Multiple Uses Cardboard Stand

Do you have a tablet?

I do. And I love watching TV on my tablet. However holding for a long this device is not convenient nor practical. In addition I really often do something else at the same time such as writing my Itbles ;-)

So I needed a stand to put the tablet on while I am doing other stuff while still being able to read email or watch TV on IT. I also needed a stand to hold my cooking book etc...

I found in my apartment those old FedEx tubes used to send/receive some paperworks. Good start!

Let see how to transform those old cardboard tubes into a Multiple uses stand that fits my requirement!

What you will need:

• Old piece of cardboard no matter thickness, nor size (the stand is pretty small) but in good condition (no pizza oil...)
• Utility knife
• Ruler
• Cutting mat (or a sacrificial piece of cardboard)
• Hot glue gun with glue
• Gummed kraft
• Pen
• Sand paper (very fine - optional)

Ready?

You first have to draw the pieces you need on the cardboard.

My tube is basically 15 cm width. So I will use the 15cm as its maximum. I first made the tube flat to work more conveniently.

I take a 25 cm high tablet as a reference.

Take your ruler and pen and draw the following pieces:

1. One 15x25 cm rectangle will be the back of your stand, ==> referred as "Stand" in the next steps
2. One 9x25cm rectangle ==> referred as "Base" in the next steps
3. One 3x25 cm rectangle will be the front piece of your stand (avoiding your tablet to slide) ==> referred as "Front" in the next steps
4. Three 1x25 cm rectangle==> referred as "Support" in the next steps
5. One 25x(thickness of your cardbaordx3) rectangle ==> referred as "Back" in the next steps
6. Two triangles 7,5x13cm (those dimension, esp. the "13cm" will determine the angle of your stand) ==> referred as "Sides" in the next steps

As I have a cardboard with some writing on it and a nice blank background I will try to use it as decorative elements for my stand.

Fairly easy.

Take your hot glue gun. It will be your best friend for the coming half hour.

Glue the Supports rectangle together.

Glue this assemblage sneak-by the Base.

On the front side, glue the Front. On the back side, glue the Back.

You should end with the assemblage shown in the photos.

Hint from the field

Gluing with hot glue requires preparation and anticipation. Made your part reachable in a second before engluing. Use flat surface to align quickly your parts. Hot glue has a very small lag time to allow you realign and reposition your parts so be clear in your mind of where and what to glue.

Now take the Sides and glue them using your hot glue gun on the side of your Base. Glue it straight and perpendicular to the Base. One can use a square but since I have none I use the Stand to insure a good geometry.

Take now the Stand part and glue it to the Sides and down to the Back and Base of your build.

You're done.

If you want to add a finishing to your stand you can use the gummed kraft to mask all connections and corrugations. if you use a virgin cardboard you can even paint it.

In addition to the final results you can find in the pics a virgin cardbaord stand I have made (this is simply the virgin side of my tube...).

Thanks for reading this Itbles. Share pics if you do it ;-)

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It is also possible to do this I'tables with a proper new, fresh cardboard.

In that case I will really advise you to use a Laser Cutting Machine in order to have super cool and clean cuttings.

I have set a PDF file that you can import in whatever vector-based drawing software to set it according to your own machine. (I personally use Illustrator but it will work with others as well). Dimensions are not exactly the same as the one used here as I did it to fit a particular use. Back is not represented as it depends of your cardboard thickness.

What is great with this solution is that you can add engraving layers that allows you to personalize your stand!

Let me know (in the Comments section) if you would like to have another format.