Roubo's Folding Bookstand

[PeteM]

Has anyone else made one of these?
My plan was to make a few of these for Christmas presents.
It turned out to be way more work than I thought; and it didn't come out very good.
So I now have another piece of shop art and am looking for another idea for presents.

Anyway here it is:

pete

 

[McRabbet]

I saw the article in Popular Woodworking and thought it would be a challenge -- you did a nice job with it, but I know it is a tough project.

 

[Gotcha6]

I saw Roy Underhill do this on an episode there once and always wanted to try. He used a hand rip saw. Now that I have a band saw with a 12" re-saw capacity, I may give it a go. I'm not a purist, just practical. :icon_thum

 

[PeteM]

I saw Roy Underhill do this on an episode there once and always wanted to try. He used a hand rip saw. Now that I have a band saw with a 12" re-saw capacity, I may give it a go. I'm not a purist, just practical. :icon_thum

I'm with you. I did it on the bandsaw. That's the easy part. Chiseling out the hinges is where the work is.

pete

 

[Joe Scharle]

Those hinges can be a lot of work. When my girls were small, I was going to make 3 - tricycle type horses with steering heads. What I wound up with was just one!

From the pics, it looks like you did a very good job overall :icon_thum

 

[Sealeveler]

Turned out great,looks like the hinge would be a problem.
Tony

 

[Larry Rose]

Looks good to me. Its the kind of piece that you wouldn't expect to be perfect. Having said that, I still don't see any flaws. Good job on a not so easy design.:eusa_clap

 

[Bill Clemmons]

Pete, when you say, "it didn't come out so good", what are you referring to? I think it looks pretty good. As a present, I think this is the type of project that would have to go to someone who understands and appreciates the skills that went into it. If not, they will likely focus on any imperfections rather than the beauty of a handcrafted piece. For those of us who are reluctant to tackle such a challenging project, I'd say you did a very good job. :eusa_clap

Bill

 

[cpowell]

You're selling yourself short. It looks pretty good to me.

Your camera angles and zoomed views are showing off the areas where you don't like the fit. If you took pics from a higher angle and a little further out I bet the piece would show nicely!

After reading your post and looking at the construction of the book stand I don't think I have the time or talent to produce a bunch of these for Christmas presents. :nah:

Chuck

 

[LeftyTom]

I like the wood hinge. :icon_thum Quite an accomplishment.

 

[rbradford]

I've made several of these and seen others made by people far more skilled than I. Yours look great. I have not made any using power tools, but suppose that a band saw would be far easier than the old rip saw. Actually a frame saw works better than a rip saw. I found that making the joint took far less time on the 3rd and later ones than the first - just keep your chisels sharp! Anyone receiving one of yours will appreciate it for many years.