Herringbone Laptop Tray

IF YOU'D PREFER TO PURCHASE THE TRAY RATHER THAN MAKE IT, CLICK HERE.

I spend a lot of time on my computer, and I love using my desktop for editing photos, but I needed something to put my laptop on so I could work upstairs at night while we watch tv or work in bed first thing in the morning. I make a bed tray that I sell in my shop (you can find it here) that I use for displaying decor, but it's not the best lap desk since the legs aren't long enough.

I love the modern look of hairpin legs so I knew that's what I wanted for the legs. I decided to try something new for the top because I feel like I've become stagnant in my woodworking. It was time to change it up and get out of my comfort zone a little bit so I went for a herringbone pattern.

MATERIALS

-(1) wood board in the size you want for your tray (mine is approximately 12" x 24"; you can have someone at Home Depot or Lowe's cut it to size for you if you don't have a table saw)

-(7) .25"x2"x4' poplar boards (I needed 5 for the top and another 2 for the outer border)

-(4) 6" metal hairpin legs with screws (I bought these on Amazon and love them)

TOOLS

-miter saw

-orbital sander with 80-, 120-, and 220-grit sandpaper

-table saw (optional for trimming sides and cutting the outer border to size)

-drill with small bit for drilling pilot holes

-screwdriver

-square

-clamps

-wood glue

First up, you need to cut your board that will be the base to the size you want. I already had one on hand in the right size in preparation for making my other bed tray. Give it a quick sand so the wood pieces will adhere uniformly. Now, it's time cut your poplar boards into 6" strips to use as the herringbone tiles. From here on out, I'll just call these wood tiles.

I chose to cut mine to 6", but you can do whatever you want. Take 5 of your 4' boards, and cut them all to 6". My miter saw has a ruler so it was nice to just line up the end to 6" every time so I didn't have to measure a million times.

Mark the center on the long side and the short side. Use your square to draw lines that form a right angle.

Now it's time to form the 45 degree angle that you need for making the herringbone pattern.

Place your square along the right angle you created. Measure the same distance out on each line. I measured out 5 inches on both lines and made a mark.

Use the square to connect those 2 marks. Find the center of the line you just drew.

Use your square to connect that center point to the original center point. Now you have a 45 degree angle. Of course, you could just use a protractor, but I didn't feel like hunting for mine so this method worked just as well.

Your first piece will line up with that 45 degree angle. It's the only time you have to do this so it's worth doing right.

I laid out a few pieces so I could see how the pattern was looking. Now it's time to start gluing.

Apply wood glue to the back (I prefer the fast-drying formula so I can work faster) and press it into place. Continue going down all the whole wood tiles.

Here is the tray with all the whole tiles. Right now, it's in the Wonder Woman stage. Now it's time to start cutting the partial wood tiles.

Place the tray on a table or desk so the side you're working on is hanging over the edge and you can easily see underneath. Place a wood tile in the next spot.

Use a pencil to draw a line where the wood tile meets the base. This line should be at a 45 degree angle.

Set your miter saw to 45 degrees, and cut along the line you drew. Now you can glue that tile in place and continue with all the partial wood tiles.

Here's a progress pic where you can see some of the edge pieces haven't been glued down yet. Once the top is complete, allow the glue to dry completely.

I used my table saw to trim all the edges, but that's totally optional. You could just sand the sides really well. Use 80-grit sandpaper to smooth the top as much as possible. You can see in the photo above that there is a lot of unevenness between tiles. Once you're happy with the smoothness, you can add the optional border.

Measure the thickness of your top and set your table saw fence to the same measurement.

Rip 2 more of your poplar boards to use as the border.

Measure the short side of your tray and cut 2 border pieces to that length. Use wood glue and clamps to secure the border pieces.

Once the short border pieces are attached, measure the long side and cut 2 border pieces to that length. Attach the pieces with glue and clamp. Keep the clamps on until the glue dries.

Now it's time for every woodworker's favorite part: sanding! Seriously though, does anyone like sanding? I might hate it, but it's definitely necessary. Use your 80-grit sandpaper again to focus on the edges where the border meets the herringbone top. Spend most of your time with the 80-grit because that will smooth out the roughest spots. Then, sand again with 120-grit sandpaper. Finish with 220-grit sandpaper. If you do this part right, your tray will be as smooth as a baby's bottom. If you want to paint or stain the tray, this is the time to do it, but I love the raw look.

Turn the top upside down, and place the hairpin legs on the corners. Use a pencil to mark all the holes. Use a small drill bit to pre-drill pilot holes so the wood doesn't split when you insert the screws.

Remove the legs, and pre drill all the holes you marked. Put the legs back in place and attach with screws. I was able to use my drill on the 2 outer holes and had to use a hand screwdriver on the 3 inner holes.