Lapdesk

[Derek Cohen (Perth Oz)]

I've included this here as it was mostly made with handtools.

After the completion of the box for the bridle plough plane, I was left with the smaller section on the left.

It occurred to me that this could form the basis for a lapdesk, that is, an interpretation of a campaign lapdesk. I love the simple, clean lines of campaign/military furniture, and the thought of building a piece with secret spaces promised to be fun.

There are many really interesting campaign pieces. For example ...

I would call my pieces "campaign-inspired". They are not exact copies of originals, as Chris Schwarz is currently building. Instead they are my interpretations of this furniture type, taken in a contemporary direction. An example are the military chests I built close to 2 years ago (see http://www.inthewoodshop.com/Furniture/ ... hests.html ).

Now I have a lot of pictures, so brace yourself. The thing is, I need some advice. I completed 99% of this build, and then had second thoughts whether I should ad the last element. I shall leave that for last.

Let's start here. A pic of the outside, to be compared with the remnant above (15" long and 11" deep) ..

The body is clothed in West Australian She-oak, finished in Organoil Danish Oil and wax.

There are two lids, one for the pen-and-ink section and another for the main storage area (which is empty at present - more later) ..

There is a drawer for some of my fountain pen collection (they all get rotated for daily use in the notes I take all day long), a tray for pens in use, and an ink well ...

There is space for a iPad ..

The fun in building this lapdesk was in creating the secret hiding places. There are 4 in all. The first is hidden very securely under the console. To get to this one must remove the console. It is secured on steel pins (in the corners). Lift the console straight up and a hidden panel is revealed ..

The inkwell in the console is walled internally ...

Now, at the rear of the console there is a slot wide enough to hide the key(s) to that important chastity belt or safety deposit box (whichever is more important) ..

The drawer ...

... has a false bottom. This is accessed from the rear of the drawer.

Slide away the rear panel ..

You can also remove the pen tray ...

Now that is three of the hiding places. The fourth?

This introduces the dilemma I have. Sometimes less is more and adding one more item makes the piece too busy, too complex. I have presented the pictures in the order I assembled the lapdesk, and it may be a result of this that I am feeling this way. Do I include the last section or not? I would value your input here.

There is a central cover that was designed for three purposes. The first is that it offers an additional writing surface. This is Jarrah - I thought a wood to link in with the console. Some thought went into balancing the figure with the parts of the console.

The second purpose of the cover is that it hides what lies within.

And hidden inside the cover is another drawer ..

The hinges have not been installed as I am not sure whether to keep it or not .....

Regards from Perth

Derek

 

[MickCheese]

I like the cover so from me it's a 'keep it'.

The only observation I have other than it is fantastic, is. Does it need a small rail at the bottom edge of the outside top to stop papers sliding off.

Love your work here as usual.

Mick

 

[G S Haydon]

Beautiful work! It looks good any which way but I would go with Keep it. Truly brilliant.

 

[gasman]

I obviously hesitate to disagree with one of the demi-gods of woodworking but I thought that traditionally these writing slopes had an inlaid leather or felt piece to write on which covers both the faces of the 2 lids.
I was commissioned recently to make one as a leaving gift for one of the surgeons at the hospital I work at - it is in cherry with inlaid red leather. The leather actually acts as the hinge for the inside lid - under which there is storage for paper or an ipad. The initials and inlaid scalpel on the underside of the back lid were requested.

The only problem with your fourth secret compartment is that you couldn't open it with the leather in place. Just my opinion! For what it's worth, mine had just the one secret compartment, under the pen compartment - and released by magnets
Sorry about the quality of the images - the better quality ones are on another computer
I love the wood you used fantastic attention to detail as well
Regards from Oxford!
Mark

 

[Derek Cohen (Perth Oz)]

I thought that traditionally these writing slopes had an inlaid leather or felt piece to write on which covers both the faces of the 2 lids.

That lapdesk of yours is fantastic Mark!

The reason I did not consider leather is simply that I did not wish to cover up the wood. The Jarrah, and especially the She-oak, are both so hard that they would no be harmed by a nib. In any event I write on a pad, which would replicate the leather surface.

I imagine myself writing notes on the top of the case, lifting the rear lid to access a pen or ink. The front lid folds down perfectly (by design or luck) at the correct angle so that the inside of this lies coplanar with the centre lid/cover, thereby creating a long working area. I cannot see myself using it this way, however. The inside is really for storage.

Does it need a small rail at the bottom edge of the outside top to stop papers sliding off.

Mick, the desk is for writing, not reading. Hence there is no "lip" at the end to prevent papers or books from sliding off. This would be awkward for writing. Without the lip, papers/pads may be moved to their ideal angle, moved up or down or along.

Regards from Perth

Derek

 

[G S Haydon]

Sweet work gasman.

 

[Derek Cohen (Perth Oz)]

The dilemma faced was what to do with the centre interior panel. Keep it or ditch it.

I must admit that I preferred the simple basic version (sans centre section) where I could see the nice console ...

... versus ...

I did come up with a new idea for the centre section - I removed it, pulled it apart and rebuilt it .. smaller ...

The idea was to create a stand for an iPad (and save the fourth hidden drawer). This could be built on the inside of the main lid.

It can be hinged back to support the iPad, like this ...

The edges of the "cassette" are beveled and the result does make it thinner looking in real life ..

... and the hidden drawer was there all along!

But I am not convinced. The hinges remain on the shelf. I shall sleep on it awhile.

Thoughts?

Regards from Perth

Derek

 

[gasman]

Hello Derek
I think either lose the inner centre section altogether so as you say you can see the beautiful console - or keep your new ipad stand. I think it is much better than what you did have - it is innovative and in keeping with this very modern take on a writing slope. The problem I have with the version you had originally is that the inlaid leather on these slopes makes one able to write smoothly on a slightly giving surface and the leather acts as a hinge - so it covers the join between allowing the pen to glide smoothly across the whole page
Either way it is a great piece of work
Regards
Mark

 

[MickCheese]

Derek

Thanks for the reply, it now makes sense.

I am still in favour of the centre console and now the adaptation for the iPad is genius.

Mick

 

[AndyT]

It's beautiful work (of course!) and much to be admired, but you did ask for comments on the design.

I can see that making it suitable for use with an iPad is meaningful at the present but I suggest that that aspect of the design will be obsolete in a few years time, when iPads will seem ludicrously old fashioned - even more so than pen and ink. (Just think how much work people used to put into building great big cabinets for hi-fi systems that they have long since replaced.)

But maybe you have cleverly anticipated that by making the adaptation quite simple - a space that is big enough for an iPad will always be usable for something else. So I salute you!