How to: Make a Rustic Reclaimed Wood Charging Block

Charging that phone looks a whole lot sharper when it's secured in a spiffy looking block. We make a simple cube charging station out of reclaimed pallet wood.   A few weeks ago, I built a large state sign for my wall from a busted up pallet.  I kept a few of the spacing blocks thinking about what could be made from this weathered wood. So, this weekend, I cleaned off my nightstand to simplify my daily landing space, and this project just seemed to be just the right fit.

Here's a few steps on what I did to make a custom charging block from reclaimed wood.

1. First, find a suitable block. Since it's going to be on the nightstand, I didn't want something too large, but a few of the bigger pieces may be made into tablet stands in the near future. One of the things I liked about the small block I picked was the light "China Treated" stamp that I traced and rubbed down with lubricant oil to make stand out a bit more. After picking the piece, give it a good sanding to smooth off the rough edges.

2. I used a small Forsner bit to drill the hole through the block. This was a pain due to the thickness, so I had to go slow and evacuate the sawdust out often for a nice clean hole. I drilled the hole to give the bottom of the slot some play as I will be sliding the phone in and out often so I don't want it too tight. *My phone has a side charging port, if yours comes in the bottom I would recommend the same drilling through, then a hole down to the bottom and a small slot from the back to the hole in the bottom for the cord.

3. Set the table saw to cut a slot to the drilled hole. The angle doesn't really matter, but mine was at about 20 degrees or so. I cut one pass, then moved the fence back a bit for the second pass which left a clean slot the length of the block.

4. Lastly, sand it up and finish as you please. I actually took a few of the rusted nails from the pallet and pounded them back into the block at this point for a bit of extra character. One coat of wipe-on poly finish and it was a complete project, ready for daily use.