Cardboard Nightstand Cradle

[rhapdog]

I was needing a quick (as in had to have it today) and most probably temporary solution to set up my phone on my night stand so that I could see my Night Stand Clock app and wake to an alarm. Laying it flat doesn't allow it to be my clock.

My wife took mine, as she finally upgraded to a Lumia 635 yesterday from an old Pantech Renue. Yeah, not even Android. Just a "dumb" phone. Now we both have Lumia 635s and she got my blue armor case and told me to order a different color so we didn't get them confused. She liked the blue, so I have to get something else. The case had a kickstand, which I used on the night stand, hence, my problem. No way to prop up the phone.

I had a bit of inspiration, and thought I would share. It took my about 5-8 minutes to figure out how to do this and make it happen. I now have two modes for a night stand cradle. Landscape and Portrait. I can plug in my micro USB charger in either orientation. The easy cardboard cradle can be made to fit any size phone or tablet, if you are creative enough to see what I did and build it yourself, or improve on the design. The design definitely has room for improvement, as I only came up with it AND built it in under 8 minutes.

First, you'll need some cardboard, and something to cut it with. I pretty much made a mess of mine, because I used a pair of scissors instead of a straight edge and razor, but someone who measures carefully and cuts carefully could probably paint it and have a nice cradle.

Here is what I did.

I started out, as you can see, by cutting out and notching the cardboard. It is cut to fit a Lumia 635, currently. It can also be cut to any size phone. Just experiment and see what you need. You can't beat the price, as you can pick up a used cardboard box almost anywhere for free.


I now take two of the pieces you saw in the first picture and fold and combine the slots to make a landscape stand. Works great. The angle can be adjusted by cutting the angle you want in the cardboard.

You can see how well it works.


Now it's time for portrait mode.

As you can see, I took the 3rd piece of cardboard, folded it, and inserted it into the slots, which also are cut to make the phone lean back a bit more for stability. You could probably glue this to a base and add a weight.

Also notice the slot in the back on the bottom for the power cord, and the slot up front just under where the phone will sit. It holds the phone up high enough that there is plenty of room for the power cord.


I hope someone can find this useful, and that I don't get banned for showing people how to make a cradle for free instead of buying it by shopping for accessories at WC.

If you're short on money, and always wanting your apps to be free, well, here's a way to get a free accessory. If you'll take your time, use an exacto knife and a straight edge, measure properly, then you should have something that you can paint, make it weighted on the bottom, and use for a long time.

If you have other ideas for a home-made cradle, share it here. If you've got a 3D printer, then just go sell them on eBay.

 

[Kovaelin]

That's not bad, but it seems a little forward heavy after adding that base for portrait mode.

 

[rhapdog]

It's actually not forward heavy, as the front of the base is nearly to the bottom of the phone, and the phone is tilted back about 30 degrees so that the top of the phone is midway over the base.

Still, it's a bit wobbly if you need to work with it. That's why it needs a larger base or a weighted base of some sort.

I'd love to see other people's ideas on what can be done with something as simple and inexpensive as cardboard. It could be a fun diversion.

 

[gomezz]

I use padded cardboard display boxes that such things as watches come in. Or in the kitchen I use the tin my G-Shock watch came in with used AAA batteries in the base below the foam and between the tin and its top pushed onto the bottom for stabilising weight. That doesn't work as a night stand cradle though as it blocks the view of the bottom of the screen from the low angle you have when laid down on the bed.