Let’s pick up where I left off in the last installment of my DIY Teleprompter blog post.  First I’ll show you the slot cut in the bottom upright supports and the notch cut in the top upright supports.  Thanks to a great guy named Ralph for making these cuts for me with a router!

Upright Supports (Joining Top and Bottom)

Using the holes that were drilled in the top upright supports (at the opposite end from the notch we can join the top and bottom upright supports using 1/4-20 bolts and wingnuts.

Laptop Platform

Just above the two holes in the top support mount 2 angle brackets on each side, facing inwards.  These will hold the laptop platform.  On the outside surface of the top upright support you will need to set the heads of the bolts in to the wood so that the bottom upright support can slide up and down unhindered, allowing for height adjustment.  Now, with the remainder of your plywood (left over from building the base), drill mounting holes in it so that you can mount it to the angle brackets as shown in the pictures below.  This platform will hold your laptop which will be viewed in the glass.

Glass Reflector

I painted the wood black, so in the rest of the pictures you will see all of the parts in black.  I covered the edges of the glass with gaffers tape.  This serves two purposes, one it keeps you from cutting yourself on the sharp edges and two it helps the glass fit snuggly in the notch in the top upright support.  Here is the teleprompter pretty much complete.

I’m thinking of purchasing some black fabric to cover over the top.  I think this will help the reflection of the laptop be seen, especially in bright locations, like outside.  In the third installment of this DIY blog post I’ll show you the teleprompter in use, how to position the laptop and camera, etc.