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I have a wooden table in my studio and need to attach to its side a Lenovo Laptop docking station (2 kg, 3.5 lbs), to which then I want to plug and unplug my Lenovo T450s laptop (2 kg, 3.5 lbs) to save space.

The total weight is about 4 kg, or 7 lbs.

The docking station is made of plastic and I tried to access its inside so to place some nuts from the inside. Unfortunately, it's quite complicated and I desisted.

I tried with lots of 3M Command hooks, and they lasted one day before detaching.

I then tried multiple attempts by sawing a piece of wood, screwing it to the side of the table, and using a fair amount of high-temp glue using a glue gun to attach the docking station to the piece of wood. The piece of wood is solid to the desk, but after 1 day the docking station detaches.

I would like to try using something similar to nuts and bolts, but in a way that I don't require to access it from the inside. Is there anything like that? Or is there a better solution?

Current state of the work

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    I really don't think you should do this. The lenovo dock isn't really designed for vertical mounting. I'd suggest a short pull out drawer, like a keyboard drawer. If the dock were designed to be mounted like this, it would have mounting holes on the bottom.
    – Jon
    Jan 29, 2018 at 18:40
  • Epoxy + velcro?
    – MooseBoys
    Jan 29, 2018 at 18:47

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Why not create a shelf-like support using two or three angle brackets to support the weight of the docking station?

The vertical leg of the bracket could be screwed into the side of the desk, and the horizontal leg (in the down position) would carry the bulk of the weight. Then the hook and loop style hangers would only be holding it tight to the desk (horizontal pressure) not carrying the weight (vertical pressure).

If the horizontal leg is too long, it could be cut off with a hack saw.

A more elegant version would be to build a wooden shelf to support the weight, but that would be a bit more complex to ensure its strength to carry the load.

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    The first thing that came to mind is to make a slot that the dock can fit into that is physically attached to the table (screwed in), like a wall mount magazine rack. A quick search online can find some for a couple bucks. If the OP is interested, they could make one for a decent price out of wood. Jan 31, 2018 at 19:12
  • @ScottRamboz That sounds like a good answer. I would vote for it.
    – bib
    Jan 31, 2018 at 19:51
  • @ScottRamboz Unfortunately there is only very small to no room between the docking station and the laptop. Feb 6, 2018 at 16:40
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To go off of what bib recommended, If you would like to keep the same vertical orientation for the dock, I would investigate using a wall mount magazine rack like these one:

Metal wire magazine rack

Wood Magazine Rack Enclosed Metal Wire Magazine Rack

Some factors you would need to include is the length / depth of the dock in your selection of Magazine racks. It would be pretty simple to construct one yourself with scrap pieces of wood or metal. Note that you want to consider plenty of airflow to the device to allow for cooling.

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  • I am interested in fixing the docking station, not to have it going around, as otherwise it would become very difficult to attach and de-attach the computer from it. Feb 6, 2018 at 16:41
  • I don't believe docking stations are made to support the weight of a laptop. you might see some bend connectors / pins in doing this. I don't have a dock available to me to review, but you might want to find a different solution (like a shelf) or something to lay your docking station and laptop flat., or follow the method outlined by @Harper to epoxy the device on. Feb 7, 2018 at 18:07
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I agree the Lenovo dock is not made for vertical mounting and you are likely to apply excess strain to the connectors on the laptop. Then you will find out how expensive the board is which contains those connectors.

It is almost impossible to glue to a sheer plastic surface which popped out of a mold such as 99% of the plastic products out there. The same effects which make the mold release make the glue release also. However, if you really, really, really want to do that, I have attached to plastic with good success thusly:

  • Roughen the flat surface with 60 grit sandpaper, making it very angry and coarse. This is to make it look like the Swiss Alps microscopically, and no longer sheer. Don't use a power tool and don't take away significant amounts of material: material removal is not the goal, surface texture is.

  • Pick a right-size scrap of 1" wood stock, sand it similarly, and brush it with a thin coat of 2-part epoxy so it soaks in.

  • Bonus points if you give the plastic piece a very light coat, but be very careful with where the drippy-drippy goes. You want it soaking into the wood grain, not the machine guts. (it won't hurt electronics, but it will seize up fans and wreck connectors.)

  • If this cures fully, it will not stick well to the next layer: I re-sand with 180-grit or so, to give it a bit of tooth also. If the epoxy galls and tootsie-rolls and tries to gum up the sandpaper, it has not fully cured and this step is unneeeded.

  • Mix a batch of epoxy, thicken it to peanut butter with an adhesive filler, paint it on one surface, and clamp the wood to the plastic, being careful not to "overclamp then back off" as that will leave voids.

  • Wipe off any oversquish either immediately or when it is semi-cured and you can easily cut it with an exacto knife. Once it's cured, forget about it!

  • Give it a few days to cure.

  • Attach the device by screwing into the newly attached wood, watching screw-lengths carefully so you don't screw into the plastic at all.

This has served me well. It really helps to own epoxy in a form that lends itself to making small batches of arbitrary size. Good fillers can be tough to find; West System filler is one most likely to be found in a local store and it's not expensive (chandleries can make it expensive). If you use it with non-West-System epoxy, I promise not to tell.

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