DIY Small Camouflage Monitor Stand

So, with all of us currently working from home, many of us have had to adjust our office space at home to accommodate 8 hour days as opposed to just an hour here or there to pay bills. I know my doctors are always telling me to structure my workspace so I am looking straight or even a little up to my monitors as opposed to always looking down at the screen. Well, I got a text from a co-worker of mine who knows I am a woodworking hobbyist. He asked what it would take for me to cut a block of wood into a laptop/monitor base (assuming I have a lot of scrap laying around). He was currently using a small stack of books (see the picture). He wanted something about 10 inches by 7.5 inches and needed it about 2.4 inches tall. Well, I don't have any "blocks" of wood with those dimensions, but I did have a bunch of scrap 3/4 inch MDF. So, as a compromise, I use three layers of MDF, to get to 2.25 inches tall. Below are the instructions on how I put it all together and also how I decided to add the camouflage acrylic art.

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MDF

Dewalt Table Saw

Titebond Wood Glue (we use Titebond II)

For affordable clamps, hit up Harbor Freight

I recently bought a smaller handheld Ryobi Router and love it.

Random Orbital Sanders (I use Dewalt, but I’m sure some of the Ryobi options are more affordable if you want to stick to a reasonably priced brand)

Router Bits

Sanding Pads (I usually buy in bulk, or try to get to Harbor Freight for some cheaper options)

Spray Paint

Red Guard

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Your needs will dictate the size of the stand, but be sure to cut pieces at least 1/2 larger so that you can trim the whole unit after glue-up. We went a step further and went a little larger than the co-worker requested because we wanted to add a rounded edge. To do this, we lined up our Dewalt Table Saw and knocked out 3 identical pieces.

We used Titebond II wood glue to combine the three boards, using camps to hold them while it dried overnight. We highly recommend wiping off excess glue while it is still wet. If not, you can still use a chisel to chip it off so you can have a straight edge for trimming in the next step.

Trim the block to size (we did this with the Dewalt Table Saw).

Using our Ryobi Handheld Trim Router we rounded off all the top and bottom corners using bits from Ryobi. We then used our Dewalt Random Orbital Sander to knock down the corners and clean up the router track.

TIP: One thing I didn't do, which I wish I had, was to use Red Guard to seal up the block before painting/priming. Red Guard would help seal up the MDF and protect it from potential accidental spills on your desktop. It would also help from the MDF soaking up any paints that you use.

We applied a base green coat on both sides and the edges using Rustoleum Spray Paint in order to have some protection and to allow for coverage in case our acrylic art doesn't fully cover.

We picked some colors that might match the co-worker's work station and just started blotting those colors randomly across the block. Once we had enough acrylic to spread, we used basic fluid art techniques to spread the paints across the remainder of the workspace and down the sides. When we were happy with the movement, we used some leftover paint to fill in any voids down the sides. Be sure to let this cure for a while and make sure it's on a level surface, because it is fluid and will continue to move as it dries. This is where we wish we had used the Red Guard, as the sides just soaked in the paint. It's a good thing we applied the spray paint as a cursory way to help seal the block.

We wanted to give our co-worker an option to have a dark green, solid color face, so after the acrylic cured, we flipped it over, taped off the sides, and sprayed the bottom a dark green. Once the whole unit was dry, we used a spray polyurethane/polycrylic to seal the whole unit.

Once everything has cured (I would wait at least a week, maybe longer) then it will be ready for use, especially for use with a heavy monitor.

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