So Who’s Making a Gadget Station?

38 Responses to “So Who’s Making a Gadget Station?”

1. Kevin McGrath on July 18th, 2008 12:01 pm

   Man, I’d like to participate, but am already in the middle of a project that’s maxing-out our two-car garage. Looking forward to seeing the final design. Keep-up the great work Marc.

2. Mike on July 18th, 2008 12:24 pm

   Marc -

   You are about 3 months too late for me. I needed it earlier and built one from a recent ShopNotes article. It is smaller and sits on a table. The plans were easy to follow and it turned out great! The back and bottom are really nothing more than stretchers to allow for air movement. It’s small(ish) but can handle our 2 phones, bluetooth, Garmin and iPods. Had you started this a few months ago I would be right here beside you. Of course, after I see your design come to life I will probably have to “upgrade” to a new charging station.

   Mike

3. Jeremy (Bama5150) on July 18th, 2008 12:39 pm

   I plan to start designing one soon. But i want to see as many as i can, because i really haven’t found a design that will work for me yet. Im also wanting to do a hall mirror with coat rack, and have thoughts of combining the two into one piece. Haven’t really worked it all out yet.

4. Bryan on July 18th, 2008 3:54 pm

   I’m with ya! I’m lagging behind cause Ive got a floor lamp to finish up first. I may have it done this week end. Looking forward to it.

5. Claude Stewart on July 18th, 2008 4:19 pm

   I’m building a printer stand for a couple of printers. Nothing quite as exciting a gadget station. Maybe next project. Claude

6. Vic on July 18th, 2008 9:00 pm

   I’m in as soon as I finish Bisket’s serving stand. I got my new Rikon BS delivered today and am going over to Ken’s shop tomorrow to pick up the jointer and shaper. I also need to start building cabinets and other assorted work stations, but they can wait until I’m done with the “community build”. This should be fun!

7. william swick on July 19th, 2008 4:50 am

   I need one of those gadget station bad, my things are laying all over the place.I’m going to watch see what Marc gadget station looks like. I need some ideas.

8. Jeff on July 19th, 2008 4:59 am

   I’d love to participate, but I am in the middle of building that torsion box assembly table. I’ll see if I can catch up though.

   Jeff

9. Harley on July 19th, 2008 6:22 am

   Would love to also, but alas I’m in the middle of building a downsized version of your torsion box assembly table. Then I have to build pull drawers for all of my lower kitchen cabinets. Doing the drawers was justification for the Tbox table, new jointer and various other new tools. I just love them honeydo projects. Gadget station could be in the future though and I will follow the saga closely.

10. LordLQQK on July 19th, 2008 7:43 am

    My wife will kick me in the nethers if I start another project in the workshop before this @#%(&^$ mirror is done. (It is 4 months late already) But it is on the list.

11. Ken McColly on July 19th, 2008 7:57 am

    Count me in.

12. Craig on July 19th, 2008 8:49 am

    I’m in the process of building a ‘Gadget Corner’ as you enter my office. The base cabinet will house the power cords, chargers, cameras, other electronics I don’t use everyday as well as all of the accessories. My cell phones and headsets will be on the counterop and bottom shelf of the book case since I need to have immediate access when they unevitably ring while charging. It’s been in process for about a year, waiting on the all elusive time in the shop.

13. Kentuckybill on July 19th, 2008 10:05 am

    I’m in.

14. Tom in San Antonio on July 19th, 2008 12:02 pm

    First of all, the Gadget Station is a great project. It’s a way to add a nice bit of furniture to the home, and get rid of some of the clutter.

    I’m not building one right now, due to a large to-do list, but here are some thoughts.

    1. Make it easy to access the cords. If it’s going to hang on the wall, attach it to a frame with a piano hinge so it can swing out for easy access. If it’s going to stand on the floor or on another piece of furniture, put a false back panel on it to conceal all the cords, and make the panel easy to pop off - velcro spots or strong magnets.
    2. Rockler and others sell a gadget (a brush grommet) that will make the cord holes easy. It has a brushlike closure in a rectangular opening. The black bristles close up around the cord and the opening looks almost seamless.
    3. Ventilate at the bottom and the upper back, just in case one of your little wall-warts gets hot. Don’t want it burning up all the toys, do we?
    4. Marc already mentioned this, but a power strip with a master switch is a good idea. One with a circuit breaker is even better. I’ll leave it to someone else to figure how to bring the power strip’s pilot light out where it’s easily visible. Maybe a piece of flexible plastic rod (poor man’s fiber optics)?

