I was walking in a department store one day, bored out of my mind, when I happened across some pocket watch chains and thought to myself: "Pocket watches are so archaic, why would anyone wear one when they have iPods and iPhones?". Then I thought, why not make a pocket watch chain for an iPod? I figured out a pretty simple way using the old iPod charging cable and a ball-chain. I hope this Instructible proves easy to do, and useful to all of you makers out there. I know that for me, having this chain has saved it from countless demises. Once on my bike it fell out of my pocket, and once while running the same thing happened. Both times the chain saved it. It also makes it a lot easier to access your iPod (no more pocket digging). Consider it the missing lanyard to the iTouch or iPhone.

Step 1: Materials

Materials:

1.) Old iPod connection cable with two button latch (easily found on Ebay)
2.) Ball-chain and connector (can be found at any hardware store)
3.) Solid wire
4.) Carabiner or some device to attach chain to your belt loop

Tools:

1.) Soldering iron
2.) Scissors
3.) Pliers

Step 2: Cut the Cord

Now as much as I know that you don't want to do this, I guarantee that using one of your old iPod cables for this project will prove much more useful than just laying around in the junk drawer.

For this chain to work properly, you have to have the old type of charging cable with the latches on it. This holds surprisingly well, and didn't budge even when I swung my iPod on it very hard. I've included a link below from Ebay, which is a great place to buy these old cables as Apple doesn't sell them anymore.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Dynex-3-USB-Charging-Sync-Cable-iPod-DX-IP30USB-/150614283027?pt=Other_MP3_Player_Accessories&hash=item23114f9313

Step 3: Measure and Cut the Chain

Don't cut the chain too long, as you don't need to much of it. I cut about one and a half feet of it. Keep in mind that you will be using about two inches of the chain to loop back on itself so that you can attach it to the carabiner.

Step 4: Strip Some Wire

To attach the chain to the connector you will first need to strip some wire. Make sure to make it really long, I had to use two pieces since I made my first one so short. If you can, use solid copper wire that can bend fairly easily, but is also strong.

Step 5: Attach the Chain

To start off the wrapping, get a few wraps in around the ball-chain about four balls back and wrap it tight. Afterwards, push the chain up to the connector so that it lines up where the wire used to be and wrap copper wire around the grooves of the connector. With the first wraps, make sure to get the wire into the grooves of the connector for stability. And remember, the strength of the connection depends on how many times it crosses from the chain to the connector, not just how many wraps you have.

Step 6: Solder Them Together

Now comes the fun part! Get a lot of solder ready, and make sure not to heat up the wire too much or else you will melt the plastic on the connector and chance breaking it. Coat the coiled wire as best as you can, the more even it is, the cleaner it will look. This one took me a while, I used up a bit of solder.

Step 7: Attach the Carabiner and Enjoy

Attach one of the connectors to the loose end of the ball-chain. Next, use some pliers or a prying-device to open up the other end. Create a small loop at the end and slide a ball along the chain at the end of the loop into the other end of the connector then squeeze it shut using the pliers again. Then slide the loop onto a carabiner, and it's done! Just clip the carabiner onto your belt loop, the connector onto your iPod, and enjoy not having to dig into your pocket any more for your iPod. Thanks for viewing :)