Simple, Cheap, Portable Laptop Stand/cooler

This is a super-easy, low-cost project that anyone can do. This laptop stand/cooler can be made for any size or any brand laptop (I made mine for a 13.3 inch MacBook).

You will need:

PVC (about 1 inch size)

Grippy pad (not sure what it's called - you will recognize it in the picture)

Hot glue gun

Hack saw (or similar)

Tape measure

Easy: Measure your laptop's width and length. Write these measurements down for later.

By the way:

Length = Measurement left to right across your laptop when you view it from the front.
Width = Measurement from front to back of laptop (latch to hinges) when you view it from the front.

Cut the PVC pipe with the hacksaw to the length of your laptop.

Cut a piece of your grippy pad so that it is a couple inches longer than the PVC pipe and wide enough the wrap around the PVC pipe with about an inch of overlap. The pad should be longer than your laptop and around 6 inches wide. Don't put away that grippy pad roll yet, however. You will need more of it later.

Lay down a thin bead of hot glue across the length of the PVC pipe. Take your grippy pad and attach it to the pipe on this bead of glue. Give it a few seconds to dry. Roll the pad around the pipe and see how much it will overlap. Place another thin bead of hot glue where the grippy pad will overlap and then secure the grippy pad to this bead of glue. There should be an inch or so of excess pad on either end. Leave this here for the next step.

Take the excess grippy pad that is hanging on either side of the PVC pipe and put hot glue on the inside end of it (see where the black line is in the picture). Stuff the excess grippy pad into the PVC pipe end press it to the edges so it adheres. If you like, you can put some sort of decorative stopper in the pipe to hide the rough edges.

Cut a grippy pad sheet that is as long as the PVC pipe (or laptop) with no excess lengthwise this time. The sheet should be as wide as your laptop with a couple inches of excess widthwise (If you're not sure how much excess just yet, that's fine... leave extra - you can always cut more later).

Lay down another thin bead of glue (To make this bead less visually distracting, lay it over a previous bead of glue). To this bead of glue attach the grippy pad sheet. Let it dry and...

You've made a great laptop stand that will elevate your laptop and keep it cool. It can easily roll up and be stored in your laptop bag too!