    Have fun!

15. Joe L. on July 19th, 2008 12:46 pm

    I think the plans mentioned by Mike were actually in Woodsmith No. 176. They solve the heat/ventilation problem by leaving the gadgets exposed to view instead of hidden behind a door. This seems to be the approach of most of the commercially available gadget charging stations. I’ve been wanting to build one of these for some time, so I’ll be following your work with interest. Good luck.

16. John on July 19th, 2008 1:09 pm

    I would love to build a gadget station, but I have way too many other half finished projects to start another one. I am finishing a family room, a table for my Mom’s new home, and now I have to build a cradle for a Grandchild that is due in about 6 months. Thanks again Marc for a great site and so much useful information.

    John

17. Kevin on July 19th, 2008 1:56 pm

    Count me in. I don’t have a lot of time and it is Really hot in my garage this time of year, but I need a gadget station.

18. Steve Carter on July 19th, 2008 3:41 pm

    Count me in. Like many of the other guys, I have at least a dozen other projects in the works right now; but this sounds like a terrific learning experience. It won’t hurt to put oo doing the projects for another couple of weeks while I concentrate on the gadget station. Being ADD makes it easy to re-schedule them. And it keeps me from being bored.

19. Bob Lewis on July 19th, 2008 4:20 pm

    I would love to make a “Gadget Station” for all my little stuff the the house and one for the stuff in my little work shop. I have planned to do this but when you mentioned this project, it sounds like it will be fun. Things are pretty busy around here, so I hope I can follow along as you do this project. What I had planned is a wall hanging unit, pretty simple with a shelf for the gadgets and a drawer for all the other assorted items that might be needed. I had also planned on a protected power strip and using the little “squid” type of cords that will easily allow the transformers to plug in. I was just going to mount this strip below the drawer in a cavity with a door that would drop open by pulling out (not sure how to describe it) the closures were to be magnets on the corners. leaving a slot at the top and bottom of the back for venting should allow venting enough. I don’t have a drawing of this yet, but hopefully the description is complete enough for you to get the idea of what I am talking about.
    Thanks for the great site. I enjoy the videos and emails. You and your wife do a great job.

    Bob Lewis

20. BB on July 19th, 2008 5:25 pm

    Hi Mark!

    I love your site and the podcasts. I’d like to jump on the gadget station but I currently have a huge “honey do” list I’m working on. I’ve also recently started the Rough Cut Show’s Crazy Leg Federal Table and Step Stool builds. They are a lot of work, but I’m learning tons of stuff and having fun doing so. I wish you had the gadget station idea a few months ago, then I’d be in for sure. For now, add me to the list of guys that are watching the build from the sidelines.

    Best of luck to everyone that is on board.

    BB

21. Victor on July 19th, 2008 5:40 pm

    I’ll see your station and raise you two gadgets… I’m in!

22. RJ on July 19th, 2008 8:37 pm

    Victor.
    I will see yours and raise ya 3, LOL .
    I am in, the concept is done now to get some material and see if the concept actually works:)

23. David on July 20th, 2008 10:07 am

    BB -

    How are you doing with your forum projects from The Rough Cut Show? I’ve really enjoyed T-Chisel’s The Crazy Leg Federal Table and Step Stool episodes. I am gearing up for The Federal Table project this fall. In the mean time my son and I are going to work on The Step Stool. I agree with Tommy that the step stool is a great way to introduce a newcomer to the craft. I am planning on giving my son my rehabbed Stanley bench plane and block plane at the completion of the project. I think I will likely have to get him a starter set of chisels ;-) !

    Marc - The gadget station seems like a very useful project given the plethora of gadgets that have invaded our lives. It will be fun to see how your design works out. “Design by committee” . . . a very interesting concept! I will be watching from the sidelines as I have some other projects underway.

