Power Tool Charging Station

Published: 7/2/2009

Since basically every flat surface in my workshop in the garage seemed to gather a charger or electronic device of some kind, I decided it would be a good idea to make a spot for all of my power tool battery chargers to clean up the clutter. Here’s what I came up with:

The bottom part below the shelf is a compartment to hold all the cords and a power strip. Here it is open:

The top is made of a 3ft piece of 1×8. The bottom is a 1×6, as is the hinged door. The lower face (to which the hinge is attached is a 1×2. The back is made of a scrap of thin plywood I had lying around and there’s a 1×2 rail inside for mounting the unit to the wall. There are holes in the top shelf to let the cords for the chargers inside, and a hole in the bottom to let the power cord for the power strip out. Inside I put a couple of tacks to hang the extra cords from.

Construction was quick and easy. I used a miter saw, a brad nailer and some wood glue, but just about any saw or fastening method (screws, nails, glue, etc.) would work. I wasn’t trying to be a cabinet maker, just get the job done.

There’s not much to it, but it’s really cleaned up my workbench. A bonus feature is the ability to turn off all the chargers at once if you want. When I got it done, I determined that I probably didn’t need to make it so tall, since I didn’t need so much room inside. No big deal though, since I can use the extra space inside for holding the extra batteries. In the pictures, you’ll see I have my garage radio on there now, until I have the good fortune to acquire more tools, that is!