Tweet
Was looking for an excuse to get back into the woodshop after about a 6 month absence, so I needed a smallish project. My wife and I both have iPhones and Apple Watches that clutter the nightstands each night, so I decided this would be something I can easily tackle.
In searching for ideas I ran across this thread and video:
I liked the overall look and design but decided to make some changes:
So my design will thicken the base just a little to support the USB hub, and thicken the stalk to the watch so I can drill a hole down it to drop the USB-plug end of the watch charger, which will then plug into the charging hub internal to the base. The round 'donut' that holds the watch will be attached by steel dowel pins and magnets so it will be removable yet secure.
To allow for the 1" charging hub my bottom layer will be a 1" walnut frame with a 'hollow' center, then a 3/4" layer of ash, followed by a 1/2" layer of walnut on top. For the "watch stalk" I'm thinking ash with some walnut inlays, and finally the "donut" for the watch will be walnut, so basically every layer alternates woods/colors.
As mentioned above I'm building two of these - "his & hers".
I'll keep this thread posted with progress as it occurs. I got most of the pieces rough cut last night and now I have to wait for my Amazon order to come in (and some free time) before I continue too much further.
In searching for ideas I ran across this thread and video:
I liked the overall look and design but decided to make some changes:
- I already have walnut and black ash on hand so I'll be using those two woods instead of the walnut/plastic that he used. I have no need for the light-up base like he made with the plastic plus I think the walnut/ash will look a little richer.
- I wasn't fond of having multiple wires coming out the back, so I'll be building in a USB charging hub into the base. I selected this one since it had the thinnest profile (1") and the features I needed: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...ilpage_o00_s00
- Since this charging hub has 4 ports and I need only 2 for the watch, I'll be extending the remaining 2 to the back of the base using these short little extender cords (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...ilpage_o00_s00). The ends of these wires will be epoxied in to make "jacks" in the back which additional devices (e.g. an iPad) can be plugged in and also charged.
- I'll be building the lightning (iPhone) charger cable into the base as he did. The watch charger, however, is $40 and I don't want to buy 2 more of these (we need to have ones we can take along for travel) so I need to design it so the watch charger can come out when traveling. I also don't like the wire showing down the front in his design.
So my design will thicken the base just a little to support the USB hub, and thicken the stalk to the watch so I can drill a hole down it to drop the USB-plug end of the watch charger, which will then plug into the charging hub internal to the base. The round 'donut' that holds the watch will be attached by steel dowel pins and magnets so it will be removable yet secure.
To allow for the 1" charging hub my bottom layer will be a 1" walnut frame with a 'hollow' center, then a 3/4" layer of ash, followed by a 1/2" layer of walnut on top. For the "watch stalk" I'm thinking ash with some walnut inlays, and finally the "donut" for the watch will be walnut, so basically every layer alternates woods/colors.
As mentioned above I'm building two of these - "his & hers".
I'll keep this thread posted with progress as it occurs. I got most of the pieces rough cut last night and now I have to wait for my Amazon order to come in (and some free time) before I continue too much further.
Comment