    David
    The Folding Rule

24. BB on July 20th, 2008 11:03 am

    David-

    The Rough Cut Show project’s are coming along nicely. I was surprised at how much work the Federal Table is. The project gives you a great intro to federal style embellishments and a variety of core woodworking techniques. It also gives you an idea of how long that kind of work can take, which is a long time if you want to do a good job. What I’ve learned so far is invaluable to me as I develop my fine woodworking skills. Who knows, I may be able to build my gadget station in the next month and use some of the inlay and stringing techniques I learned to dress it up. Maybe a federal styled gadget station with an inlaid fan on the front? It’s great that you and your son can build the step stool together. I am building a step stool with my father in law. I’ve heard through guys on the forum that there is a project # 3 coming as well.

    I think it’s such an exciting time right now to be interested in woodworking. We all have so many references available online to learn from. Podcasts, blogs, forums and now these group projects too, I really feel a sense of online community.

    Its great that Marc, Tommy and a host of others have taken the time to help create such a great online presence.

    thanks guys!

25. David on July 20th, 2008 12:28 pm

    BB -

    I am fascinate with the Federal Style as well, kind of an off shoot of an interest in Early American History. My son is a huge history buff. This has been a great way to combine an interest in furniture, woodworking and history. The inlay and stringing characteristic of The Federal Period are intriguing. I just finished building a scratch stock to start practicing stringing. Good luck with your projects! I agree this is an exciting time to be a woodworker with all the wonderful content available online. Tommy has done an outstanding job with The Rough Cut Show.

    David
    The Folding Rule
    http://foldingrule.blogspot.com/

26. Rick on July 20th, 2008 3:56 pm

    Hey Marc

    I am looking to build on soon as well but my shop needs to get clean.

    Rick

27. David (runningwood) on July 20th, 2008 7:08 pm

    I am too busy with many other needed projects right now, so no gadget station for me, but I will enjoy the ride to watch how this all comes out.

28. muddlermike on July 20th, 2008 10:28 pm

    well, i always have too many projects on the burner, so what’s one more? my parents bought a gadget station last year and my wife has been eyeing it up ever since. I will probably go with a counter-based version - seems it will be the most appropriate way to improve on where we keep our stuff now. i know I’ll be lagging behind most of you because of my honey-do list, but what the hell.

    Deal me in,

    muddler

29. MikeD on July 21st, 2008 5:27 am

    Hi Marc,

    I’ll be putting the GS off for now but will likely be incorporating some of the ideas from this into a future project, which is to build built-in furniture for my home office. But that won’t stop me from playing armchair QB and tossing my own $0.02 into the ring:

    MIND THE WARTS
    I have two digital cameras, both of which have removable batteries that plug into a wall charger. In the new GS there should be outlets or a surge strip available in the main compartment to plug these puppies in.

    FED UP WITH CABLES
    One thing that bugs me about the design of the original GS is not only the space to get the cables into the little holes, but the fact that essentially the cables need to be fed upwards. Most chargers have a block on the outlet end, which is down in the bottom, so getting the cables fed upwards is a challenge without taking it off the wall. Consider putting the power area at the top of the unit. This also might help with ventilation.

    DON’T MISS THAT PHONE CALL
    Call phones would likely be good candidates for this unit, BUT, there should be an open shelf for these, so that you can retrieve a call while the phone is charging without having to open the cabinet.

    HAVE CABLES, WILL TRAVEL (WITH THEM)
    These days any time I go somewhere a mess of cables goes with me. The camera chargers, cell phone chargers, cordless toothbrush charger…they all need to be easy enough to remove from the gadget station when a trip comes up.

    THAT SHELF SERVES A PURPOSE
    While I agree with you that no one would ever use the original design to rest a laptop, the idea of a shelf makes sense. When I charge my camera, I need one hand to hold the camera, one to pull out the battery, and perhaps one to remove the lens and one to grab the charger. Having an “assembly” shelf in front of the station would be handy for stuff like this.

    AV CABLES
    Another thing to consider in the design is space to store auxilliary cables. Thes days cameras come with cables to plug into a TV, a USB cable for the computer, etc. Having these stored with the gadgets would be a good thing versus hunting through your underwear drawer when you need them.

