Tablet Stand With Charging Slot: The $25 Gift Everyone Wants

Gift-giving gets complicated when everyone already has everything. But I’ve found that a well-made tablet stand with a built-in charging slot cuts through the noise. It’s useful every single day, it looks expensive, and the actual material cost hovers around $25. I’ve made dozens of these as gifts, and the reaction is always the same: “Wait, you made this?”

What Makes This Design Work

The secret is the charging slot – a channel routed into the base that lets a charging cable connect to the tablet while it sits on the stand. Most commercial tablet stands either ignore charging entirely or add ugly cutouts that show wires. This design hides the cable beneath the tablet itself, emerging from a small hole in the back. Clean lines, full functionality.

Materials and Dimensions

The stand consists of three parts: a base, a back support, and a front lip. All three can be cut from a single board about 24″ long in 3/4″ hardwood. I use walnut most often because it looks rich without excessive grain competition, but cherry, maple, and even oak work well.

For a standard 10″ tablet in a case, these dimensions work consistently:

Base: 10″ wide x 7″ deep x 3/4″ thick

Back support: 10″ wide x 6″ tall x 3/4″ thick, with a 75-degree angle cut on one edge

Front lip: 10″ wide x 1″ tall x 3/4″ thick

The Charging Channel

The channel runs down the center of the base, from about 1″ behind the front lip position to the back edge. Width is 3/4″ – enough to accommodate any standard USB cable with room to spare. Depth is 3/8″, leaving a solid foundation beneath.

Route the channel using a 3/4″ straight bit in your router, with a fence clamped to guide the cut. One pass at full depth, steady and slow. At the back edge, drill a 1/2″ hole angled slightly downward – this is where the cable exits. The slight angle prevents kinking.

Assembly

The back support attaches to the base using a combination of glue and screws. Position it about 1/2″ from the back edge, with the angled side facing forward (so the tablet leans back slightly). Predrill and countersink for two screws, then glue, clamp, and drive the screws. Plug the holes with matching wood or leave them visible as design elements.

The front lip attaches the same way, positioned to leave a gap of about 1/4″ between itself and the back support. This gap is where the tablet’s bottom edge rests, directly over the charging channel. A cable can run up through the channel and connect to the tablet’s charging port while completely hidden from view.

The Viewing Angle

That 75-degree back angle hits the sweet spot for most tablet use – watching video, following recipes in the kitchen, video calls at a desk. If you’re building for a specific use case, adjust accordingly. Recipe display in a kitchen might want 80 degrees (more upright), while a bedside stand might go to 70 degrees (more reclined).

Cut the angle on your table saw with the blade tilted, or use a miter saw. Clean up any tear-out with sandpaper before assembly.

Finishing Details

Sand all parts to 220 grit before assembly, paying attention to the inside of the cable channel where rough spots can snag wires. After assembly, a final sanding with 320 grit removes any glue squeeze-out marks and blends the joints.

I apply three coats of wipe-on polyurethane, sanding lightly between coats with 400-grit. This builds a durable, water-resistant surface that handles kitchen environments and the occasional coffee spill. For a more natural look, a penetrating oil works but offers less protection.

The Gift Factor

What takes this from “nice woodworking project” to “perfect gift” is personalization. A small wood-burned monogram on the base, an inlaid detail of contrasting wood, or a custom-routed message on the back support all make it unmistakably personal.

Include a quality braided charging cable coiled in the channel, and you’re giving a complete, ready-to-use gift. Match the cable color to the wood tone – black or dark gray for walnut, white or tan for maple. These details show thoughtfulness and elevate the whole presentation.

Build time is about three hours including finish work. Materials run $25 to $30 for quality hardwood. Comparable stands sell for $60 to $100 or more at home goods stores, and none of them have this level of craftsmanship or personal touch. That’s the math that makes this project worth repeating every gift-giving season.