HOW TO MAKE A TABLE CHARGER

Here's a drawer in my apartment that holds a rat's nest of micro USB and Lightning cables, the ugly life force for my devices. Every night I dig out the right cable and plug, then feel behind the nightstand until the prongs find the outlet. I drape the kinked, discolored wire across an otherwise attractive nightstand, and plug it in so my phone has enough juice for the morning commute. I thought there was nothing I could do to avoid this, until I discovered inductive charging.

It's simple to use. Just place your phone on a charging base, and your battery percentage climbs. No fishing for the right cable, no finding an outlet. The most ubiquitous version of this technology is called Qi (pronounced "chi," like the harmony feng shui decorators talk about), and it's built into phones like the Samsung Galaxy S5, S6, and S7 and the Google Nexus 6. If you have an iPhone or Google Pixel, you have to slip a $40 aftermarket charger behind your phone's case. The idea goes back to Nikola Tesla: Generate a fluctuating magnetic field, usually with a coil wrapped around an iron core, and it sends energy short distances. Unlike microwave energy, it's not harmful to humans. You see it in devices such as electric toothbrushes, which can charge with minimal contact with the base.

In exchange for the convenience, you lose charging efficiency—in our tests, inductive charging is about half as fast as plugging in. But for a top-off, or an overnight charge, Qi charging is simpler and more elegant than slapping a fraying cable across the table. The only problem with it is that the charging bases aren't that attractive. Ikea makes its own version of a charging table, but we wanted something more seamless and subtle. Since Ikea tables are hollow and inexpensive, however, they do make for perfect prototype material. If you have something against Swedish housewares, you can do this with any piece of furniture. If the top isn't hollow, you'll just need a router (keep the amount of wood between the charger and the phone as thin as possible). And a lot more patience.

MATERIALS LIST

• Ikea Lack side table ($10)

• Mophie Charge Force Wireless Charging Base ($40)

• Scrap wood

• Peel-and-stick bumpers

INSTRUCTIONS

1. On one side of the tabletop, mark an opening for the charging base, around six inches long, and peel off the laminate with a utility knife. Set it aside for later.

2. Using an oscillating multi-tool or a jigsaw, cut the opening for the charger. Be sure to cut the opening slightly smaller than the piece of laminate you removed, so that there is a surface to glue it to. If you use a jigsaw, you'll first need to bore a starting hole. Be careful to keep the top and bottom laminate layers intact.

3. Remove the cardboard from the inside cavity.

4. Cut strips of scrap wood to a height that will hold the charger tightly against the underside of the laminate, but not enough to bulge it up.

5. Set the charging base on the scrap-wood strip and slide it into the cavity of the table.

6. With the charging base plugged into the wall, slowly move your phone over the table above the base until the phone beeps to indicate that it's charging. Be patient. The phone can be finicky. Lightly mark the outline of the phone with a pencil on the table.

7. Place peel-and-stick bumpers at the center of the side borders of the outline to indicate where to set your phone, then erase the outline.

8. Take the laminate strip you removed and cut a small notch in it to allow the cord to pass through. Glue it back to the table, and you have a nearly seamless finish.

 

 Source: www.popularmechanics.com