DIY Wireless Phone Charging Stand From a Picture Frame

I have this wireless charging plate thing for my phone, and you're supposed to put the phone on top of it to charge. But it has to be in the perfect position, and I was always having to shift the phone around to get it to charge, so I wanted a stand that you could just put the phone in, and it would be in the right position.

So I got a cheap picture frame from a discount store and used a little wood and made a stand. It has the added advantage that the phone is now upright so you can look at it hands-free while it's charging. The charger can come out, too, so you can take it if you're going somewhere.

This is made special for my phone and charger model, so if you make one it would have to be a little different to fit yours.

Also, sorry I forgot to take pictures while I was making it, so I only have pictures and a short video of the finished product.

Step 1: Get a Picture Frame and Cut to Size As Necessary

You'll need to get a frame that fits your phone. My phone was a little bigger than the frames they had at the store I went to, so I got one made of plain solid wood so I could cut it down a little to fit. I had to cut the top and bottom of the inside edge of the frame a little. It was soft wood, so I just cut it with a shop knife.

Again, sorry I didn't take pictures in progress, but you might be able to see in this picture that the top and bottom edges are a little different where I cut them.

Also, you can throw away the clear plastic and whatever picture insert comes with the frame.

Step 2: Cut a Hole in a Piece of Wood

Take a piece of thin flat wood and cut it so it fits inside the photo frame. Then mark off the size of your charging plate in the middle. Then cut out the hole so the charger fits in it. I used a shop knife again for this.

My charger's USB cord didn't fit when the charger was stuck in its hole, so I had to carve out a little channel for the cord, you can see it at the top. The cord is going to come in from behind the frame at the top.

I also cut a chunk out of the top back of the frame, to allow the cord to go in from behind. I just did this with a jigsaw and a shop knife.

Step 3: Put It Together

I then glued the wood with the hole for the charger onto the back plate from the photo frame. And then glued that whole thing into the frame. I needed a little extra depth to make everything fit well, so I used some shims from the same piece of thin wood. I just used superglue for fast drying.

At this point, depending on your frame and phone size, the phone may just sit right in the frame and charge. If so, congratulations, you're done! Mine was falling out, and there was extra space on the sides so it didn't sit well sideways, so I put in some pegs to hold it in place as in the next step.

Step 4: Add Pegs to Hold Phone in Place

Measure the right places for dowels to hold the phone in the right place for charging, both on the bottom and sides so it can stand sideways also. Then drill holes, stick in the dowels, epoxy them in place, and cut them down to the minimal length. Do this carefully, since it can be tricky to get them so the phone stays in the right place but also can be put in and taken out easily. I had to pare down the dowels a little where it was a too tight fit.