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Family Charging Station[8/4 Wide · 2ft · 5-Pack]
One pack. One build. All 5 boards used. • Makes 1 charging station
Shop Black Walnut 8/4 Wide · 2ft Pack Shop All Speciesselect 2' Lengths / 6-8"
How it goes together
Black Walnut
Hard Maple
Cherry
White Oak
Red Oak
Ash
Hickory
Ambrosia Maple
Sapele*
Padauk*
Purpleheart*
*Exotic — not available for shipment to US customers.
One spot for every phone and tablet in the house. A thick two-board base holds six thin dividers and a solid back panel. Each slot has its own cable hole, so a power strip hides behind the back and the cords stay out of sight. There is room for a tablet, four phones in their cases, and a little tray for keys and earbuds.
Quick Build — for experienced woodworkers
| Part | Qty | From | S2S size |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base pieces | 2 | Boards 1–2 | 18" × 5½" × 1¾" |
| Back panel | 1 | Board 3 | 18" × 5½" × 1¾" |
| Divider blanks | 4 | Boards 4–5, two each | 8" × 5½" × 1¾" |
| Dividers (resawn) | 6 of 8 | Two slices per blank | 8" × 5" × ¾" |
Base: two 18" × 5½" pieces edge-glued → 18" × 11" × 1¾" (about 10¾" deep after jointing).
Back panel: one 18" × 5½" board on edge at the back of the base, grain matching the base; glue + 4 × #10 × 3" screws up through the base, counterbored.
Dividers: four 8" blanks resawn into eight ¾" slices, trimmed to 8" × 5". Six used, two spare. Each one gets two ¼" dowels into the base — glue in the dowel holes only, since the grain crosses.
Slots: one 1¼" tablet slot and four 1" phone slots, each with a 1" cable hole through the back panel.
Finished size: 18" W × about 10¾" D × 7¼" H. Slots 8" deep: one 1¼" wide (tablet in a case), four 1" wide (phones in cases).
Before You Start
Shopping List
- 1 lumber pack — 8/4 Wide · 2ft (6–8" wide, S2S)
- Wood glue (Titebond II or III)
- 4 × #10 × 3" flat-head wood screws
- 12 × ¼" × 1½" fluted dowels
- Small power strip or a 5-port USB charging hub
- Felt pads
- Sandpaper 120 / 180 / 220
- Finish: wipe-on oil, hardwax oil or water-based poly
Tools
- Saw for crosscuts (mitre saw or circular saw with a speed square)
- Bandsaw with a resaw fence (or a planer, see FAQ)
- Drill/driver, countersink bit, pilot bits, 1" Forstner bit
- ¼" dowel jig or dowel centres
- 4 bar clamps, 12" or longer
- Cauls (straight scrap strips)
- Random-orbit sander or sanding block
- S2S only: jointer, straight-line rip jig or hand plane
Why S2S only? The 6–8" wide 8/4 boards come S2S: both faces planed, edges rough. Plan on losing about ¼" per edge when you straighten them.
Our sizing assumptions: ⅛" per saw cut · 6–8" wide 8/4 S2S boards trimmed ½" each end and ¼" off each rough edge (5½" clean at the narrowest), planned at 1¾" thick · sizes drawn for the narrowest board in the pack. Wider boards give you a bigger offcut or a wider part — never a shortage.
Step-by-Step
S2S Lumber Pack (6–8" wide)
Surfaced 2 sides — straighten edges first
- 1 Prep the boards. Trim ½" off each end to remove any end checks. Joint one edge straight, then rip the other edge parallel (¼" off each rough edge is our planning allowance).
- 2 Crosscut the parts. Square one end of each board. Cut boards 1–3 at 18": two base pieces and the back panel. Cut boards 4 and 5 into two 8" divider blanks each.
- 3 Glue up the base. Joint the mating edges of the two base pieces and edge-glue them into a 18" × 11" panel (about 10¾" after jointing). Long grain to long grain, so glue alone holds. Use cauls, clamp, and leave overnight. Scrape and flatten.
