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Tablet / Cookbook Stand[4/4 · 2ft · 5-Pack]
One pack. One build. All 5 boards used. • Makes 3 stands
Build This Project
Pack
4/4 · 2ft · 5-Pack
Uses
1 pack, all 5 boards
Shown in
Black WalnutON SALE
Also in
Hard Maple, Cherry, White Oak (QS), Red Oak, Ash, Hickory, Ambrosia Maple, Sapele, Padauk, Purpleheart
Shipping
Free shipping
How it goes together
Black Walnut
Hard Maple
Cherry
White Oak (QS)
Red Oak
Ash
Hickory
Ambrosia Maple
Sapele*
Padauk*
Purpleheart*
*Exotic — not available for shipment to US customers.
A sturdy kitchen stand for a tablet or an open cookbook. Each stand is a small glued-up back panel leaning at 15° on a glued-up base, with a lip to hold the book and two braces behind. One 2ft pack makes three — keep one, gift two.
Quick Build — for experienced woodworkers
| Part | Qty | From | S4S size | S2S size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Back panel halves | 6 | Boards 1–2, three each | 7½" × 4" × ¾" | 7½" × 3½" × ⅞" |
| Base halves | 6 | Boards 3–4, three each | 7½" × 4" × ¾" | 7½" × 3½" × ⅞" |
| Front lips | 3 | Board 5, 1" strip | 7½" × 1" × ¾" | 7½" × 1" × ⅞" |
| Brace blanks → 6 triangles | 3 | Board 5, rest of width | 3" × 2⅞" × ¾" | 2½" × 2⅜" × ⅞" |
Panels: backs and bases are 2-piece edge glue-ups, grain side to side.
Back to base: 15° bevel on the back's bottom edge, glue + 3 × #8 screws up through the base, plus 2 glued triangle braces behind.
Lip: 1" strip glued on edge at the front of the base.
Finished size: S4S 7½" W × 8" D × about 8½" H · S2S 7½" × 7" × about 7½". The book shelf (lip to back) is 2½" deep.
Before You Start
Shopping List
- 1 lumber pack — 4/4 · 2ft (S4S or S2S)
- Wood glue (Titebond II or III)
- 9 × #8 flat-head screws: 1¼" (S4S) or 1½" (S2S)
- Felt pads
- Sandpaper 120 / 180 / 220
- Finish: wipe-on oil, hardwax oil or water-based poly
Tools
- Saw for crosscuts (mitre saw or circular saw with a speed square) — with 15° bevel
- Saw for rips (table saw, or circular/track saw with a guide)
- Drill/driver, countersink bit, pilot bits
- 4–6 bar clamps, 12" or longer
- Random-orbit sander or sanding block
- S2S only: jointer, straight-line rip jig or hand plane
S4S or S2S? S4S boards arrive flat and square on all four sides — cut and build. S2S boards have rough edges you straighten first, and finish ⅞" thick instead of ¾". No jointer? Choose S4S.
Our sizing assumptions: ⅛" per saw cut · S4S boards 23½"/47½" long with ¼" to square an end, 4" wide, ¾" thick · S2S boards trimmed ½" each end and ¼" off each rough edge (3½" clean), ⅞" thick · sizes drawn for the narrowest board in the pack. Wider boards give you a bigger offcut or a wider part — never a shortage.
Step-by-Step
S4S Lumber Pack
Surfaced 4 sides — no jointing
- 1 Sort the boards. Boards 1–2 make the backs, boards 3–4 the bases, board 5 the lips and braces. Put your best-looking faces on boards 1–2.
- 2 Crosscut the panel pieces. Clamp a stop block at 7½" and cut boards 1–4 into three pieces each — 12 matching pieces.
- 3 Glue up 6 small panels. Edge-glue the pieces in pairs: 3 backs and 3 bases, each 7½" wide × 8". Grain runs side to side in every panel. Clamp, wipe squeeze-out once rubbery, leave overnight.
- 4 Board 5. Rip a 1" strip off the full length and crosscut it into 3 lips at 7½". Crosscut the rest into 3 blanks at 3", then saw each blank corner to corner — 6 triangle braces.
- 5 Bevel the backs. Tilt the mitre saw (or circular saw) to 15° and trim a whisker off the bottom edge of each back. That bevel is what leans the back.
