces you made in Step 3 and allow to partially dry. Turn fabric-covered foam pieces over so that the taped side is down. Press into place on each side of your bookstand top. These are your armrests.
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Step 5
Miter a 1-inch by 1-inch by 24-inch long piece of wood to a 45 degree angle. Apply glue to the length of one of the flat sides of the wood. Center the angled wood along the length of the rear edge of your bookstand table top. Make sure that the angled side of the 24-inch long piece faces you as you look across the top. This is the back support for your bookstand back.
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Step 6
Sand the corners of the two pieces of 16-inch by 16-inch by 1/2-inch stock lumber until they are rounded and smooth, using coarse, medium and fine sandpaper in that order. Lay the boards on their narrow edges, with their 16-inch sides parallel to each other. These will be your bookstand leg boards. Lay your bookstand top on the leg boards and move them until they are at each end of the bookstand, flush with the right and left edges.
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Step 7
Attach hinges to underside of bookstand top and to the bookstand legs you sanded in Step 6, using the fasteners and directions provided by the manufacturer.
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Step 8
Cut a piece of 1/4-inch by 24-inch by 15-inch plywood. Sand it smooth on all sides and round the corners. This will be your bookstand back. Attach the bookstand back to the bookstand back support using 1-inch long, 1/8-inch diameter wood screws every four inches, beginning at the far left corner of the back support.
