Building a drawing table/easle

[mtw]

I'm interested in building myself some kind of drawing table or easle. I've found instructions for making a drawing horse, but I think I'd be more interested in something like a mix between an easle and a table. I drew a crude diagram of what I'd like:
http://students.washington.edu/mtwall/table.jpg
Now that I think about, it's probably kind of hard to make, but if anyone here has made something like it, I'd like to here comments. As shown in the diagram, it consists of a board attached to a post. Between the board and post is a sprocket that would allow the board to tilt to different angles. I'd also like a post that has an adjustable height.

It seems like a fun project, but I might need hardware that I can't get (or is too expensive), so the drawing horse is what I'd stick with.

[Phait]

Drafting tables are way way overpriced, so I see your motivation. I used to have this cheap table that came w/ a chair and lamp.I think it was $100 - but it tilted too. I now see this same table (2 side shelves are tad different) for $50 at Hobby Lobby and I'm debating on getting it. I'm just on a flat table currently, wondering if I have to have a tilting table or not, it's been a long time.

Hope you go through with it, post plans/photos!

[mtw]

I decided to go with a drawing horse. This page (http://www.eddiepittman.com/drawing-horse.html) has the instructions I followed. Two things I did different was using a 1x10x42" board instead of a 1x4x33" (because my drawing board is made to fit an 18x24" drawing pad), and I used screws isntead of nails, although next time I might use nails. I got the supplies from Home Depot and it cost $22 and took about two hours to make. You might be able to find materials that are a little bit cheaper. I used a power drill to help with predrilling holes and drilling the screws in. It turned out okay. Not as good as what you can buy premade, but at least it's cheaper.