I have been searching for an alternative to the flip stand case that I currently have for my iPad. It falls flat 75% of the time.
I saw a cell phone holder for sale on Etsy via Pinterest and figured it would be easy enough for me to make one for myself.
It appeared that the measurement ratio between the two pieces was 2:3.
Easy enough to modify to make for my iPad mini (5th gen 8”X5.3”).
I chose a battered piece of 2X8, marked it and cut it.
I guessed where the slits should go and cut them out with the bandsaw. I had the slits too close to the bottom and the whole thing toppled backwards.
Back to the drawing board, I used the larger of the two pieces I had cut and the leftover piece from my initial cut that had the knot and crack in it. The slit had to be the thickness of a 2X4 so 1.5” and halfway into each board so that they slid all the way into the other. I added 1/16 to the 1.5” to allow it some flexibility. 1.5 makes it too tight and it would be hard to separate the two pieces. I wanted it collapsible.
I put the two pieces through the drum sander then cleaned up the sides and ends with the orbital sander. If I were making another, I would sand the pieces before cutting the slits. The drum sander doesn’t like gaps in the wood and sometimes squeals over that part.
Here are the two pieces sanded and put together.
I could have left it plain but anything made with pine or spruce has the potential to look and feel so much better when burned.
My husband still doesn’t trust me with his propane torch so I had him do a light charr all over. I scraped it down with a coarse kitchen brush then brushed it off with an old broom. To brighten it up and help the wood not dry out anymore, I coated it in Tung Oil. I gave it one coat of matte Polycrylic and it was ready to use.
The stand is perfectly angled, balanced and my iPad mini sits on there really well.
Most importantly, it is light enough for whole thing to sit on my lap while I watch Netflix in bed.
Unique!