- 6 Sand. Flatten the glue seams, then 120 → 180 → 220 grit. Round the top corners of each back if you like (trace a coin).
- 7 Fit the lip. Glue a lip on edge along the front of each base, flush with the front edge, and clamp or pin it.
- 8 Attach the back. Draw a line 3¼" back from the front edge. Glue the bevelled edge, stand the back on the line leaning away from the lip, then drive 3 pre-drilled, countersunk #8 × 1¼" screws up through the base into the back.
- 9 Add the braces. Glue two braces behind each back, about 1" in from the sides — one leg on the base, one against the back. Tape them in place until dry.
- 10 Finish. Wipe-on oil or water-based poly, 2–3 coats. Add felt pads underneath.
S2S Lumber Pack
Surfaced 2 sides — straighten edges first
- 1 Prep the boards. Trim ½" off each end to remove any end checks. Joint one edge straight, then rip the other edge parallel (¼" off each rough edge is our planning allowance). S2S boards finish ⅞" thick, so screws and some sizes change — use the sizes in this column.
- 2 Sort the boards. Boards 1–2 make the backs, boards 3–4 the bases, board 5 the lips and braces. Put your best-looking faces on boards 1–2.
- 3 Crosscut the panel pieces. Clamp a stop block at 7½" and cut boards 1–4 into three pieces each — 12 matching pieces.
- 4 Glue up 6 small panels. Edge-glue the pieces in pairs: 3 backs and 3 bases, each 7½" wide × 7". Grain runs side to side in every panel. Clamp, wipe squeeze-out once rubbery, leave overnight.
- 5 Board 5. Rip a 1" strip off the full length and crosscut it into 3 lips at 7½". Crosscut the rest into 3 blanks at 2½", then saw each blank corner to corner — 6 triangle braces.
- 6 Bevel the backs. Tilt the mitre saw (or circular saw) to 15° and trim a whisker off the bottom edge of each back. That bevel is what leans the back.
- 7 Sand. Flatten the glue seams, then 120 → 180 → 220 grit. Round the top corners of each back if you like (trace a coin).
- 8 Fit the lip. Glue a lip on edge along the front of each base, flush with the front edge, and clamp or pin it.
- 9 Attach the back. Draw a line 3⅜" back from the front edge. Glue the bevelled edge, stand the back on the line leaning away from the lip, then drive 3 pre-drilled, countersunk #8 × 1½" screws up through the base into the back.
- 10 Add the braces. Glue two braces behind each back, about 1" in from the sides — one leg on the base, one against the back. Tape them in place until dry.
- 11 Finish. Wipe-on oil or water-based poly, 2–3 coats. Add felt pads underneath.
Why glue up the backs? A single 4" board is too narrow to hold a cookbook. Two pieces edge-glued give a solid 8" panel — stronger than plywood and with no edges to hide.
Why 15°? Steep enough to read standing at the counter, shallow enough that the book's weight sits over the base so the stand doesn't tip back.
Why pre-drill? Maple, oak and hickory split if you drive a screw without a pilot hole. Pre-drill every screw and countersink so the heads sit flush.
Make It Yours
- Recipe-card slot: cut a ⅛" kerf along the top of the back to hold a card.
- Two-tone: walnut backs with maple lips.
- Phone size: use one board width (4") for a phone stand — the pack makes six.
Safety and Care
- Wear eye and hearing protection. Use a push stick for every rip under 4" wide.
- Cut the triangle braces from a blank clamped to the bench or with a sled — never freehand small parts on a table saw.
- Pre-drill every screw — hardwoods split without a pilot hole.
Frequently Asked Questions
Not for S4S boards — they arrive flat and square on all four sides. S2S boards need their edges straightened: a jointer, a table saw with a straight-line jig, or a hand plane all work. No jointer? Choose the S4S pack.
Yes — the braces and screws carry the load and the base extends behind the back. For very large books, add a third brace in the middle.
Any species in the pack works. Maple and oak are hard-wearing; walnut and cherry look great on a counter.
Planned offcuts only: about 1" off the end of boards 1–4 and the end of the brace strip on board 5. All 5 boards go into the stands.
Yes. A 4ft pack makes six stands: crosscut every board in half first, then follow this plan twice.
Next build with this pack
More free plans for the 4/4 · 2ft pack.
