Rotating Car Mount for iPhone out of Recycled Electronics and Garage Junk

While preparing for a long road trip, I decided to to make a couple of mods to my pickup for system monitoring and convenience.  After adding a USB port in my dash for iPhone charging, i added an OBDII wifi dongle and downloaded an engine monitoring app (Rev2).  Next, I got to work on the mount.

I was more than miffed to find out that the only option for mounting it in my pickup (other than a universal "squeeze" style mount) was to buy a $30 mount from Lifeproof that is useless without purchasing another $30 mount from a third party.  I set off to make my own mount using recycled items as well as other odds & ends.

Step 1: Parts & Tools

PARTS USED

• Old PCB
• Aluminum flat bar, 1" x 5" (more or less)
• Aluminum angle, 1" x 3" (more or less)
• Aluminum threshold, about 3" cutoff
• Assorted screws from autopsied electronics
• Nylon washers
• Zinc washers with neoprene on one side
• Thread lock solution

TOOLS USED

• Drill or preferably drill press
• Drill bits and countersink
• 1/4" forstner bit
• Metal files (triangular, mill second cut, and smooth)
• 00 steel wool (for burnishing the aluminum)
• Table saw
• Bench vice
• Square
• Propane or MAPP gas torch
• Ball peen hammer

Comments

[haikuordie]

Nice finished look to it. Was the PCB just to make your phone fit tight enough not to fall out?

[bigern00]

I used the recycled PCB as a structural element...it is the basic frame from which I added everything else