How to: Make a Wooden Bedside Phone Rest

Don’t you hate it when you’re ready to plug in your phone for the night and the dang cable has fallen off your night stand and into the void between your bed and the wall? Yea, so did I until I invented this lovely walnut Phone Throne!    

This project is so quick and easy, you could start this project on a saturday afternoon and have it ready to use that evening.

Here’s what you need:

• A small piece of wood. Mine was 10×8″ (the size will depend on the phone you have)
• Danish Oil
• Xacto Knife
• Peel-n-Stick Cork drawer liner
• A rag for applying oil

Measuring how large your throne needs to be will depend on how large your phone is. I have an iPhone 5 so I want the top surface 4″ x 5.5″. I want to make this throne a bit more interesting than just a block of wood, I’ll be cutting a 45 degree miter on the longer ends. To account for that, I want the entire piece to measure 4.5″ x 5.5″

After you make your initial 4.5×5.5″ cut I set my blade at 45 degrees and my fence at 4″ to cut the miters on the long edges of the block. Make the first cut, rotate the block 180 degrees and cut the other side.

After I made my miter cuts, I felt like the edges were really sharp to the touch. First, I reset my blade to 90 degrees. Then, I moved my fence in 1/8″ and cut the edge flat.

Now you want to cut a groove up the middle of the rest by passing the block over the blade. With a speedsquare or measuring tape, raise your blade up .25″.

 I made three passes to cut the groove up the center. The first cut was up center. For the second, I moved the fence 1/16″ to the right and cut. Finally, I moved it 1/16″ to the left of center and cut.

Now, you want to check and see that your cable will fit in the groove. If it doesn’t go back and cut another 1/16 inch kerf. When everything fits nicely it’s time to sand!

After you’ve sanded it down to at least 220 grit, rub in a nice dark oil like this walnut colored danish oil. I love using oils like this because I don’t have to go back over with a clear coat of poly. Also, the oil really brings out the natural colors of the wood.

I found a roll of cork liner with an adhesive back. You can certainly use some sort of rubber or sticky feet if you have those lying around. For this step, set the rest on the cork and cut along the edges.

Make sure the base of your throne is clean. I wiped it with a bit of water before I applied mine. Use a lot of firm pressure to apply the cork to the back. 

Next, use an Xacto knife to make marks in the cork on each end of the block. I then used a ruler to align the notches to make a clean, straight cut. 

After everything is cleaned out of the channel I placed the rest cork-side down and cut around the block at 45 degree angle. This cut back the cork just slightly so it hides under the block. 

And you’re finished! All you need to do now is lay your phone cord down and place the block on top. Now rejoice, because whenever you unplug your phone, the throne holds the cord in place. Never again will you go fishing for your lost cable!