Use a plastic bottle to hold cables like iPod dock connecter and usb extender cable which are attached to your computer

Step 1: Basic Introduction

I have many cables extending from my computer usb port to my work desk. I have an iPod shuffle dock connected to a usb port, then there is a usb extender cable which I use to connect the mobile to the computer. I have a sony ericsson mobile phone and sadly it uses a special connecter instead of the 3.5mm connecter. So i also have a connector cable for the phone through which i can connect the mobile to the speakers. The problem was that all the cables kept falling off the table, so i thought of a cable holder.
I am a student living in a small rented room and had access to no power tools or other special tools. Those of you who do have access to such tools are better off but well I got the job done somehow....

Step 2: Basic Description of the Project

I used a water bottle, punched a few holes and passed the cables through them to keep the cables in place and also prevent them from falling off the table.
Remember I had access to no tools etc. to punch the holes. I heated a pen knife on my cigarette lighter and punched the holes making use of the heat and the sharp point of the knife.
So, all you'd require for the project is a plastic water bottle, a pen knife and some tool to punch holes into it, say a heat gun or even a candle or cigarette lighter.

Do remember that using any and all of these tools in an improper manner can lead to injuries-but I suppose if you are at this site then you already know this!!

Step 3: Making Holes

This is a very basic project. Use whatever tool you have at hand and punch a few holes in the body of the bottle. Lets go with four holes.

So you punch four holes A, B, C, D in the body. Then punch another four holes A', B', C', D' which should be parallel to the ones you punched such that if you peep through A you'd be able to look past the A'.

The size of the hole should be slightly larger than the diameter of the cable you intend to hold.

The connector on the cable has a large head ( eg. the usb cable has a usb head which obviously is larger in size than the diameter of the cable).
Use this fact to hold the cables in place as once you pass the cables through the holes the head on the cable would prevent it from retreating through the hole.

But how do we pass the head through the smaller sized holes. Well, for that we make one slit per
hole.
Place the knife with the edge facing outward and make the slit. Follow this step for each hole (A, B, C, D)and it's corresponding parallel back hole (A', B', C', D')

If you are using a candle or a lighter to make holes-the flame would melt the plastic and at this point insert the knife in the compromised plastic and rotate the knife. Not the neatest method but gets the job done.

Step 4: Pass the Cables Through the Holes

To pass the cable through the holes press the slit inwards. This would enable the larger head of the cable to clear the hole. Once inside the bottle press the slit of the parallel hole and using either
your fingers or a plier pull the cable head through. This may require some patience but well.....
The beauty of the slit is that it expands the area of the hole and then closes it down.

Now that I had the cables in place I looked at the arrangement and thought that a few more holes could easily be made to hold some pens and pencils and so I made a few holes on the upper part of the body ie. approx. perpendicular to the holes used for the cables.

Step 5: End Note

This is a very simple project and since I lacked any special tools it is not much refined either but well it is one of those simple things that keep the stuff rolling. If you do have access to such tools you'd be able to make perfect round holes so that your project would look much better than mine.

Take care of your fingers when you pull out the cables from the holes.
If you are using simply a lighter or a candle then the flame would melt the plastic and also some fumes would be emitted. Take care not to inhale them. Cover your nose with some cloth or surgical mask etc