This is probably the easiest "do-it-yourself" animation desk if you have the right tools to make a precision circular cut like that. (it's trickier than it might seem at first, so "measure twice, cut once" and be careful.)
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Building a Do-It-Yourself Animation Desk
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRuj0zthQpCm5PQiJ60dRrNZ4IFSlBin743hiks_waf7t_c0e6HCqEkhz8vlwn7NSFV9HCnJ-yvkfLmuVUHcF-EXwYt1Ad8JYstOaELMRlQb0uyMcVUF2097E9ea1pcPFmK8pgQPqYgcvr/s280/desk4.jpg)
Here is another do-it-yourself animation desk project with photos and detailed instructions:
How To Make An Animation Desk - Part 1 -4
The finished product from the project linked above:
(click on images to see them larger)
This photo from animator Dan Caylor shows the portable desk that he refurbished and added a new LED backlight unit mounted on a cross brace underneath:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsMPR6DB-IdEhurcaASFJsVAzgBcj24ytcdY0xMCtUtnfeRNtLYwE0xRvqUCFgKppj26Y1Bbl1gmo_sE6CqoT39SR517QbCD9jkXNGwjr4Mb79YWdM9yZHcczUJLciIqvoMJ9VHUuLMvE3/s280/wiring_backlight.jpg)
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UPDATE: I'm happy to say I heard from animation student Marty Walker who built an Animation Desk using the Jim Macaulay plans I posted above. Check out the results :
http://chipsandsolstice.blogspot.com/2009/06/we-built-animation-desk.html
Marty was also good enough to list all the Materials and Tools needed for the project . See the link to his blog for the materials list.
By the way, for those of you who may not recognize the name of Jim Macaulay he was a great teacher of animation at Sheridan College in the 1970's , 80's, and into the 90's. Jim passed away at age 91 in 2015 . He influenced many of us who attended Sheridan's Classical Animation Program during those years he was actively teaching (about 1975 - 1995) Here's a photo of Jim with a student :
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1REMcznm13n3tJskVnpAHjBQGy3Vwokl6uTmR6tZTN5SdgJl-sLb9PUi6D7DCTuTB4Zcaizx4QFuRSNgh_L12gWmd0bq75lqC6wUZCSigelEyubNczQcYfdTfWuq1ERD_aMlDCqTZ86ib/s280/Jim_McCauley_Sheridan.jpg)
(teacher Jim Macaulay with animation student
Cathy Parkes at Sheridan College , about 1980.)
Jim also co-authored a book on storytelling in animation called "And Then What Happened?" with another Sheridan professor , Zack Schwartz.