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I have a USB docking station which looks like this:

enter image description here

The device does not have anything that can be used to mount it onto screws. It has a smooth rounded rectangle finish.

I need to mount this on a wooden panel. I could just use glue and stick it, but that is bad since I might have to take it off later and the smooth surface might not stick well. I could try to disassemble this and then drill holes into its chassis but that is probably not a good idea.

One idea I have is, to buy some screwable cable ties which look like this:

enter image description here

and put them into strategic locations around the hub on the wooden panel, and then use wire tie to hold the USB hub. Are there any better ways to do this?

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  • 3
    You bought the wrong hub. Plenty have mounting arrangements - buy one of those.
    – Ecnerwal
    Jan 28 at 13:17
  • 3
    Double sided foam tape.
    – Huesmann
    Jan 28 at 14:02
  • I am afraid the hub is already bought, before Christmas. The hub I need is specifically intended for connection to the USB-C (or thunderbolt) port of the laptop. This is because that port can support display output as well. Therefore a normal USB hub just does not work here. I do not know if such hubs come in chassis that can be mounted.
    – quantum231
    Jan 28 at 14:17
  • 1
    Come to think of it, the proper word for this type of thing is docking station rather than usb hub.
    – quantum231
    Jan 28 at 14:20
  • I have edited the question so it is more clear now.
    – quantum231
    Jan 28 at 14:20

4 Answers 4

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I've had good luck with "Double Sided Tape with Hook and Loop". It's nice because you can re-adjust the positioning without removing the adhered pieces.

Be sure to clean the surfaces and dry them prior to placing the tape.

Example enter image description here

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4

If your intent is to keep using the pictured hub and not get another one with mounting screw holes included, as SE guru Ecnerwal suggests in a comment, then your existing idea of using the elevating screw-down-tie blocks is really good.

If you mount the USB hub flat down close onto the wood panel, then the cables inserted into the hub will also be flat down close to the wood panel:

populated USB hub on table https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/usb-typec-memory-card-reader-flash-1172219743

You won't be able to get your fingers under them to pull them out pinched between your fingers on the wide faces:

USB plug pinched on flat faces https://ideaing.com/product/super-cable-ballistic-fiber-usbc

You'll have to try to get your fingers between the plugs on the thin sides, which could be difficult, or pull the cables out by pulling on the wire, which is bad for the cable.

With your elevating blocks, getting under the plug with a finger may be more possible and removing them can be easier.

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2

Blu Tack

It can mark wallpaper, wood etc over time, but it seems you don't consider that an issue.
Half my house is held down [or up] with this stuff - small speakers, cables [low voltage & computer etc], Bluetooth antennae, USB & ethernet hubs, routers - anything you might want to be able to move but not right now.
If you use enough to hold itself up now, then by next week you can hang twice as much weight on it. Just smoosh it until it's really, really soft, for better adhesion.

Wikipedia Blu Tack link with International alternatives.

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    I tried to use blu tack but it would just fall off after a short while. Either the blu tack was not having sufficient adhesion or there was too much stress that caused it to come off
    – quantum231
    Jan 28 at 14:15
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    …or you didn't use enough, or you didn't squish it enough when fresh.
    – Tetsujin
    Jan 28 at 14:31
  • Blu Tack? Are you my wife???
    – FreeMan
    Jan 28 at 15:04
  • @FreeMan - yes, dear. Now get those dishes done before I get home ;))
    – Tetsujin
    Jan 28 at 15:08
  • blu tack (or yellow tack, or whatever color) doesn't hold.
    – njzk2
    Jan 29 at 17:00
2

Here's what I do.

  • Cut a piece of scrap steel, brass or aluminum slightly longer than the USB block (maybe 20mm / 3/4"). You could do the same with a scrap of hardwood (but a bit longer). Do not use plastic.

  • Test fit the USB block to the steel, and find appropriate places for screw holes on the ends. Mark them and drill them. Better to do this now.

  • On the back of the USB block, rough the living heck out of it with #12, #16 or #24 sandpaper. This is rough stuff. This is to create a lot of "mountainous surface" with jagged nooks and crannies.

  • Rough the heck out of the scrap steel with the same sandpaper. Same objective.

  • Mix up some epoxy with adhesive filler such as West System 403 or 406. (If you use hardware store epoxy with West System fillers, I won't rat you out :) Coat both surfaces. The epoxy will engage into the "nooks and crannies" of the roughened surfaces. It won't hold if the surface is mold-smooth. The plastic ejected from the mold, and it'll eject from the epoxy too.

  • Clamp them together. Wait the curing time (e.g. 24 hours for West System, whatever the package says for hardware store epoxy).

Mount the USB block to the surface using the screw holes.

When the USB block burns out, get another scrap of steel and see if your tube of hardware store epoxy is still any good. The filler lasts forever.

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1
  • Attach to a length of something that will leave room for exposed fasteners, +1. The important part is that it will provide a standoff so that you can get your fingers around the devices. For normal use, I wouldn't think you hold it down with your palm and fumble around; you'd pick it up.
    – Mazura
    Jan 29 at 18:44

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