Ubertable

I have a small table next to my desk which I keep my wifi router, external hd and several chargers on. It has come to the point where the table is quite an eyesore in the room so I decided to try to hide some of the hardware, under the table. Not only did this work spectacularly but the equipment is hidden so well that if some one broke in they wouldn't have a clue I have this stuff (unless of course they read this).

Step 1: Table Dissection 101

First off we need to take apart the table to hide the goods underneath. My table was held together using long bolts and some special brass nuts.

Step 2: Dissection 102

Because where my table was located relative to my desk, when ever I wanted to turn on my external hd I would just about fall out of my chair. I thought if I was able to add a second switch that would turn the hd on and off closer to me it would be very helpful. I took one of the cross members of the table and cut it so that I could replace the missing section with a household electrical switch. Wiring is up next...

Step 3: Switch Wiring

To wire the switch in I used two regular electrical plugs and some house wire. The hd would plug into the female end of my new cable which would go to the switch then to the male plug end which went into the powerbar. The switch on the hard drive is now kept in the on position and the light switch turns it on and off.

This is also a good time to mount the powerbar. I used two screws and the slots on the underside of the powerbar. I made a template out of cardboard to find where to drill the holes for the powerbar.

Step 4: Mounting the Hd

To mount the hd I used this stuff called All Round. All Round is like a long strip of flexible mechano. It can be broken at any point along it's surface and the holes are used to put screws in. This particular type of All Round has a special nylon coating which won't scratch anything. I got it at Canadian Tire.

Once I found a good place for the hd and it's power supply, I cut two strips of All Round and secured it down using some screws.

Step 5: Mounting the Router

Time to place and mount the router. This is done in the same way as the power bar using screws and the slots on the underside of the router. Make sure there is enough space for the Ethernet and power cords to fit in nicely.

Step 6: Securing Chargers

To secure the chargers in, I used more All Round and screws. A piece of All Round over the charger will hold it down to the power bar. Remember that the everything is going to be upside down so everything needs to be secured down well so it doesn't fall out and so you don't have to be on your back trying to put it back in.

I had my phone charger, router power supply, iPod charger (more on that later) and my macbook charger. Because I move my macbook around alot I didn't want to have it's charger fixed on the table which would require some upside down unscrewing. To solve this I put the charger under the cord for the power bar and made a tab out of All Round to hold the opposite side. To remove the charger now I just have to slide the tab over.

I added a set of All Round hoops to hold the excess cable from the macbook charger. The wire slides in and out nicely.

Step 7: The IPod Charger Step

Both me and my brother have an iPod and we share the same charger. This would not work out mounting the charger permentally in the table so I had to come up with another solution. My idea was to use a powered USB 2.0 hub which would charge the iPod and would also connect the hd to my computer using a long USB extender cable. The hub is held down (really up) with double sided foam tape.

Step 8: Cable Management

With everything mounted all that's left is to clean up the wiring. This was done using small zip ties and several All Round hoops (see step 6).

Step 9: Finish

The bottom of the table can now be put back in place and the table turned right side up again.

The table really cleans up my work space and hides everything really well. All that is plugged into it is the cord for the power bar and the Ethernet cord for the router.

Comments

[kløken]

wonderful idea

[joespicnictables]

AWEOME!! :D I should do this to my desk

[rvdawe]

find it here in the U.S.
http://www.usahardware.com/inet/shop/item/80480/icn/20-767392/dahl_bros_cana/9090.htm

[ArcticNemo]

The plain nylon variety is plenty strong, but might not hold a bend as nicely as metal-core stuff. I used some to bolt my patio swing to the deck, and it stands up to 70+ mph winds.

[Yillis]

You're supposed to switch the hot (black) wire. Unless you did that backwards in the plug and receptacle too. Plus you're exposing 120v when your switch is off, I suggest at minimum wrapping that with some electrical tape, or do it right.

[dasclown]

I noticed that the black wire wasn't going to the switch as well.  It got me second guessing my wiring until I saw your comment. :)

[brandvegn]

I live in the US and can't find nylon covered galvanized steel. The only stuff I can find is this.

http://www.houseneeds.com/shop/plumbing/misc/allroundstrappingbuypage.asp

I would be interested if anyone knows of a supplier of the nylon-coated variety for my wooden desk. I have a much bigger "Ubertable" and I want to strap it up, flip it, rub it down... etc.

[varocha]

good idea but i have a small desk from ikea , bye

[Th3Snip3r]

lmao

[grundisimo]

You could probably do a better job of hiding the cords. A robber would think " look over there those cords are leading to something under the table". He would then look and steal all your stuff. BUT your could run the cables down one of the back legs or something then move the table to hide the outlet. You have to have something on the table top so it looks like a regular table. EVEN if the cords are hidden though you are pretty much screwed if the robber steals the whole table. Maybe hiding the expensive equipment in a better place would be a good idea. Maybe in the ceiling with cables run down to the floor behind the wall (unable to be seen) and have a plug in the wall that you could still access them both. (Bad if the robber punches a bunch of holes in the wall and sees the cables) Maybe hide them underneath the floor. OR even better if you have an attic hide them in the attic and still have the cables running down the wall (inside). Very slim chance the robber will see the cables though if he/she does punch a bunch of wholes in the wall.

[zack247]

the chances of this happening are slim to none, you know. at least where i live.

[H3xx]

If you live in certain places in Russia, it is not uncommon for some one to come home from vacation to find that their ENTIRE HOUSE had been stolen, brick by brick. It would be best to just bury every thing in the ground...

[The Knights Of The Round Pie]

 if you cut holes that were the same size as the end of your ipod you could just attach the cords to the under side of the table sticking out and then you could have a built in dock.

[mattison71]

I'd like to find this in a yard sale!

[shtihl]

it looks great except for the wires coming from the underside of the table. perhaps using cable loops to guide the cables to floor and run along wall using cable tape to hide them?

[jamesjamesjames]

some router (including mine) have usb ports in the back for power :) wouldnt work for syncing it to the computer, but if youre just using it for charging its one less wire leading from the table :)

[sdallesasse]

The switch that you are using needs to be in a box! This is a safety issue. You have 120 volts across that switch; if someone should touch those screws, they would get a nasty shock at the least. They could come out much worse!

[Fieldownage]

But if you add it you can't laugh anymore when your mates touch it. :P

[Fieldownage]

"The table really cleans up my work space and hides everything really well." Are you seriously using that as your work space? :D Great project but you could still hide the wires to one of the legs of the table.

[tysonb]

continuum, not continuom