This weekend, I took a break from fiddling with the mechanisms to focus on a different aspect, namely the book rest. When originally created, it worked (somewhat) reliably, but was set aside so I could focus on the mechanisms. The main box, to which the book rest is attached, has been re-worked since then, most notably being disassembled for mechanism installation adjustments. It still worked after that, but required help to get beyond a certain point.
There are two tricks necessary for this to function properly.
- The leaf on the rest side of the hinge isn’t mortised into the wood like you would do for any normal hinge installation. This allows appropriate clearance between the back of the stand, and the bottom rest, and
- Radius the bottom corner of the rest with a plane. This ensures it will rotate when the lifting force is applied to the stand.
With things (once again) operating smoothly, the only step remaining was to chisel two notches in the stand’s back. This gives two angles at which the stand can be set.
…and before you comment, more than one person has already suggested using it as an iPad stand…
I want to thank Michael Koppy for working with me to fabricate the hinged support.