Bubinga Phone Charger
The Phone Charger
Recently I got a new phone and it has the wireless charging feature. I was not blown away by the standard wireless chargers I could find on Amazon so I built my own.
The Wood
I used Bubinga for the main part of the stand. I wanted to use a nice dense exotic hardwood with closed pores. They tend to ‘machine’ the best and easily obtain a glass smooth finish in the end with the right work.
The ring box I made recently inspired this design. Though it is slightly different. For the very thin dark wood, I just used some walnut veneer I had already cut. (The ring box used Purple Heart). Still following the golden ratio rule, I put the strips off center in the piece.
For added visuals and functionality, I designed it with a 70 degree tilt. This holds the phone better and is appeasing to the eye. I carrier that angle to the other ends of the wood as well.
The Hardware
Using some solid brass stock I had laying around, I fashioned two studs for the phone to rest on. The charger ‘kit’ I got on Amazon had mounting hardware that came with it. Though it was steel and didn’t quite go with the rest of the look, so I replaced that hardware with brass.
Using my wood lathe with the four jaw chuck (not what it is designed for) I made a ‘nut’ and headless bolt. I made sure to check the thread size in the charger and cut the new threads to match. Originally I thought it would be a standard 1/4″ x 20 thread but it was a M6 x 1.0 (metric).
For added strength, I departed from my norm of not using screws and used two 1-inch screws to hold the two pieces of wood together.
The Finish
I used an amber shellac, followed by grain filler and more shellac. Finally, I applied three coats of a urethane top-coat, sanding with 400 grit before each coat. The result was a glass smooth finish on the box that is durable and makes the grain pop visually.