30. Dave on July 21st, 2008 7:01 am

    Marc,
    Sorry, I was too early by about 4 months. I needed to get rid of the snakes nest of cords, so I built one based on one I saw on the Brookstone website. Mine holds more than that one. It has a top shelf for up to five phones and iPods, and a slot in the front that can hold a PSP and a Nintendo DS. It’s a countertop model. I need to make a modification to add a base to it. I underestimated the height of the power strip and the plugs for each charger so the inside is quite cramped. The removable shelf often gets knocked out of place. Adding a base will give me more height inside. I guess this one was the prototype!

    Good luck, and I’m looking forward to following along on your build.

    Dave
    (fellow Jersey guy)

31. ned on July 21st, 2008 7:50 am

    Your project came after I’d settled on a metal cabinet made by Gladiator the wall gear box. It was for all my rechargible tools. It looks a lot like one of your earlier designs. Heat is not an issue because its metal, it locks, has holes for cords and is fairly attractive for a metal cabinet. I will follow along and if I can find the time, will someday try to build one.

32. Robby on July 21st, 2008 8:20 am

    I m starting next week. I m still not 100 % sure about the design, but mine will have 1 door only. And i m getting the inspiration from the my office room, as the gadget station will be placed into the office when its finished. I m thinking of making the air flow with ……. I don t know how you call it in english, maybe “braided wood”. When i finished my design i ll send it to you Marc. Maybe you can give me some advice …

    Well to all my fellow woodworkers, have fun !!
    Hope it goes well - i m a novice

33. TTalma on July 21st, 2008 9:51 am

    I’m going to build one. I have a project I’m finishing up, and plan to start it in a week or two. Mine will be narrower and taller to fit on the side of a kitchen cupboard near my garage door.

    Oh BTW Marc, did you ever build anything with the box elder I sent you a few years back? I’d love to see it if you did, Just curious -Tim

34. thewoodwhisperer on July 21st, 2008 9:56 am

    Tim. What’s happening dude??? Been a while hasn’t it? If you can believe it, I have been holding on to those boards just waiting for the perfect idea to strike. The last few years have been full of customer commissions and I haven’t had an opportunity to let my imagination go wild. Now with the website and the show, I have quite a bit more freed to build what I want, when I want. So those boards have been calling my name. I would love to do something that incorporates the live edge. Perhaps a Knipfer-style box of some sort. I always enjoyed seeing those pieces. I am tempted to sand a few spots and see how it finishes. I am curious how much of those bright streaks are left in the wood at this point.

    Glad you have you on board for the gadget station. Can’t wait to see what you and everyone else comes up with.

35. GLY on July 21st, 2008 11:16 am

    I’ve been planning, drawing one of these for weeks and plan on building one once the outdoors stuff is done. One option with the power strip is to put in a timer. I’ve done this with all of my power chargers (drills, etc.). I have a digital one that lets you charge for 1, 2, 4 or 6 hours; thus once in awhile, I just push a button and let it charge for whatever time I think things need (it also has a “allways on setting”). Saves energy and reduces a lot of heat build up.

36. Kevin Wilson on July 22nd, 2008 9:08 am

    OK, I’m in! I have an entertainment center looking Starbuck’s table thing I’m building now (check it out at Lumberjocks http://lumberjocks.com/jocks/kevin/blog/5066) but I think I can work on both.

    All I need is the name of the place you said is going to supply us all with the lumber? You did say that, didn’t you Marc?…old buddy?….pal ‘o’ mine? I kid of course! Unless you’re really gonna hook me up…

37. Harry Wagner on August 8th, 2008 12:42 pm

    I’m in. I’ve needed a gadget station for some time, and have just enough quarter-sawn cherry leftover from a previous project to do the job. Time to start thinking about a plan. Thanks for the motivation!

    Cheers!
    harry

38. The OTHER MikeD on August 8th, 2008 4:42 pm

    Hey Marc and all, I came across this article on Lifehacker about a guy hacking up a piece of (dare I say it) IKEA furniture to make himself a gadget station. In the article are links to other stations they’ve reported on previously.

    While it’s safe to say NONE of them would qualify as elegant or attractive, there are a few nifty ideas in here. Like the guy who took the plastic storage bin and installed on/off switches on the side for each charger. Sneaky.

    http://lifehacker.com/400108/d.....ng-station

Got something to say?