Ah the binder clip. As many of us already know (and some don't), it's one of the best tool for McGuyvering whatever you may need.

In this case, I managed to craft a design for a phone dock made out of 3 large binder clips. The dock uses one of the "arms" from one of the clips as the base, thus allowing a gap for you to put a charging cable through. Simple to make yet effective as a phone stand.

There's already a ton of binder clip stands out there, but I wanted something that could accept a phone charging cable so my phone could charge while it sat there. This one uses only three same-sized binder clips as well, whereas others out there tend to use more.

Materials:
- 3 large binder clips
- [optional] Foam and glue
- [optional] One small binder clip

Step 1: The Base - Putting It Together

Just open up two binder clips and clip one to the other as shown. Then remove the outer arm of one of the two binder clips. For the unaware, the arms can be removed by pressing them in (on standard binder clips).. This is the base of the stand.

While you're at it, remove both of the arms from the other large binder clip.

Step 2: The Backrest - Preparation

Thread one of the detached arms through the two arms of the base as shown, then clip the body of the binder clip to the arm. Make sure that the arm you just threaded through is outside both arms and doesn't go through the inside of either.

Step 3: The Backrest - the Fun Part

Now thread the other arm through the INSIDE of the eye of the base's arm as shown, and clip it to the other side of the clip. This is more difficult than it seems and the eye of the base's upper arm will more than likely slip out. If it does, just push the eye back into place (as shown). Trust me, this is a lot easier than trying to clip the arm on while keeping it in place.

Step 4: The Backrest - Finalizing

Now just fold the binder clip towards the front, which should put some tension on the backrest, thus keeping the whole system together.

Step 5: The Cable - Threading It Through

Grab your favorite cable and thread it through the back then through the front, as shown. This works best with small cables (Such as audio and microusb) rather than larger ones (Like the iPhone 4 cable). If the cable doesn't fit through the metal arm, just remove the arm and place it around the wire then lock the arm back in place.

Step 6: Optional Steps

I glued a piece of foam I had laying around to mine. It's not necessary but it helps keep the phone in place

If you find that your phone slips off of the dock too easily, just find a small clip and attach it as shown. However, this means getting creative with the cable, though the cable serves to hold the phone in place anyways. Play around with it and find something you like.