The Compu-tor Is A Raspberry Pi Laptop In A Mahogany Case

A laptop with a mahogany case

The Compu-tor, designed by [Henry Edwards], is one of those things that doesn’t neatly fit into any categories. It is a clamshell-type portable computer, although unlike most laptops, it doesn’t come with a built-in battery. It has a sleek custom-designed case, but lacks the futuristic sci-fi looks typical of a cyberdeck. The keyboard can act as an input device, but can also turn into a musical instrument.

In short, it’s a bit of all of those things, but the most striking part is the beautifully-machined mahogany case. The two halves are connected through two beefy friction hinges and a silicone ribbon cable: the bottom half contains the keyboard, speakers, USB ports and power connections, while the top half holds a Raspberry Pi and a 10″ touchscreen. The display bezel has that curved shape typical of CRT monitors, fitting nicely with the 1970s vibe given off by the dark wood.

Another retro touch is in the connections between the various circuit boards and the front panel switches: [Henry] used wire-wrapping, something we haven’t seen for a while. The keyboard is a simple grid of identical keys with handwritten labels. Other labels, like that of the power connector, are made from traditional embossing tape.

The Compu-tor runs Debian, and seems to be quite usable as a compact laptop. It even comes with USB ports to hook up external devices, and with a simple 12 V input it should be no problem to find an external power source for it. Wood seems to be a popular material to build Raspberry Pi-based laptops from: we’ve seen them housed in anything ranging from wooden cigar-boxes to laser-cut plywood, and even incredibly tiny boxes.

21 thoughts on “The Compu-tor Is A Raspberry Pi Laptop In A Mahogany Case

    1. Lots of space to put a Lipo pack in there if you want an internal battery, but on the whole I think I agree with the creator just feed it 12v (or give it a regulator able to handle anything in the normal sort of lower voltage DC range) and you can power it off anything – including a Lipo pack – Perhaps mill a slot for it in the keyboard base or battery box fitted into the null space in the screen back if you really care that much – This thing was clearly as much about the looks and design as it was making a practical machine, and its done both just fine.

      Also for something like that I’d skip the battery charging IC and just make the battery exchangeable – your bench power supply or RC battery charger will likely do a much better and safer job recharging it and it means your onboard electronics don’t need changes when battery tech shifts to something else – and being a very physically large but low power machine the volume you can assign to this battery could fit in one that will last bare minimum many hours, quite likely days, so…

      1. My thoughts indeed. The original plan included a battery, and I couldn’t figure out how to do it in a way I was happy with. The screen calls for 12v and will tolerate down to 9v, but that’s still a 3s battery either way. An internal battery requires (in my eyes) software management as well, to let you know it’s charged, getting low, what you’re drawing, etc. I didn’t know how I was going to make it all fit and go through the hinge, so I scrapped it.

        I settled on a nice power bank and a 12v USB-C to barrel jack PD trigger cable if I need “portability”. The power bank lasts for 5hrs+ and is hardly in the way. The biggest inconvenience is the lack of a power handover if you’re running low and in the middle of something.

        Really though, this whole thing is a big heavy box of inconvenience for the sake of cool. It’s all a trade-off and I picked what I could handle for the uses I had in mind.

    1. Hmmm that’s almost as dangerous as asking what hi-fi system to get. ppl have “beliefs”. Ranging from you can’t do it without hand made Japanese tools, to you can’t do it without a shop full of machines. Best is to find a local college doing an intro to woodwork evening course to kick you off with a bit of hands-on.

      1. >Ranging from you can’t do it without hand made Japanese tools, to you can’t do it without a shop full of machines.

        Both are wrong though, and its always best to use the best tool for the job. But if all you know how to use is a hammer … it’s gonna take a while.

      2. Speaking of HiFi, Do you know where I can buy cables to hook my house up to the local nuclear power station to improve the base response of my MadeInHeaven DSQ-10^27 stereo power amp?

      3. Speaking of HiFi, Do you know where I can buy cables to hook my house up to the local nuclear power station to improve the base response of my MadeInHeaven DSQ-10^27 stereo power amp?

  1. Before anyone complains about harvesting mahogany, I received a stack of mahogany a dozen years ago in the form of mop boards removed from a remodel. Thin, but beautiful.

  2. Henerys next project is a handwoven fence around his home with solar powered LEDs that display shapes according to the input of passings sounds. Lawn mowing will become a neighborhood event.

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