PROCESS

STEP 1 [Preparation]: Prepare all components to size, according to the cutting list. The entire project is made from boards of 10 mm thick, except for the removable insert divider at 6 mm thick. So, by using standard 26 mm-thick rough-sawn boards and carefully rip-sawing them down the middle (as we have done by hand), they will easily yield two boards of around 11–12 mm thick, that you will plane down to 10 mm exactly. You can still proceed if you end up with a final thickness of under 10 mm, but it must not be less than 9 mm.

The traditional reason for employing boards at this thickness is to reduce the weight of the final piece, as a lap desk is meant to be reasonably portable. Even using thin boards, the construction is exceptionally strong, due to the through-dovetail joinery employed for the carcass panels.

Take the two side panels and stick them together