Shopsmith Forums

Last weekend my wife requested that I make something to put her mouse pad on so it wouldn't get knocked off her chair arm onto the floor.

I threw this together from some scrap laminated pine and a bit of 2x4. Not pretty, but she is happy.
I did need to go back and round the back edge and one corner on the disk sander so it didn't dig into her arm.

That's a great idea. Good job!

Nice. I have a touch pad on my laptop but could use that to hold a cocktail!

algale wrote:Nice. I have a touch pad on my laptop but could use that to hold a cocktail!

algale wrote:Nice. I have a touch pad on my laptop but could use that to hold a cocktail!

I have a touch pad on my laptop (Lenovo Thinkpad T500) too, and I hate it. I disabled it and use a cordless mouse because I kept accidentally brushing it while I was typing and the cursor would jump to some random place on the screen.

A drink holder on the side would certainly be an option.

rpd wrote:

algale wrote:Nice. I have a touch pad on my laptop but could use that to hold a cocktail!

I have a touch pad on my laptop (Lenovo Thinkpad T500) too, and I hate it. I disabled it and use a cordless mouse because I kept accidentally brushing it while I was typing and the cursor would jump to some random place on the screen.

A drink holder on the side would certainly be an option.

Yes, I have had a laptop for about 15 years. I never liked the touch pad and have only used it in a pinch. At home I have a wireless keyboard and mouse. On the road I only have a small wireless mouse and use the laptop keyboard. Windows is set up so if there is a wireless mouse connected the touch pad is disabled otherwise the touch pad is available. Works great.

Sometimes the simplest designs are the most useful. The end goal is to have something that works for you, and when it does, consider it a success.
My Wife likes to use her laptop while in the recliner at times, but doesn't like having it directly on her lap as the cooling vents are blocked and the laptop gets hot. We came up with this design as a laptop "shelf". The Rockler bench cookies allow the cooling fan and vents to be free to move air and keeps the laptop heat off the user.

garys wrote:Sometimes the simplest designs are the most useful. The end goal is to have something that works for you, and when it does, consider it a success.
My Wife likes to use her laptop while in the recliner at times, but doesn't like having it directly on her lap as the cooling vents are blocked and the laptop gets hot. We came up with this design as a laptop "shelf". The Rockler bench cookies allow the cooling fan and vents to be free to move air and keeps the laptop heat off the user.

Well done.

It is great to be able to come up with a design to solve a problem, and then go out to the shop and "make it so".
Very empowering.

Nice improv, and it looks nice, too. Never worry about aesthetics too much, especially when it comes to improvs that are supposed to make our lives easier.

That's a nice idea. I also prefer a cordless mouse to a touch-pad. I'm a two-finger typist, but my wife touch types and kept complaining that the pointer would sometimes jump around at random. It was traced to her accidentally tapping the touch pad with her hand while typing, so we've disabled the touch-pad.