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Folding Lap Desk[4/4 · 4ft · 5-Pack]
One pack. One build. All 5 boards used. • Makes 2 lap desks
Shop Black Walnut 4/4 · 4ft Pack Shop All Speciesselect 4' Lengths
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 solid hardwood lap desk and bed tray with legs that fold flat. Use it for a laptop on the couch, breakfast in bed, or a kid's drawing table. The legs pivot on carriage bolts and lock with wing nuts, then fold inside the frame for storage. One 4ft pack makes two.
Quick Build — for experienced woodworkers
| Part | Qty | From | S4S size | S2S size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top pieces | 6 | Boards 1–3, two each | 22" × 4" × ¾" | 22" × 3½" × ⅞" |
| Long aprons | 4 | Boards 4–5, strip A | 20" × 1 15/16" × ¾" | 20" × 1 11/16" × ⅞" |
| Short aprons | 4 | Boards 4–5, strip B | 10" × 1 15/16" × ¾" | 8¼" × 1 11/16" × ⅞" |
| Legs | 8 | Boards 4–5, both strips | 6½" × 1 15/16" × ¾" | 6½" × 1 11/16" × ⅞" |
Top: 3 pieces edge-glued, grain running the long way.
Frame: short aprons set 7" in from the ends, screwed between the long aprons (no glue, end grain).
Top to frame: counterbored screws up through the aprons; slotted holes in the short aprons.
Legs: ¼" carriage bolt, washer and wing nut, pivot 1" from the leg top; the square top corner stops against the underside of the top.
Finished size: S4S 22" L × 12" D × about 7¼" H · S2S 22" × 10½" × about 7⅜". Legs fold flat inside the frame.
Before You Start
Shopping List
- 1 lumber pack — 4/4 · 4ft (S4S or S2S)
- Wood glue (Titebond II or III)
- 8 × ¼" carriage bolts — 2" (S4S) or 2½" (S2S) — with 8 flat washers and 8 wing nuts
- About 40 × #8 flat-head screws: 1¼" for the top, plus 1½" (S4S) or 1¾" (S2S) for the frame
- 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)
- Saw for rips (table saw, or circular/track saw with a guide)
- Drill/driver, countersink bit, pilot bits
- ¼" and ⅜" drill bits
- Jigsaw or coping saw for the leg curve
- 4 bar clamps, 18" 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 Glue up 2 tops. Crosscut boards 1–3 into two 22" pieces each. Edge-glue 3 pieces into each top, 22" × 12". Clamp, wipe the squeeze-out once rubbery, and leave them overnight.
- 2 Rip the frame boards. Board 4 is desk 1's frame and legs, board 5 is desk 2's. Rip each down the middle — two strips 1 15/16" wide. Use a push stick.
- 3 Cut the frame parts. From strip A: 2 long aprons at 20" and 1 leg at 6½". From strip B: 2 short aprons at 10" and 3 legs at 6½". That is one desk's frame and 4 legs per board.
- 4 Shape the legs. Mark the pivot 1" down from the top end, centred on the width. Round the top corner that faces the middle of the desk to a curve about 1" from the pivot (trace a 2" circle). Leave the other top corner square — it is the stop. Round the bottom ends lightly.
- 5 Drill the pivots. On each long apron, mark 1" in from each end and 1" down from the top edge. Clamp a leg behind the mark, top flush with the apron's top edge, and drill a ¼" hole through both.
- 6 Build the frame. Set the short aprons between the long aprons, 7" in from each end — the folded legs tuck into those end bays. Drive 2 pre-drilled, countersunk #8 × 1½" screws through the long apron into each short apron. No glue: that is end grain.
- 7 Attach the top. Centre the frame upside down on the top: 1" overhang at each end, ¼" each side. Drill ⅜" counterbores 1¼" deep up through the bottom edges of the aprons — 4 per long apron, 2 per short apron — and drive #8 × 1¼" screws. Elongate the holes in the short aprons front to back so the top can move.
- 8 Fit the legs. Push a ¼" × 2" carriage bolt through the apron from outside, then the leg, a washer and a wing nut on the inside. Tap the bolt head so its square neck bites into the apron and doesn't spin.
