Chip Carving Lap Desk - Overview

Chip Carving Lap Desk - Overview
DESCRIPTION: I sized this desk to sit comfortably on your lap and provide a nice work surface. The base is 16" wide by 10" deep, and the top is 13" wide by 10" deep. Your work piece is raised up and angled toward you, making it easier for you to see the small details as you carve. The holes in the top allow you to push the chips into the inner cavity. To dispose of the chips, just tip the desk toward the back. There are two small areas at either side to hold items such as a brush, another knife, pencil, eraser, etc.
 
CONSTRUCTION: Details about the various parts are given on the other pages. To obtain a good fit for all the plywood parts, I suggest that you cut all grooves at the same time, 3/16" deep with a 31/64" plywood bit.

ROUNDED EDGES - Sharp edges on the plywood pieces may not feel all that great on your hands. I used a 1/4" round-over bit on all edges as appropriate, including the holes. Be careful to not round over the plywood edges that fit into the grooves.
 
FIT: After the plywood parts are completed, dry assemble the box to make sure that everything is square. If you had cut the grooves carefully (I used a router table), all the pieces should fit squarely to one another. Since the dimensions are somewhat flexible, you can make adjustments until everything fits. When all the pieces are cut to fit, sand to 220 grit paper.
 
ASSEMBLY: With tight and properly aligned grooves, glue is all that is needed. 1. Apply glue to the mating surfaces of the two sides and the front. Dry assemble all the plywood parts and clamp the glued surfaces. 2. Apply glue to the three grooves in the base and the bottom of the previously glued pieces. Add the top without glue, and clamp as needed. 3. Glue and clamp the top to the sides and front piece. 4. Cut and glue the seven pieces of molding to the base, fitting each joint as you go.

FINISH - I used a two coats of a brush-on satin polyurethane finish.