![]() There are several great tutorials (such as this one or this one) to help you make mortises, but the basic idea is this: If you've never made any mortises before, which was the case for me, it can be quite time-consuming if you only have a drill, a mallet and some chisels. There are no screws involved and, according to this experiment, these joints can take more force than dowel joints and screw joints. That is, to join two pieces of wood together by making a rectangular socket (or "mortise") in one piece and making a corresponding plug (or "tenon") on the other. There are several different ways to go about this, but I wanted to try making some mortise and tenon joints. The first step is to build a frame for the drafting table, which is just the same as a frame for a regular table. Measuring tools: pencil, chalk (optional), a long ruler and a set square Sander (optional you could also use sanding paper or a wood file) Some screws of various lengths (I needed 31 of them.) (I used a thickness of 1.8cm, or about 0.7".) A small, but thick piece of wood for the angle adjustment mechanism Whatever wood you like, but definitely make sure that it's sturdy enough, as you'llĬonstantly rest your arms on this surface.) (I used two pieces of laminate flooring glued together. Wood for the sides, the top surface and some small blocks for strengthening (I'm sure there are better choices out there, but I'm quite happy with the result.) Materials used: In my case, I just used whatever scrap materials I had laying around. The materials as well are very basic things that you can find in just about any hardware store. However, I'm sure you can gain a lot of time and precision if you have slightly more advanced tools like a drill press and a table saw. This instructable's title says that I use "basic tools". ![]() (Look for it at the bottom of this page.) All the different parts of the table are modelled separately, so you can easily take it apart and use Sketchup's tape measuring tool. None the less, if you do want some exact measurements, I attached a Sketchup model of the drafting table. Plus, *gasp* we use the metric system down here. (You probably weren't going to use the exact same measurements anyway. I won't be bothering you with any measurements and let the pictures do most of the talking. Just a few notes before I continue with the materials and tools: Attach the angled surface to the top surface using the hinges. Create the angle adjustment mechanism and attach it to the angled surface. Attach this top surface to the table frame and add some hinges. Make a large rectangular hole in the surface that goes on top of the table frame. First build a table frame, just like a regular table. However, you can fairly easily alter the design to add additional features like top drawers, a gutter in the angled surface or an adjustable table height. It's a no-frills drafting table the only feature I wanted was the adjustable angle and that's the only feature it has. I only used basic tools to build the table: You essentially need some things to measure, saw, hammer, screw and chisel with. There's nothing fancy in there though: just some pieces of wood, wood glue, screws and a pair of hinges. As I only used left-over materials laying around the house, it didn't cost me a dime. :) (Plus, it can take the same beating as my floor, e.g. I also used a piece of left-over laminate flooring to make the angled surface, so I know it matches my floor at least. It looks nice, as you can't see any screws on the outside. for regular use I'm not going to try standing on it though.) (Have a look at the third picture to see how that works.) The angled surface is held in place in the middle by a simple metal rod, so you only need to move that one rod to change the angle. You can adjust the angle quickly and easily. ![]() After drawing a bunch of different versions, I finally ended up with something that I liked: And so I thought "Fine, I'll make one myself then!", picked up a sheet of paper and started making some designs. :) After doing some browsing, I couldn't really find any drafting table that I liked, mostly because the drawing surface was much larger than what I was looking for. It was a fully functional prototype, but perhaps not that comfortable. At first, I tested it out by just putting a shelf on my lap and adjusting my knees to get the angle I want. I've been playing around with the idea of getting myself a small drafting table, as I find the adjustable angle quite comfortable for a number of different things: drawing, reading, writing, working with the keyboard/mouse, etc.
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