ipod or mp3 player hardcase from a book

recycle a used/useless book into an a functional hard case for an ipod or other mp3 player!

Step 1 Gather your tools and materials

you need:
an old book, preferably hardcover, thick enough to accomodate your music player,
some white glue, elmers or equivalent,
something to hold the glue in (film canister)
a small brush to spread glue,
a box cutter, exacto knife, or other sharp tool
drill or drill press
small magnets (2)
small piece of steel (must be thin and magnetic)
straight edge or ruler
spray paint (optional)
masking tape (optional)

Comments

[HMice]

Cool. Could you line the inside with tape or something?

[vruiz3]

should have made ipod book deck with headphone jack to make it look like youre reading during class

[xXxMoDdxXx]

wow thats a really good idea wish i thought of that

[vruiz3]

it takes some wiring and i have a prototype circut.not made it real life though.havent tested it out yet

[judoca]

muito bom, aqui no Brasil é bom pra esconder dos bandidos!

[kslatin]

what should I do if it doesn't fit... I have spent hours scraping the sides away with an exacto knife t000o try to make it wider but that's not really working too well. WHAT DO I DO!?!?!?! thanks.

[hivoltage]

if you have a sharp blade you should be able to just slice into the book and widen the hole. an  exacto knife may not be sturdy enough for this, try a utility knife/box cutter or one of those snap off blade type razors.

[kslatin]

I have tried that but the knife keeps slipping into the center of the book

[HAL 9000]

Finally! a creative use for all those free Bibles and such people are always throwing around!! Great instructable, im going to start making one right away!

[bwool1]

Don't use a bible. It is disrespectful and a religious person might get angry at you. If you need a book, use an old novel or something. Good instructable by the way.

[durgledoggy]

It's disrespectful to throw your holy book around like toilet paper and dump it on countless people who couldn't care less about it. More so than making an mp3 player holder out of it.

The only way this is not a travesty is to make it out of something disposable like a bible, a decent hardback novel or dare I say it a vintage classic would be wrong in so many ways.

[zombiet4cos]

*yawn* boring

[hivoltage]

pfffffft. I thought it was cool.

[hmm...]

It is. Don't worry, there are some people that appreciate this Instructable.

[paperclip32]

I've been making a couple of these for friends,and I've found a few pointers.
1)If you're using water based glue,press it down with more books.
2)Dull blades cause the page to rip.
3)Ripping out the pages can also tear the page where you don't want it torn,causing a hole in the side of your book.
4)Boxcutters are neater,dremels are faster.
5)Lining the sides and inside with hobby putty lets you sand them until smooth.
Just some pointers.

[xadevox]

I just used the dremel rotary tool.

[jaytotharrr]

when i am cutting i could only cut a few pages at once and if i put more pressure the pages would rip. any advice?

[The Porsche Fan]

I had the same problem the other night when I was working on this
http://www.instructables.com/id/Literary-Clock/
I just pressed my book to the workbench with clamps and kept on cutting, I bet I did about 64 cuts until the whole square was cut out. I cut all four sides a few times and then ripped out about 10-15 pages and the repeated that until my hole was all the way through the book.

[Christo]

Chances are that your blade is dull. I know from personal experience that X-acto blades and most other razor blades dull very quickly (although most people insist upon using them long after they've lost a good working edge). I recommend a new #11 X-acto blade. I was able to cut through 150 pages (for a 5th gen. iPod 80G) without the blade dulling, so you should be able to make due with just one.

[captainjohn]

THANK YOU!!! I have to annotate a book over the summer and now instead of a door stop I can do this! Danke Sehr!

[Dan Rathers]

MIne isn't as impressive, uber ghetto too. I had to make it into a hard cover because it was a paper back.

[noseonarug17]

please dont tell me that you're actually dan rathers. i can't see dan rathers with an ipod

[noseonarug17]

or saying "uber ghetto"

[ARIrish]

I like the use of magnets...a friend of mine is doing some sort of art project involving a cut-out book, and I'm going to direct her here for a couple tips.

[dkfa]

isnt this bad if the magnets affect the MP3 player??? I meen...like its so close to the player.

[Darkeru]

Awesome instructable man, I just made this for my ipod touch and its so cool.

[Dr.Paj]

Wow it looks like you put a large coating of glue in there.

[hivoltage]

Oh nice. i upgraded to an Itouch a month or two ago and have been looking for a suitable book to build a new case in. i gave my old one to my sister and is still holding up well. i want to get a smallish book since the ipod is thin and i dont have any the right size. i always feel kind of bad buying a book at a used bookstore just because its the right size to cut up later lol.

[hivoltage]

Nice jailbroken ipod btw. thats like the first thing i did with mine when i got it too.

[Dr.Paj]

Here's my book box, I'm going to add a bookmark where the iPod is so i can hide its earbud hole in the top. By the way I used one of my least favorite books, A Tale of Two Cities. I used to have a second generation shuffle but I accidentally put it through the wash and dryer, hey at least its clean. So I carved out a divider and made enough room for earphones. Enjoy

[ohbejoyful]

Wow, I have 6 niephews ranging in age from 5 to 11. I think they'd each love one of these for Christmas - a little hidey place for treasures and secret things.

[zjgz]

i did almost the same exact thing with the same exact mp3 player and a book that looks almost like that, but i cut a small hole into about 5 pages before the mp3 player so i could watch movies in class :^P

[iman]

i made a book kinda like that

[HAL 9000]

I just got an external hard drive, I think im going to try that. It looks sharp, and there are always very cheap books at any used bookstore. Are you going to make an Instructable on it? that would be great.

[hivoltage]

awesome. my original plan involved something like that. i was going to cut out all the pages from a book and put in a wood piece like that. i just figured it would be easier to use the pages already in the book.

[rubikscube125]

so your glueing the sides of the book? the sides of my book are all made to look likeits an old book.

[hivoltage]

that shouldnt really matter. the glue kinda soaks in instead of staying on the outside. thats why its mixed with a little water.

[rubikscube125]

kk thanks

[hivoltage]

yeah i saw they published this in there some time after i put this instructable online. there were other versions of this floating around before i made this, so i'm sure they didn't get the idea from here....

[Brennn10]

I saw this in the Popsci magazine. It is pretty cool. I have a used book sale coming up soon, so i will pick up a book while I am there. Good instructable!