Organize the batteries and chargers for the power tools in the garage with this easy and simple charging station. Charging stations on Amazon run about $70 and about $45 on Etsy. Quickly build this simple charging station with one board and a surge protector, all for only $20.
Storage for the power drills was not needed since I only have one now and that would have meant an additional wood plank resulting in scrap wood. I’m trying to clean out the garage so I wanted a project with no left over wood to store. I can always add PVC pipe to the bottom later to store drills, etc.
It would have been perfect to make the cuts of wood with a table saw, but since I don’t have one, I made do with a circular saw. This project took about an hour from the first measurement to the last screw mounting it to the wall.
Scroll to the bottom of this post for more organization and small project ideas!
Supplies
- 1×12, 6 foot common board
- Saw, circular or table saw
- Finishing Nailer
- Air compressor
- 16 gauge nails
- Eye protection
- Ear Protection
- Wood Glue
- Straight Edge
- Tape measure
- Pencil
- Saw horse, or two
- Level
- Cordless drill
- Drill bits
- Stud Finder
- 2″ screws (4)
Additions
- Power strip
- nails or screws to mount power strip
- Brass Cup hook
Instructions
Step 1:
Plywood or scrap wood could be used, but I went with a six foot 1×12 in common board. The common board is less expensive than a clear pine board. The difference between the two is that the common board has knots in it and the clear pine does not. Both are pine and are great for projects where a soft wood can be used since it doesn’t usually split when using nails or screws. This is just a shelf in the garage, so I didn’t care if there were knots in the wood.
Use the tape measure and a pencil to mark 20 inches from one edge of the board at both the top and bottom of the plank face. Draw a line with the straight edge through those two marks. This line will be the guide to follow when cutting with the circular saw.
Step 2:
While wearing protective gear for your eyes and ears, use either a table saw or circular saw to cut the wood. I like to measure and then cut for each piece instead of measuring all the cuts first. The saw blade will remove a little bit of wood and I don’t want it to impact any of my final measurements.
Cut one 20 inch piece of wood for the back of the charging station. Cut two 18.5 inch pieces for the top and bottom of the box, or shelving. The remaining piece of wood will be about 15 inches, cut that in half so you have two 7.5 inch pieces for the sides of the box.
Step 3:
On the small pieces, find the best sides and have those be the exposed sides that face out. On the exterior sides, make a line just shy of 1/2 inch in from the edge of the long sides with your pencil. These lines will be a guide for the nails to ensure that the nails are driven in the center of the other board edge and they don’t miss the other wood pieces.
Put wood glue along the cut edges, on the short sides, of the 18.5 inch long pieces of wood. Do this one piece at a time. Place the short wood pieces on top of the glued edge and nail along the pencil line to connect the two pieces of wood together. Essentially, you are making a box with the shorter pieces on the outer edge, sandwiching the longer pieces. See below picture for a reference.
Step 4:
Now it is time to attach the box to the 20 inch wood piece.
Once the four pieces are nailed and form a box, put glue on the back four rectangular edges and line the box up with the lower edge and corners of the wood backing plank (20 inch piece).
Use the straight edge to draw a guide line for the nails on the back side of the 20 inch plank. (This will go against the wall and will never be seen.) Be sure the line goes down the middle of the long side of the box so when the nails are driven in they pierce through the backing and the box to hold them together. Wipe away any glue drips. Let glue dry.
Step 5:
Measure the spacing and use nails or screws to mount the power strip to the upper backing of the shelf unit. This was done on the side closest to the outlet. Attach the power strip to confirm placement. This is an optional step, but I liked the idea of having a surge protector with additional places to plug in chargers instead of taking up all of the space on the original outlet.
Step 6:
A brass cup hook was added to the side to hold the extra line for the edger. This way the edger’s batteries, line, and the ear and eye protection are all in the same location. I also have the additional batteries in the box while the chargers are busy on the top of the shelf.
Once the studs were located and marked, a level was used to make the shelf straight on the wall and four pilot holes were drilled through the back of the box and into the studs. The box was attached to the wall with 2 inch screws.
Finally! One more project finished and I’m on my way to having an organized garage. Now I just need to get the tools and workbench in order. Stay tuned for a post of the final results. It feels great to get things in order and to have a place for everything. Not to mention, I am LOVING being able to find things easily. Feeling like your space is functional and clean is definitely an awesome way to make a house a home.💙
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Any day a DIY idea always works out more cost efficient when compared to actually buying it readymade. Thank you, dear Lisa, for giving us this incredible DIY of making our own Power Tool Charging Station. Highly appreciate the efforts taken to give us a systematic and step-by-step instructions on how to create this simple power tool charging station all by oneself. Giving us the list of supplies required as a separate note was very helpful.
This makes me so happy to hear this feedback. I truly strive to make DIY efficient and easier in order to save you time and money. Thank you so much for your comment and please check out the other posts for more DIY ideas. Have a wonderful day. 🙂
Much obliged to you, dear Lisa, for giving us this extraordinary DIY of making our own Power Tool Charging Station. Profoundly like the endeavors taken to give us an efficient and bit by bit guidelines on the most proficient method to make this straightforward force apparatus charging station without help from anyone else. Giving us the rundown of provisions needed as a different note was useful.
I am so pleased that you found this useful. Thank you for your comments and feedback.
Nice article