Make a desktop-embedded USB hub

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By John Edgar Park
Posted 2010/11/16 @ 9:13 pm
Category Computers & Mobile, Furniture, General, Tools, Workshop

Wires, wires everywhere. I don’t like looking at wires, wires everywhere. Even though I have a USB hub, it’s a bit of an eyesore sitting on top of my desk, plugged into devices up top, and my computer down below. I decided it was time to embed the hub directly into the surface of the desk. Using the Dremel Multi-Max to plunge-cut the wood desktop, I fit the USB hub into the desk, and attached the hub to the underside using brackets. It’s now stable, stylish, and out of the way.

Materials:

Dremel Multi-Max oscillating tool with 1 3/8″ wood flush cut blade, circular drywall/wood blade, and sandpaper attachment
Powered USB hub
1″ metal brackets with screws (2)
Wood rasp
Sandpaper
Epoxy
Pencil
Ruler
Carpenter’s square
Safety goggles

Download the Project PDF
(Right click to save the PDF to your desktop.)

In the Maker Shed

5 Responses to Make a desktop-embedded USB hub

Grant on November 17th, 2010 at 1:10 pm said:

I would make one modification to this project to give a nicer finished product at the end of the day. I would remove the metal casing and plastic part on the back of the USB hub. This would allow for a smaller hole to be cut into the desk. Then, when the USB hub is placed in the desk, the lip of the front plastic casing will cover the hole that’s been cut in the desk.

Another possible modification would be to drill out the corners of the hole in the desk. This would give the hole a nice radius at the corners and would help the flange of the USB hub to fully cover the hole.

In the end, this should present a nice finished appearance. It would even look like the USB hub was made to be a part of the desk.

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- John Park on November 17th, 2010 at 2:09 pm said:
  
  Those are some great suggestions Grant, thanks! This particular hub was glued together, (the “metal” part is painted plastic, too) so I could probably have used a knife (or Dremel cut-off wheel) to separate those parts. I noticed a huge variety of case designs for USB hubs at Fry’s, and you could probably find a nice one for your proposed technique.
  
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spokehedz.clavid.com on November 17th, 2010 at 2:01 pm said:

Now only if I didn’t have a glass desk.

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Sean Michael Ragan on November 17th, 2010 at 4:06 pm said:

Me likee.

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Sunny Wu on February 27th, 2011 at 10:22 pm said:

I guess he isn’t planning on selling that desk anymore.

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