Duct Tape Cell Phone Tripod Case by udtknwme
100_1378.JPG
100_1386.JPG
Duct Tape Cell Phone Tripod Case.jpg
You can do almost everything with your cell phone, everything that is except mount it to a tripod.  With cell phones having 5MP cameras, it's natural to want to ditch the regular digital camera, but how do we overcome the tripod problem?

The Duct Tape Cell Phone Tripod Case!

What's You'll Need
1. Cell Phone
2. Duct Tape
3. Invisible Tape
4. Tape Measure
5. Pen
6. Utility Knife
7. Tripod Mount from an Old Camera
 
Remove these adsRemove these ads by Signing Up

Step 1: Measure Phone & Create Duct Tape Cloth

Measure the cell phone and create duct tape cloth that is about 2.5” larger than the phone and will wrap around the phone with excess.  Determining the amount necessary to wrap around the phone will require you to measure the entire circumferece of the phone.  This can be done with the measuring tape.  Some people may want to use string to achieve the circumference measurement.

For those unfamiliar (and unfortunate enough to have not found) the wonderful world of duct tape cloth/fabric, let's start by discussing what that is!  Those familiar with making duct tape cloth/fabric can gloss through this step.

Duct tape fabric is a 2-ply layering of duct tape, sticky sides together, the following is geared toward this specific project (in terms of dimensions) but can be followed for other instructables for which duct tape cloth is needed. 

Just ensure that other projects do not have their own methods (such as adhering the duct tape to paper, aluminum foil, or other material to provide a more sturdy fabric).

Ply 1 of Duct Tape Fabric (Bottom Ply): 

Using the cell phone measurements from the previous step, tear strips of duct tape somewhat larger than the exact measurement + 2.5" of the the long side of the phone, in the neighborhood of 1"-2" larger (this doesn't need to be exact, as the excess will be cut off). 

Lay the first strip of tape down, sticky side up, and tear off another piece of roughly the same size. 

Overlap the second piece on top of the first piece by it's long side, still sticky side up, by 1/4" and continue until you have achieved a size as big as or greater than the circumfrance of the phone + 2.5". 

Ply 2 of Duct Tape Fabric (Top Ply):

Using Ply 1 as a guide, overlay the strips with duct tape of similar length (as pictured) and continue with the 1/4" overlap until all of Ply 1 is covered.

Finishing Duct Tape Fabric for Use:

Trim duct tape cloth using the utility knife to remove excess tape and square up the shape of the cloth, providing straight edges to work with.
WVSundown says: Jan 13, 2011. 3:48 PM
Great idea!!! I didn't realize I couldn't use my tripod with my cell when using it as a camera until now, lol. I'll have to buy a few rolls of fancy duct tape to try one of these mounts! Thanks for the instructable!!
udtknwme (author) says: Jan 13, 2011. 4:50 PM
WVSundown, you are most welcome! :)

For other readers, it has also been suggested that a 1/4"-20 (read that as a 1/4" height nut with a 20 thread count) per inch size) standard Flat Nut could be used instead of old camera part that I reused.
WVSundown says: Jan 13, 2011. 4:56 PM
That's 1/4" ID (Inside Dimension) with 20 threads per inch. I do believe the little nut is a little less than 1/4" thick.
Pro

Get More Out of Instructables

Already have an Account?

close

PDF Downloads
As a Pro member, you will gain access to download any Instructable in the PDF format. You also have the ability to customize your PDF download.

Upgrade to Pro today!