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Poor man's stand for MBP

slicktor

slicktor

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 4, 2010
110
273
So recently i have been working on my desk set up for when i use my macbook pro at home. I got a ACD, keyboard and speakers, but wanted to free up more desk space when my MBP was hooked up to the ACD.

I did some looking around at some stands and the ones that caught my eye was the Bookarc by TwelveSouth and the Henge Docks. Both are quite pricey for what i think a stand should cost... i just wanted to free up space.

So my solution was LEGO! it actually occupies even less space then the bookarc! and most importantly it costed me nothing, just some diggin through my old lego stash! :cool:

This could be a good solution for those penny pinchers just looking to free up some desk space. I even made a little stand for my external hard drive :D
 

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+1 on the sturdy issue - I'd probably have 3 or 4 of those holding my precious computer up, but props for the ingenuity!
 
Nice!!!

Hey, with the MBP closed it stays working if you have it plugged to an external display?

Also, will all the ports stay active (USB for mouse/keyboard)
 
BlackJack325 said:
Nice!!!

Hey, with the MBP closed it stays working if you have it plugged to an external display?

Also, will all the ports stay active (USB for mouse/keyboard)
Click to expand...

Yah, it's called clamshell mode.

OP, it looks like it's time for me to go steal some of my little sister's legos! :D
 
Stvwndr219 said:
Yah, it's called clamshell mode.

OP, it looks like it's time for me to go steal some of my little sister's legos! :D
Click to expand...

Does it automatically go to "clamshell" mode when it detects an external display?

I use the HDMI converter to use my 42" HD TV as my monitor. But im using a standard external mouse/keyboard so I cant zoom into Safari when the text looks too small. Unlike the trackpad gesture to zoom in.

How can I do that?
 
i3igsmooth5769 said:
seems like it would scratch the macbook eventually, taking it out and back in
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Thanks for the feedback! The MBP works beautifully in clamshell mode. :D

As for sturdiness, i did not use any glue all. You just don't want to build it up too high cause then if you push the mbp in any direction the lego will give and just break off.

I thought about the whole scratching situation so my solution was to line all the parts that touched the mbp with a few layers of soft masking tape. That way its not hard plastic resting on the aluminum and the tape also makes it a bit more sturdy
 
That looks way unstable. If you were to accidentally bump into your desk or something, it could go all wrong. Get a proper stand, or at least use more blocks, or the next thread you start would be titled "Help, my mbp fell off my desk, will applecare cover this?". No.
 
RKpro said:
That looks way unstable. If you were to accidentally bump into your desk or something, it could go all wrong. Get a proper stand, or at least use more blocks, or the next thread you start would be titled "Help, my mbp fell off my desk, will applecare cover this?". No.
Click to expand...

Or he could simply Crazy Glue the pieces together.........
 
RKpro said:
That looks way unstable. If you were to accidentally bump into your desk or something, it could go all wrong. Get a proper stand, or at least use more blocks, or the next thread you start would be titled "Help, my mbp fell off my desk, will applecare cover this?". No.
Click to expand...

Yes there is always a chance you can bump into your desk hard enough to knock it over. I should add that anyone attempting to do this should do so under their own judgement. And not a bad idea to test before you throw your own laptop in there haha, i used a book that is somewhat similar in size to test first.

More blocks doesn't make it better! If you add more blocks to increase the height of the stand, it actually makes the lego snap off easier if you accidentally push against it. Its best to keep it short and sturdy and also start off by crossing certain blocks to reduce the chance of the stacked blocks to snap off.
 
The colors seems pretty random. When you go pro and start selling these for a living, are you going to use a more consistent selection? :)
 
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