Make a "Belly Board"

My husband wanted a board that would fit his waist when sitting in a chair. It would be great for using his computer or for eating a snack. We had some leftover white wood in our shed that we thought would be perfect for this project. So, on a day when the weather was beautiful in the morning, we started our project. He did all of the measuring and cutting. I held the board still, helped do whatever he asked me to help him with and I took the pictures. In this Instructable you will see how to make it.

large wooden board

tape measure

pencil

electric hand saw

electric jig saw

a bowl (the size of the curves you will make)

seat cushion

Set your computer on your lap while sitting in the chair you want to make the board fit on. Measure all directions and draw a rough picture of how the board will be cut and how you want it to look. For this board, it will measure 33 inches wide and 12 inches front to back. At the center, the curve will measure 10 inches, front to back.

Place the wood on a work surface where you have plenty of room for cutting. We did this on a table outside.

Measure and mark with a pencil to make the cutting line for the top edge to be cut.

The jigsaw makes straight cuts. Carefully cut across following the line you had drawn.

Make measurements for the other sides of the board with a pencil.

Cut across in each direction using the hand saw following the lines.

Lay out the cut piece of board. It is now the size you need but needs to be shaped. Use the bowl to draw the shape of the side curves with the pencil.

Measure and make sure that the seat cushion is exactly center with the board. Using the seat cushion as a guide, draw an indent shape on the board.

The jigsaw cuts curves. Carefully cut the outer curves.

Using the jigsaw, carefully cut the belly curve.

Here is the completed belly board. It fits perfectly!

Now that the belly board is complete, my husband can enjoy using his computer on his lap when sitting in a chair any time he likes! It was great making something useful out of a piece of white wooden board that was sitting in our shed. I'm sure he will be using it for many years!!!