Wood iPod Touch Case

My first iPod was a 500Mb shuffle, and after getting it I quickly went to work making a wood case, which was rather big but still worked out well. Now that I have a new iPod it was time to get to work on a new wood case.

I started off looking for two good pieces of wood that where about the right size. After selecting two pieces I had the dilemma of how I would carve them out to fit my touch inside. In a previous woodworking project I made a scabbard for a sword, the task was long and tedious in which I carved out an indent with a chisel. This was a little different because I was not working with hard woods and this had to be cut thin. I pondered this for a while until I remembered how my Dad had cut a grove out of plywood for me before. I could drill out the area I needed. Using a 25mm Forstner bit I very carefully remove from the two piece of wood the space that was required, and then drilled through the thinner of the two in a few places to make my window. Later I also removed the spaces for the charging cable and for some headphones.

Then all that was left was a lot of filing smoothing with sandpaper. The two pieces of wood where not the same size to start so I used a rasp and carefully brought the two pieces to the same dimensions. Then using a course sandpaper I smoothed out all of the differences in the edges. Finally finishing with a fine grit to smooth everything. Now that everything matched up I glued the two halves together and let it dry over night.

For finishing I used a rich early american stain. I wanted it to be dark to match the touch's black color. Then gave it three coats of finish to protect the wood from the handling it will be receiving. The last step was to glue to the insides a few thin strips of fabric. This is to protect the iPod Touch from ware when sliding in and out. The fabric also helps put a little pressure on everything so my iPod stays inside the case, even when pushing the headphone plug in.

The best part of this case is that it is thin, about the size of the touch itself not including the space in between. The big complaint that people had with my original wood case was that it was too thick. Now with this wood case that is not a problem, in fact the little extra width is better because it is easier to hold in my hand. All in all I am very happy with the outcome.