This desk was designed to provide a comfortable operating position when operating a portable amateur radio station from the rear of a standard car.   The photograph below shows the desk installed in a small Ford Fiesta hatchback car that has been set up as a portable station for the 2m and 70cm bands.  The desk provides enough space for a power meter, an Icom IC-706Mk2G transceiver, a couple of morse keys, and some other items.  

When the desk is in use, the two front sets in this small car are slid fully forward to provide plenty of space at the back.

As you can see, at 370 x 890 mm, this operating desk could have been made a bit wider and a bit deeper, but these dimensions gave me plenty of space when getting in and out of the car. 

The photo below provides a clearer view of how the desk is suspended from the front headrest supports.  

Construction

The desk top was fabricated using 12 mm plywood.  It is supported by four eye bolts which hang from the front headrest supports using home made hooks and 6 mm nylon line. 

Because 12 mm plywood is quite stiff material, I have found that the desk doesn't bend under the weight of the IC706 plus accessories.  The desk top measures 370 x 890 mm.   If making a much larger desk, I suppose thicker plywood could be used, or a batten could be fitted centrally on the underside.

The spacing between the eye bolts is determined by measuring the distance between the headrest supports.  For my Ford Fiesta, the inner spacing is 530 mm, and the outer spacing is 830 mm.

Before attaching the eye bolts using nuts and washers, the plywood was sanded very well prior to being stained with two coats of dark oak. Then three coats of varnish were applied to each side (two gloss undercoats, then one matt topcoat), resulting in six coats along the edges.  Hence the edges of the desk became very smooth, thereby protecting the rear of the front seats from any abrasion during use.  Any creases in the fabric at the back of the front seat soon disappear after use.

Once the eye bolts are in place, simply cut the 6 mm nylon line to length so that the desk top is at a comfortable height for operating the equipment.   Note that I cut the 6 mm nylon line longer than necessary, and simply used a series of multiple cow hitches until I ‘lost’ the excess line!  Other (better) knots are available :-)

Other vehicles

Here's a similar desk that I made in 2000 for the back of my larger Vauxhall Carlton saloon car.  For this installation, the leading-edge eye bolts were supported from the existing grab handles mounted above the doors.

Feedback

(1)  Stewart Rv writes, "I think that maybe I'll stick some pipe insulation on the edge next to the seats to ensure that it cannot damage the seats."

(2)  Donal Finn writes: "Hard to improve on your design. I might put a lip around the edge though to stop stuff slipping off. Well done!"