- 4 Resaw the dividers. Set the bandsaw fence so the blade splits each 8" blank down the middle of its 1¾" thickness, with the blank standing on edge. Feed slowly with a push block. You get eight slices. Plane or sand them to ¾" and trim them to 5" tall. Pick the best six; keep two spares.
- 5 Drill the cable holes. Lay out the slots on the back panel: the first divider 1" in from the left end, then a 1¼" tablet slot and four 1" phone slots, with a ¾" divider between each. Drill a 1" hole through the back panel at the centre of each slot, about 1" above the base. Use scrap behind to stop blow-out.
- 6 Attach the back. Stand the back panel on edge along the back of the base, ends and back faces flush. Both parts have their grain running end to end, so glue this joint. Clamp it, then drill counterbored pilot holes up through the base and drive four #10 × 3" screws into the back panel.
- 7 Mark the dividers. Mark each divider line on the base, square to the back panel. Each divider runs 8" forward from the back panel. The bank of six dividers ends 10¾" from the left end; the open space to the right is a tray for keys, a watch or earbuds.
- 8 Dowel the dividers. Drill two ¼" holes, 1" deep, in the bottom edge of each divider, 1½" in from each end. Use dowel centres to mark the base, then drill the base ¾" deep. A divider's grain crosses the base, so glue the dowels only, not the long seam.
- 9 Sand, finish and assemble. Round the top front corner of each divider, ease every edge and sand 120 → 180 → 220. Finish all the parts with wipe-on oil or water-based poly, 2–3 coats. Glue the dowels into the dividers, tap them into the base and wipe off any squeeze-out. Stick felt pads under the base.
- 10 Set up the power. Put a small power strip or USB charging hub on the desk behind the back panel. Feed each cable through its hole into its slot and stand the devices in.
Why dowels for the dividers? Each divider's grain runs front to back, and the base's grain runs side to side. A long glue line across the grain would crack as the base swells and shrinks. Two small dowels hold each divider upright and let the base move.
Why resaw? A 1¾" divider would eat the whole station. Splitting each blank in two gives thin ¾" dividers, so five devices fit in 18".
Why a back panel? It stops devices sliding out the back, hides the power strip and the cable mess, and gives each cable its own hole so the cords don't tangle.
Why pre-drill? Maple, oak and hickory split if you drive a screw without a pilot hole. Pre-drill every screw and countersink so the heads sit flush.
Make It Yours
- Different devices: space the dividers to suit your family — 1¼" for a tablet or a phone in a thick case, ¾" for a slim phone.
- Watch stand: drill a 1" hole down into the tray area for a charging puck and cable.
- Built-in hub: screw a USB hub to the back of the back panel so it lifts with the station.
Safety and Care
- Wear eye and hearing protection. Use a push stick for every rip under 4" wide.
- Resaw with a push block and a tall fence. Keep your hands out of line with the blade and never resaw a blank shorter than about 8".
- Pre-drill every screw — hardwoods split without a pilot hole.
- Use a power strip with surge protection and its own switch. Don't cover a charging brick with the station — it needs air.
- Wear a dust mask when cutting and sanding, especially exotics (padauk, purpleheart, sapele).
Frequently Asked Questions
The 6–8" wide 8/4 pack comes S2S (faces planed, edges rough). Straighten the edges with a jointer, a table saw and a straight-line jig, a track saw, or a hand plane.
Most phones in a case are under ¾" thick, so a 1" slot has room to spare. A rugged case may need 1¼". Measure your family's devices before you mark the base.
Yes. Plane each 8" blank down to ¾" instead of resawing it. You get four dividers, which makes three slots. Or ask a local shop or makerspace to resaw the blanks for you.
Not in the slots. A laptop sits flat in the tray area or behind the station. The slots are for phones and a tablet.
Planned offcuts only: about 5" off the end of boards 1–3 and about 7" off boards 4–5, plus two spare dividers. All 5 boards go into the station.
A 4ft wide pack makes two charging stations: crosscut every board in half first, then follow this plan twice. Or make one long 36" station with ten slots.