- 9 Test the fold. Swing each leg down. The square top corner should hit the underside of the top when the leg is straight up and down. Fold it inward along the apron. If it rubs, sand a little more off the rounded corner.
- 10 Finish. Sand 120 → 180 → 220, ease every edge, and apply 2–3 coats of wipe-on oil or water-based poly. To use, open the legs and snug up the wing nuts.
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 Glue up 2 tops. Crosscut boards 1–3 into two 22" pieces each. Edge-glue 3 pieces into each top, 22" × 10½". Clamp, wipe the squeeze-out once rubbery, and leave them overnight.
- 3 Rip the frame boards. Board 4 is desk 1's frame and legs, board 5 is desk 2's. Rip each down the middle — two strips 1 11/16" wide. Use a push stick.
- 4 Cut the frame parts. From strip A: 2 long aprons at 20" and 1 leg at 6½". From strip B: 2 short aprons at 8¼" and 3 legs at 6½". That is one desk's frame and 4 legs per board.
- 5 Shape the legs. Mark the pivot 1" down from the top end, centred on the width. Round the top corner that faces the middle of the desk to a curve about 1" from the pivot (trace a 2" circle). Leave the other top corner square — it is the stop. Round the bottom ends lightly.
- 6 Drill the pivots. On each long apron, mark 1" in from each end and 1" down from the top edge. Clamp a leg behind the mark, top flush with the apron's top edge, and drill a ¼" hole through both.
- 7 Build the frame. Set the short aprons between the long aprons, 7" in from each end — the folded legs tuck into those end bays. Drive 2 pre-drilled, countersunk #8 × 1¾" screws through the long apron into each short apron. No glue: that is end grain.
- 8 Attach the top. Centre the frame upside down on the top: 1" overhang at each end, ¼" each side. Drill ⅜" counterbores 1" deep up through the bottom edges of the aprons — 4 per long apron, 2 per short apron — and drive #8 × 1¼" screws. Elongate the holes in the short aprons front to back so the top can move.
- 9 Fit the legs. Push a ¼" × 2½" carriage bolt through the apron from outside, then the leg, a washer and a wing nut on the inside. Tap the bolt head so its square neck bites into the apron and doesn't spin.
- 10 Test the fold. Swing each leg down. The square top corner should hit the underside of the top when the leg is straight up and down. Fold it inward along the apron. If it rubs, sand a little more off the rounded corner.
- 11 Finish. Sand 120 → 180 → 220, ease every edge, and apply 2–3 coats of wipe-on oil or water-based poly. To use, open the legs and snug up the wing nuts.
Why are the short aprons set in? The legs fold inward along the long aprons. Setting the short aprons 7" in leaves an open bay at each end for the folded legs.
Why slotted holes in the short aprons? The 12" top swells and shrinks across its width through the year. The long aprons run with the grain and don't care; the short aprons run across it, so their screws need room to slide.
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
- Pen groove: rout a ½" cove along the back edge of the top for pens and a phone.
- Tablet ledge: glue a thin strip near the front edge so a tablet or book can't slide off.
- Contrast legs: make one desk's legs from walnut and the other's from maple.
Safety and Care
- Wear eye and hearing protection. Use a push stick for every rip under 4" wide.
- The aprons and legs are narrow rips — use a push stick, or rip them with a bandsaw.
- Pre-drill every screw — hardwoods split without a pilot hole.
- It is a lap desk, not a step stool or seat. Don't stand or sit on it.
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.
A laptop, a breakfast plate and a coffee, or a stack of books — around 15 lb. Lock the wing nuts before you load it.
It stands about 7¼" off the bed, which clears most adult thighs sitting up. For more room, cut longer legs (up to about 8") from extra stock and keep the pivot 1" from the top.
Not once the wing nuts are snug. Loosen them a half-turn to fold the legs for storage.
Planned offcuts only: about 3" off the end of boards 1–3 and short ends of the strips on boards 4–5. All 5 boards go into the desks.
No. The tops and aprons are 20–22" long and the plan cuts two from each board, so it needs the 4ft pack.
