Wooden Phone Charging Cradle

I could shop online or in person for a cradle for my phone, but I really didn't. Instead I designed and build one myself out of wood. That's always easier, right?

I chose to make this in three layers, which you can see laid out here on Draftsight [CAD file—DXF]. The yellow represents the middle piece of wood, and the red and white layers sandwitch the micro USB connector inside. Finally, the phone plugs into the top for a secure and convenient storage cradle.

Wood was provided by the pallet that the router itself came on. I'm sure I'm not the first person to recycle a machine's packaging like this. Each layer was 3/4" thick

The design was cut out automatically with a CNC router. This step could be done with a laser or even hand tools if that's what you have to work with.

After quite a bit of filing, I inserted the cable into my phone, then hot glued the connector in place, using the phone as a sort of template. Make sure you have any cover you'll be using on it when glued, as this process will accommodate for it. Also, note that you should use a small spacer here between the phone and the cradle, so that the connector sits slightly higher than flush.

After the hot glue cooled, I used wood glue to attach the outer layers of wood to the inner portion, clamping everything together while it dried.

Sand a bit more, then apply stain and urethane as desired.

Plug your USB cable in and charge! Now you don't have to turn your cable over four times to get it to plug in, and can charge away happily.